Along the Iditarod Trail

Tales of a preeminent sled dog race can either celebrate or denigrate this long-standing Alaska event.

As a longtime dog lover, I can see this annual event two ways. A celebration of the dog-human relationship, or a misuse of the trust dogs so easily invest in us.

Either way, I can’t turn away from a couple of amazing accounts nestled in history books.

First, some news from the 2026 race that ended on March 17, when Jessie Holmes won his second consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska. The former reality TV star completed the roughly 1,000-mile course in nine days, seven hours, and 32 minutes. As this year’s winner, Holmes received an $80,000 prize.

Now for a couple of did-you-knows:

Saving lives with sleds

In the 1920s, before vaccines, there were 100,000–200,000 diphtheria cases and 13,000–15,000 deaths in the US each year.

The risk made its way all the way to Alaska. While a successful serum was available, getting it to Alaska was not always possible.

The 1925 Great Race of Mercy saw 20 mushers and give or take 150 dogs relay diphtheria antitoxin 674 miles in 5.5 days to save Nome, Alaska, from an outbreak. 

Facing -50°F temperatures and blizzards, teams led by Togo and Balto delivered the serum, inspiring the annual 1,000-mile Iditarod sled dog race. 

After a vaccination program was introduced in the late 1940s, cases dropped dramatically.  Today, childhood vaccination rates remain high.

Yes, poodles on the Iditarod 

A musher named John Suter had a dream to run the Iditarod with Standard Poodles, and he actually made it happen.  He got his first poodle in 1975 and by 1976 was running local races near Chugiak, Alaska. 

Suter entered the 1988 Iditarod with standard European poodles on his dogsled team.  He placed 38th out of 52 starters in that 1,100-mile race. 

And yes — in 1988, Suter appeared on The Tonight Show to talk about his poodle racers. That link is available in YouTube.

Enjoy the clip here.