The ceremonial start -- the Mardi Gras-meets-Macy's Day Parade of dog mushing -- begins at 10 a.m. today in Downtown Anchorage.

Mushers will leave the chute on Fourth Avenue every two minutes. Just find a place to park and follow the barking.

Here's what you need to know as 62 teams of as many as 16 dogs each begin the 1,000-mile trek to Nome:

Here comes history

Either Lance Mackey of Fairbanks wins his fifth-straight Iditarod -- a first in race history -- or Mackey fails to defend his title for the first time since he started winning in 2007.

Mackey was also the first to win four in a row.

Five titles would tie the most held by any musher, Rick Swenson of Two Rivers. Swenson is in this year's race, along with Martin Buser of Big Lake, another four-time champion who holds the record for the fastest race ever: 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, set in 2002.

Headed south

The Iditarod alternates between a northern and southern route. On the southern route, taken in odd-numbered years, the path travels through the ghost town of Iditarod.

The 1,000-mile distance is an estimate. Even global positioning systems on sleds don't count every twist and turn of the route, mushers say, and the exact length of the trail is unknown.

Battle scars

Some top mushers are still recovering from last month's bruising Yukon Quest, another 1,000-mile race from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Fairbanks. Hans Gatt of Whitehorse, who finished second in last year's Iditarod, suffered second-degree frostbite on his fingers and scratched. So did Hugh Neff, who was ninth in the 2010 Iditarod.

Yukon Quest Race Marshal Hans Oettli called the cold, windy race the toughest ever.

A top contender who didn't take a beating in the Quest? Mackey, who sat out the race and says his team is "100 percent."

Don't take it personally

Surrounded by throngs of fans, many of the sled dogs will be nervous today at the ceremonial start Downtown. So will many of the mushers. Advice from mushers: don't pet the dogs unless you ask first, and don't take any grouchiness personally.

40-somethings

The average age of mushers this year is about 43 years old, with 15 women and 47 men. About three out of four are Alaskans. Nine of last year's top 10 finishers are back. Missing is four-time champion Jeff King of Denali Park. The oldest: Bob Storey of New Zealand is 65. The youngest: Cain Carter, the 19-year-old stepson of Mackey.

A New Generation

Last year's Iditarod rookie class was particularly strong with four rookies among the top-30 money winners -- and eight among the top 40. Half of them return this year -- Mike Williams, Jr. of Akiak (26th), Michelle Phillips of Tagish, Yukon Territory (27th), Peter Kaiser of Bethel (28th) and Kristy Berington of Kasilof (39th).

Last year's top rookie, Dan Kaduce of Chatanika, just scratched from the weather-pounded Yukon Quest, but the family is represented in this year's Iditarod. Wife Jodi Bailey, who finished seventh in the Quest, is aiming to become the first rookie to finish the two races back to back.

On TV

Live coverage begins at 9:30 a.m. on GCI Cable channel 1. (As opposed to KTUU Channel 2, which has broadcast the start in recent years.) There will be a live uplink to Alaska Rural Communications Service (ARCS) broadcasts statewide.

The real start

The race starts for real 2 p.m. Sunday in Willow.

Iditarod start order

Start List

1) Leonhard Seppala Honorary Musher, Florence Busch, wife of late KNOM GM Tom Busch

2) DeeDee Jonrowe, Willow

3) Ray Redington Jr, Wasilla

4) Trent Herbst, Ketchum, Idaho

5) Allen Moore, Two Rivers

6) Newton Marshall, St. Anne, Jamaica

7) Kristy Berington, Kasilof

8) Kris Hoffman, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

9) Zoya DeNure, Gakona

10) Robert Bundtzen, Anchorage

11) Martin Buser, Big Lake

12) Melissa Owens, Nome

13) Bruce Linton, Kasilof

14) Nicolas Petit, Girdwood

15) Bob Storey, Auckland, New Zealand

16) Jodi Bailey, Chatanika

17) Lance Mackey, Fairbanks

18) Aliy Zirkle, Two Rivers

19) Angie Taggart, Ketchkan

20) Kelley Griffin, Wasilla

21) Dallas Seavey, Willow

22) Magnus Kaltenborn, Lillehammer, Norway

23) Hans Gatt, Whitehorse, Yukon Territories

24) Billy Snodgrass, DuBois, Wyoming

25) Tom Thurston, Oak Creek, Colorado

26) Ellen Halverson, Wasilla

27) Mike Santos, Cantwell

28) Mitch Seavey, Seward

29) Judy Currier, Fairbanks

30) Ramey Smyth, Willow

31) Sebastian Schnuelle, Whitehorse, Yukon Territories

32) Scott Janssen, Anchorage

33) Gerry Willomitzer, Whitehorse, Yukon Territories

34) Paul Gebhardt, Kasilof

35) Hugh Neff, Tok

36) Jessica Hendricks, Two Rivers

37) Karin Hendrickson, Willow

38) Wattie McDonald, Stonehaven, Scotland

39) Michelle Phillips, Tagish, Yukon Territories

40) G.B. Jones, Wasilla

41) Michael Williams, Jr., Akiak

42) Lachlan Clarke, Buena Vista, Colorado

43) Ken Anderson, Fairbanks

44) Brennan Norden, Kasilof

45) Sven Haltmann, Fairbanks

46) Paul Johnson, Unalakleet

47) Kirk Barnum, Grangeville, Idaho

48) Cain Carter, Fairbanks

49) Rick Swenson, Two Rivers

50) Heather Siirtola, Talkeetna

51) Robert Nelson, Kotzebue

52) Sonny Lindner, Two Rivers

53) John Baker, Kotzebue

54) Peter Kaiser, Bethel

55) Kelly Maixner, Big Lake

56) Ed Stielstra, McMillan, Michigan

57) James Bardoner, Signal Mountain, Tennessee

58) Jessie Royer, Fairbanks

59) Cim Smyth, Big Lake

60) Matt Giblin, Juneau

61) Matt Hayashida, Willow

62) Gerald Sousa, Talkeetna

63) Justin Savidis, Willow

-- Kyle Hopkins and Mike Campbell