Iditarod Trail in far less travel. The trail might have been forgotten except for the 1925 diphtheria outbreak in Nome. In one of the final great feats of dog sleds, twenty drivers and teams carried the life-saving serum in 127 hours. Today, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race serves to commemorate the part the trail and its dog sleds played in the development of Alaska. The Iditarod Trail was a trail that connected a point north of Seward, Alaska, where a forerunner of the Alaska Railroad ended, through Iditarod, Alaska and then to Nome. The trail was about long. The Iditarod Trail's
2005 Iditarod Alaska in the 1990s. Nome and other areas in Alaska had a financial slump during the winter due to high fuel prices. There are a total of 79 mushers entered in the race, including 19 from the continental United States (the "Lower 48"), 9 from outside the U.S., 16 women, and 28 rookies, who are competing in their first Iditarod. A total of 23 entrants withdrew before the start of the race. The entry fee was US$1,850. The 2005 race has competitors from four countries. Norway is represented by Trine Lyrek, Bjørnar Andersen, and the 2003 winner, Robert Sørlie. Canada