The was an annual dog-sled race held in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

during April. Mushers traveled from Nome to

Candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

, traveling along the

Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...

, and then return to Nome. Between 1908 and 1917 the race was held ten times. Due to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

' involvement in the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and new dog-sled races elsewhere in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, the race was discontinued. Two commemorative events occurred in 1983 and 2008, to mark the 75th and 100th anniversaries of the first race, respectively.

History

In 1907, the local administrators of the Nome Kennel Club in

Nome, Alaska Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...

, developed plans for a long-distance dog-sled race that followed a route along the Bering Strait. The first race, named the All Alaska Sweepstakes, took place in the spring of 1908. The competition was held annually until the final race in 1917. To be in the race, participants were required to register by November. Each team had anywhere from 10 to 20 dogs. The race started in Nome and followed telegraphic lines to

, Alaska, before retracing the route to Nome. The telegraphic lines enabled the mushers to communicate their checkpoint times and ranks to the media. The stop numbers and places were uncontrolled, so stewards were placed at each stop along the journey to resupply teams. Mushers were required to finish the race with as many dogs as they started with, whether they were alive, injured or dead. This rule encouraged participants to take adequate care of their dogs, since an injured or dead dog would be a great drawback. To help minimize the weight on each sled, a minimum amount of items such as clothes, water and shoes for the dogs was loaded.

History

Winners

Bibliography

References