The “restart”of the 2009 Iditarod, the actual beginning of the race, has begun and sixty-seven mushers have 1,000 miles and at least eleven days to the finish line in Nome:
WILLOW – And now the Last Great Race begins again.
The wilderness beckons. Civilization disappears.All the preening, posturing and posing for sponsors and media ends.
With a crowd of spectators stretched across Willow Lake and a helicopter carrying a camera crew thundering overhead, the clock started ticking Sunday afternoon for the 67 mushers and more than a thousand eager dogs in the 37th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Aaron Peck of Canada was the first musher to hit the trail as the race officially began here with the restart, which comes a day after the ceremonial start in Anchorage.
Any of the thirty-some odd top-tier mushers could win this race. A lot can happen in 1,000 miles over rugged Alaskan terrain.
