2008 Iditarod The third death was 4-year-old Cargo, a member of Ed Iten's team, in which the cause of death is unknown. 2008 Iditarod The 2008 Iditarod featured 95 mushers and dog teams. The 36th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonially began on Saturday March 1, 2008. The competitive start was the next day. The 1,161 mile (1,868 km) dogsled race ran through the American state of Alaska. The Iditarod course extends from just north of Anchorage to Nome. The majority of competing teams hailed from the United States, while notable other teams from Norway, Germany, and Canada were in the
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race lead teams are often within a few hours of each other at this point. , the race has been decided by less than an hour seven different times, less than five minutes three times. The closest race in Iditarod history was in 1978 when the winner and the runner-up were only one second apart. The official finish line is the Red "Fox" Olson Trail Monument, more commonly known as the "burled arch", in Nome. The original burled arch lasted from 1975 until 2001, when it was destroyed by dry rot and years of inclement weather. The new arch is a