Iditarod: The Last Great Race On Earth®

....or so they say.

FWIW..

http://iditarod.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race

 

Boring.

 

Totally exciting. Read Winterdance by Gary Paulsen.

It's a fun quick read of a first hand account of someone's first race.

 

Do the other 10 die? Do organizations like the SPCA observe the dogs' health?

 

Some may die, but mostly they would be left behind at the rest stops during heir ride, and then picked up at the end. These dogs are taken care of very differently than our pets, but they are well cared for. They wear little dog booties so the ice doesn't cut the pads of their feet. The dogs live to run and often get in fights, so when one does die, it's usually from fighting.

 

I know about Buck's dogfights, because Obama's middle school had us read "Call of the Wild" in the 7th grade. They didn't tell us that Jack London was a Marxist.

 

Dat Buck heem one good dog.

 

I started a new job last summer and in this office they do an Iditarod pool every spring instead of March Madness (I will still be filling out a bracket). We each pick one musher, I have Brent Sass, and there are three ways to win:

1. Pick the Winner
2. Pick the Rookie of the Year
3. Pick the last place finisher.

Kind of a fun alternative to the NCAA tournament.