By Yereth Ros

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters] – On Saturday, 39 mushers along with teams of huskies will depart Alaska’s largest city to take part in the 50th Annual Iditarod Track Sled Dog Race. The event, which has been greatly altered by climate change since its modest beginnings, was due to leave Alaska’s most populous city.

A year ago, the Anchorage city center was reopened as the start gate. This is after organizers used a remote riverside site north of Anchorage to host the race.

Contestants may face unusually warm, sloppy conditions on day one of the race. Recent rains have caused snow erosion along the trail.

The 11-mile (17.7 km) Anchorage section of the race, which is for mushers or dog teams that are more used to cold, crisp conditions, is only ceremonial. Timed competition starts on Sunday and gives contestants the chance to adapt to the changing weather.

After a COVID-forced shortening last year of the trail, the entire route has been restored to the original 1,000-mile (1 600 km) length from Anchorage to Nome, Bering Sea gold rush town. However, there are still some pandemic restrictions in place.

Fans, volunteers, and Mushers who came together for the Iditarod celebrations in Anchorage this year were told to cover up to stop the spreading of the virus.

    The pandemic also forced one last-minute switch. Nic Petit, the top musher had to quit after being positive for COVID-19. Four-time champion Jeff King, who had planned to sit out this year’s contest, then stepped in to drive Petit’s dog team to Nome.

    Other returning winners are Dallas Seavey, who claimed a record-tying fifth victory last year, and his father, Mitch Seavey, a three-time champion who holds the Iditarod speed record of eight days, 3 hours and 40:13 minutes.

Pete Kaiser is also in the field. He was the Native Yup’ik musher who became the winner of the race in 2019. Joar Leifseth Usom, the 2018 champion from Norway and Martin Buser, the four-time winner, are all part of the field. This year, seventeen women will compete in the Iditarod. It is one of few sports events where men and women can be on equal footing.

BEMBER HUMBLE

Half a century ago, the Iditarod was its first race in 1973. The novelty event attracted a group of amateur mushers and attracted a crowd.

Top Iditarod participants are now professionals who have high-tech gear with sponsors’ logos. The global positioning satellite tracks teams, while live streaming is available worldwide. In nine days, winners typically cross the finish line.

Modern race attracts large corporate support, but some have felt pressured by animal rights activists to stop supporting the marathon.

As it did for most of northern life, climate change is causing some major changes in the world’s most renowned sled-dog racing race.

Unseasonably warm weather forced the Iditarod three times to shift its day two restart, the most recent in 2017. This was after the 2017 ceremonial Anchorage launch. It then moved to Fairbanks.

The race was shortened by flooding in 2020 due to the thin Bering Sea ice teams had to avoid near the finish. Trois racers had to rescue their dogs and racers from the coast, which was only 25 miles from Nome’s finish. The contestants following had to be routed further inland in order to avoid any standing water.

Even though the course was extended this year to full length, checkpoints have been relocated to avoid contact with Native Alaska villages. These communities are vigilant about new coronavirus outbreaks and remain cautious due limited healthcare resources.

These precautions, according to organizers, are appropriate for an annual race honoring a famous dog-sled relay nearly 100 years ago that delivered diphtheria serum in Nome in 1995.