March 12, 2014

Dallas Seavey won Alaska’s famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, yesterday, finishing the 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) trek from Anchorage to Nome in a record-breaking 8 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes, and 19 seconds. Rival Aliy Zirkle finished in second place, 2 minutes and 22 seconds behind Seavey. Two-time champion Mitch Seavey, Dallas’s father, came in third. This year’s championship is Dallas Seavey’s second; he was the youngest champion in Iditarod history when he won the race for the first time in 2012.

“This year’s race has been dominated by rough trail, dramatic injuries, and tough weather. There are still more than 50 dog teams spread out along the west coast of Alaska,” reported Emily Schwing of NPR member station KUAC.

The Iditarod is a famous sled dog race held every March in Alaska. Teams of sled dogs race between Anchorage and Nome. (AP/Wide World)

The current Iditarod race, which originated in 1973, is held on the Iditarod Trail, a dog sled mail route first used in 1910. The race commemorates an emergency rescue mission by dog sled to get medical supplies to Nome during a diphtheria outbreak in 1925.

Additional World Book articles:

• Sled
• Iditarod: Celebrating the Dog Days of Winter (a special report)