2003 Purse

Mushers spend a small fortune flying food and supplies in along the remote trail and then flying dropped dogs out from checkpoints and a whole team back from Nome. Add the cost of maintaining a large kennel (most mushers have "dog lots" of 40 to 100 dogs) and the opportunity costs of endless hours of training, and running the Iditarod becomes a very expensive endeavor. "I've won $200,000 mushing dogs," said longtime Iditarod musher Lavon Barve. "But I've spent $500,000 doing it."

Detour rallies Alaska's Iditarod spirit

To say that Iditarod officials have been busy preparing for Saturday's start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is like saying Anchorage has been unseasonably warm.

Route change leaves many lodge owners out of luck

Even though there will be no dog sled teams to watch, the Iditarod party is still on this weekend at the Knik Bar.

Swingley wins northern Michigan race

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Hundreds of spectators converged on the finish line as four-time Iditarod champion Doug Swingley won the 14th annual U.P. 200 Sled Dog Championship.

Dusting off an Iditarod dream

Working in his father's print shop for the past two decades, Lance Barve was always asked the question.

Interior restart doesn't deter race volunteers

Fairbanks -- Brian Houston was so excited to hear that the restart of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was taking place in Fairbanks that he wanted to volunteer for it.

Chitina musher wins Junior Iditarod

Ellie Claus of Chitina won the Jr. Iditarod Sunday, in a race dominated by the children of top Iditarod mushers.

On TV

PRE-RACE SHOW: Musher features, weather outlook, trail conditions. 6:30 p.m. Friday on KIMO-Channel 13 in Anchorage.

Robert Sorlie: A rookie record

While Alaska musher Martin Buser of Big Lake and his huskies now own the record time for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the honor of being the Iditarod's fastest rookie has shifted to a dog driver from another continent.

The Iditarod: Year by Year

1973 - Some 35 mushers set out from Anchorage in the inaugural race, unsure if any of them will reach Nome. But 22 people finish. Dick Wilmarth of Red Devil wins the inaugural in just over 20 days. He never races again. Last place finisher John Schultz records the slowest Iditarod finish ever, more than 32 days. Among the competitors is spint-dog racing legend George Attla, who ends up fourth. Race founder Joe Redington mortgages his Knik home to get the money for the purse.

2003 Iditarod Entrants

As of Feb. 21

Iditarod Trail Trivia

In 1924, bush pilots began flying mail, freight and passengers in and out of mining camps and villages along the Iditarod Trail. Air service all but eliminated the need for the trail. By 1930 most of the trail's roadhouses closed and mining towns shrank to villages occupied by a few stubborn sourdoughs.

Lynda Plettner: Iditarod boot camp

Most people just dream about running the Iditarod. Others call Lynda Plettner.

Iditarod champions by year

The chart below lists each year's champion and his or her winnning time.

Sonny Lindner: Back on the runners again

Two Rivers -- Sonny Lindner is ambitious again.

Where are the Idita-docs?

It was getting dark on the Iditarod Trail when Joe Garnie realized there was only one person who could get him out of his predicament: Joe Garnie himself.

Urban life, rural soul

Peruse the list of entrants in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and you'll notice some similarities among the mushers, primarily among their place of residence.

Trail is always shifting

On paper, the Iditarod Trail traces a clear and unmistakable line diagonally across the 49th state from Seward on the Gulf of Alaska to Nome on the Bering Sea.

Iditarod rerouted again after trail breaker sinks

A quarter-mile from the ghost town of Iditarod, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race trail breaker Steve Graham nearly drowned this week when his snowmobile broke through thin ice on a slough.

Iditarod rerouted again

Trail conditions are so bad in Alaska's interior that officials took Iditarod out of the Iditarod on Friday.

Lax Mother Nature threatens Iditarod start

The Iditarod's ceremonial start will begin at Fourth Avenue and D Street just like always. One week from tonight, city workers will begin packing the streets with snow.