Report Content.....A-4 Report Content -- Amplification.....A-5 Enclosure B -- COMMANDERâS OPERATIONAL REPORT (OPREP).....B-1
It's a competition that pits one dog driver, called a musher, and a team of dogs not only against other racers but against the (often cruel) forces of Â­Mother Nature. Named for a town in Alaska, the race ceremonially sets off from downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on the first Saturday in March.
This yearâs race, Iditarod XLI, begins March 2, 2013, when a total of 66 mushers â drivers of the dog sleds â and their teams of 16 dogs each will take on the challenge. The race typically lasts 10 to 15 days, and the actual mileage varies from year to year.