Iditarod

Photos: Iditarod 2012 begins in sunny Willow

On Sunday, years of preparation, trial and error, defeat and victory culminated on a frozen lake in tiny Willow, Alaska, about 70 miles north of the state's largest city, where Iditarod XL was officially under way at 2 p.m. beneath breezy, baby-blue skies and in temperatures hovering around 10 degrees F.

Thousands of people from across the state pulled into snow-choked parking lots early Sunday morning, while who knows how many thousands of others watched on glowing computer screens and high-definition TVs beyond.

MORE: "Mushers stream out of Willow as the real Iditarod racing gets going"

Should temperatures remain low and storms steer clear, mushers and dog teams may be in for another race contested at a blistering pace. Perhaps another speed record will fall, one year after John Baker of Kotzebue shattered the old race record by reaching Nome in just over eight days and 19 hours?

Athletes to watch this year include Iditarod legends and upstarts. Everyone knows the fan favorites: two-time runner-up DeeDee Jonrowe from Willow; four-time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, who hopes to join Rick Swenson in the elite, five-time champion column.

And then there are the Seaveys, another family whose name is as synonymous with Alaska dog mushing as the Redingtons.

Dallas Seavey, 25, son of 2004 winner Mitch Seavey, is back along with Dallas' grandfather Dan. He will be leading an elite group of young guns that also includes Ryan and Ray Redington Jr., Rohn Buser, 22, and Pete Kaiser of Bethel, who finished an impressive eighth last year. Many former champs and Iditarod race watchers believe young Dallas, winner of the 2011 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, has a chance at upsetting the veteran field -- a field that's perhaps as deep and competitive as any in Iditarod history.

ADVERTISEMENT