Iditarod: Toughest Race on Earth for proper care. During the race, only three rest points are mandatory: one 24-hour and two 8-hour rests. Apart from that, mushers usually try to feed their dogs at each checkpoint, even if it is just as snack, as the dogs can burn around 10,000 calories a day. Season 1 The show begins at the ceremonial start of the 2008 Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 1, 2008. 110 participants entered to compete in the 2008 race, with 95 mushers and their dog teams starting. It then follows them to the official starting point in Willow where the race begins
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