We are the Iditarod

Perhaps nothing so completely encapsulates what it is to be an Alaskan and live in Alaska than the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

This annual competition showcases man’s ancient struggle against nature and highlights one of the essential tools that helped humans survive in these harsh Northern regions. Without ancient mans’ partnership with dogs, it seems unlikely humans would have gained purchase here.

This year notes a chapter in our past when machines began to supplant animals in Alaska as the primary means of transportation. An exhibit at the Rasmuson Center in Anchorage celebrates the 100th anniversary of airplanes being used in Alaska.

This year also marks the anniversary of freighter Jack Dalton’s exploration of the Chickaloon area in search of coal to power U.S. Navy steamships. And it is the 100th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Denali.

Airplanes, cars and trucks, trains, barges, the ferry system, snowmachines and paved highways have made transportation in Alaska vastly different than 100 years ago when snowshoes, sled dog teams, waterways, packhorses and walking were the primary means of locomotion here.

The Iditarod is a mirror pointed back to our earlier days, to simpler times when neighbors helping neighbors was the key to survival here. The race tests the mettle of the endurance athletes — human and canine — who train year-round to survive and win. We’re impressed by the physical strength and mental toughness required of human competitors. But all that pales when compared to the real stars: dogs that love to run all day with very little rest and love to do it all over again the next day.

The Iditarod is about these two groups of amazing athletes and what they can do working together. It’s about surviving in a harsh wilderness that can kill you a thousand different ways. It’s about trust — trust that these dogs you’ve trained will see you home safely whether you are 100 miles or 1,000 miles from home.

But no part of this annual showcase would be possible without a third important group — volunteers.

The Frontiersman has covered the Iditarod since Dorothy Page — one of our writers and the “Mother of the Iditarod” — hatched the plan more than four decades ago. We printed some of the first stories drumming up support and interest in the race. And we’ve covered every race from the early precursor events to the 1973 inaugural running of the race because it belongs to us, to the volunteers in the Mat-Su Borough who have supported the event with donations of time, talent and treasure for more than 40 years.

From the multitude of mushers who train here year-round, to people like Joe and Norma Delia from Skwentna and Ed and Bev Gurtler from Cripple who opened their homes to host checkpoints along the trail, to Leslie and Jules Mead who hosted the race headquarters in their store for many years — the Iditarod traces its roots right back to us.