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.
The Iditarod begins with a ceremonial start in Anchorage, a nod to the race's beginnings as a potentially life-saving serum run in 1925 (yes, that was the one with Balto). The race then moves to the official starting line, which this year is in Fairbanks but is usually in Willow.