Annual Iditarod opens with party atmosphere

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Hordes of dogs, mushers and their eager fans mingled Saturday at the jovial celebratory kickoff of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage.

Sixty-nine mushers and their teams of 16 dogs each inundated Alaska’s largest city for the annual ceremonial start of the race in a fan-friendly atmosphere. The real race starts today, 50 miles north of Anchorage.

Early Saturday morning, musher trucks lined city streets, and fans like Nancy Alstrand of San Diego spent hours meandering from musher to musher, stopping to chat or pet dogs.

“Absolutely love the dogs,” Alstrand said shortly after taking a picture of one Husky with her iPad. “It infects you, their energy does, and it just makes you so happy.”

Her brother lives in Healy, Alaska, and they intend to make attending the Iditarod start an annual family reunion.

Later in the morning, mushers left the starting gate two minutes apart in the staggered launch to the race. Each carried an “Iditarider,” a person who won their seat on the sled in an auction.