THE IDITAROD
In March of 2015, Wendy Booker will realize the end of a two year journey when she mushes in the Iditarod.
The Iditarod is a dog sled race over 1,150 miles of rough, beautiful Alaskan terrain. Jagged mountain ranges… frozen rivers… dense forests… desolate tundra… and miles of windswept coast face the mushers and their dog teams. Every March the teams set out from Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher covering over the 1,150 mile race route in 10 to 17 days. Consider temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod!
It has been called the “Last Great Race on Earth” and it has won worldwide acclaim and interest. German, Spanish, British, Japanese and American film crews have covered the event. Journalists from outdoor magazines, adventure magazines, newspapers and wire services flock to Anchorage and Nome to record the excitement. It’s not just a dog sled race, it’s a race in which unique men and women compete from all walks of life each with their own story, each with their own reasons for going the distance.
In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs. The Iditarod is a commemoration of those yesterdays, a not-so-distant past that Alaskans honor and are proud of. The race pits man (or woman!) and animal against nature, and as each mile is covered the Iditarod is a tie to Alaska’s colorful past.
Wendy Booker is proud to take her message of courage in the face of adversity to this amazing venue! Beginning in September of 2012, Wendy will be living in Alaska and training with her team of dogs to qualify for the 2015 Iditarod. Along the way, she’ll be in good hands… training with two of the sport’s best. Dean Osmar, winner of the Iditarod in 1984 and owner of a top competitive sled dog kennel in Alaska, will be working with Wendy over two years and preparing her dog team. Lance Mackey, the world’s only 4 time Yukon Quest and 4 time Iditarod champion, will also be advising Wendy as she prepares to run this legendary race.
