Sled dog teams parade through Anchorage to start 2018 Iditarod

By Anchorage Daily News

Updated: March 4, 2018 Published: March 3, 2018

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Veteran musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom of Mo i Rana, Norway mushes over Tudor Road Saturday, March 3, 2018 during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

The 46th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began Saturday with the ceremonial start in Downtown Anchorage.

Starting at 10 a.m., 67 dog teams began departing every two minutes in an untimed trek across the city to Campbell Airstrip. The roughly 1,000-mile race begins for real with a restart Sunday in Willow.

For the first time, PETA and other animal welfare activists brought their protest of the race to the starting line, displaying five large plush dogs and a mock graveyard to symbolize huskies that died during the 2017 race.

Norwegian musher Lars Monsen said that a dog from his team ran away early in the day and was seeking help from the public in finding the husky.

Hi again, everybody! Tegan here w/ ADN. This morning I’m at the Iditarod Ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. 67 mushers are getting ready for the 11-mile parade-like event through the city, which starts at 10 a.m. The official race start is tomorrow in Willow at 2 p.m. For more race coverage head to adn.com.
Posted by Anchorage Daily News on Saturday, March 3, 2018

Photos and profiles of all the 2018 mushers here.

Full Iditarod coverage, including stories, videos and more, here.