The approximately 1,150-mile sled dog race, held the first Saturday in March, pits man and man's best friend - make that friends - against nature in a cross-country trek to the finish line in Nome.

A competitor greets fans during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday in Anchorage, Alaska.

The driver (musher) guides a sled pulled by 12-16 dogs. About 62 teams are competing in the 2011 race, a journey that can take anywhere from 8 to 17 days. When a diphtheria epidemic hit the town of Nome in 1925, drivers and dog teams were deployed to rush medicine to the scene. Twenty teams relayed the serum in a marathon trip. The Iditarod commemorates that historic event and the heroic man-beast teams that braved the journey. Here are five facts about the Iditarod, compliments of Surge Desk.

1. Iditarod is actually a misspelling of Haiditarod.
Libby Riddles wrote in her book "Race Across Alaska" that early Athabascan Indians called their inland hunting ground Haiditarod, meaning "the distant place." (Riddles also was the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985.) Later, miners who discovered gold in that same area founded a town there, spelling it Iditarod. The Alaska Road Commission marked a trail from Nome through Iditarod to Seward in 1910. The Seward Trail later became known as the Iditarod Trail.

2. The race alternates routes.
Every other year, the route alternates between a northern and southern course. North goes through the towns of Cripple, Ruby and Galena; south heads to Iditarod, Shageluk and Anvik.

3. It's run primarily by volunteers.
Thousands of them man the headquarters, which are spread throughout Anchorage, Eagle River, Fairbanks, Juneau, Nome and Wasilla. Volunteers act as support teams for each musher -- even flying in dog food and supplies wherever needed.

4. Nobody knows the trail's exact length.
Mushers say even the newfangled GPS systems found on some sleds can't possibly count the trail's every twist and turn.

5. The last musher wins the "Red Lantern."
During Alaska's early days, sled dogs carried mail and freight to villages. In between, mushers relied on roadhouses to act as guideposts. When word spread that a musher and team were on the trail, a burning kerosene lamp would be hung outside. The lamp could only be extinguished after the musher safely reached his destination. Hence, the last musher of the Iditarod wins the Red Lantern - or last place.

Since 1973, the world’s top mushers have gathered in Alaska to tackle the Iditarod’s 1,150-mile trail, which stretches from Anchorage to Nome, across mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and windswept coastline. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, known as the “Last Great Race”, is an annual dog sled race where mushers and teams of dogs cover the more than 1,000 miles in less than two weeks, frequently through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, and sub-zero weather and gale-force winds which can cause the wind chill to reach minus 100 F.

This year, sixty-two mushers have signed up to run the race including 15 women. Keep an eye on some of the veteran female competitiors including DeeDee Jonrowe who has been mushing for over 20 years and  Aliy Zirkle winner of the Yukon Quest in 2000. Rookies include Jodi Bailey who is married to last year’s Iditarod Rookie of the Year and Angie Taggart a former handler for DeeDee Jonrowe. Before moving to Alaska, musher Zoya DeNure was an international runway model for twelve years, working in such place as Shanghai, China, and Milan, Italy.

The youngest woman to compete in the Iditarod was 19 year old Melissa Owens and the oldest was 58 year old Nancy Yoshida. A Junior Iditarod was run last week for mushers 14 -17 years of age and once again, the field boasted more girls than boys. On the trail, every musher has a different tactic. Each one has a special menu for feeding and snacking the dogs. Each one has a different strategy — some run in the daylight, some run at night. Each one has a different training schedule and his own ideas on dog care, dog stamina and his own personal ability.

Some mushers spend an entire year getting ready and raising the money needed to get to Nome. Some prepare around a full-time job. In addition to planning the equipment and feeding needs for up to three weeks on the trail, hundreds of hours and hundreds of miles of training have to be put on each team. The adventure starts every first Saturday in March in downtown Anchorage. Come and join us.

Fast Facts

Teams average 16 dogs, which means over 1,000 dogs leave Anchorage for Nome.

There are 26 checkpoints on the northern route, the first in Anchorage and the last in Nome. On the southern route, there are 27 checkpoints.

The largest number of mushers to finish a single race was 77 in 2004.

The first woman to finish the Iditarod was Mary Shields in 1974.

The first woman to win the Iditarod was Libby Riddles in 1985.

Four time winner, Susan Butcher, claimed Iditarod victories in 1986, 1987, 1988 and again in 1990. Susan retired from long distance racing after the 1993 race in order to start a family. She passed away from Leukemia in 2006.

Mush Talk

Booties - A type of sock that is made to protect the dog’s feet from small cuts and sores made of various materials, i.e., denim, polar fleece, trigger cloth, etc.

Come Gee! Come Haw! - 
Commands for 180 degree turns in either direction.
Dog in Basket 
Tired or injured dog carried in the sled

Double Lead - Two dogs who lead the team side by side.

Dropped Dog - 
A dog that the musher has dropped from his team at a checkpoint.

Gee - Command for right turn

Haw - Command for left turn

Lead Dog - or Leader 
Dog who runs in front of others. Generally must be both intelligent and fast.

Line Out! - Command to lead dog to pull the team out straight from the sled. Used mostly while hooking dogs into team or unhooking them.

Mush! Hike! All Right! Let’s Go! - Commands to start the team

Pedaling - 
Pushing the sled with one foot while the other remains on the runner

Rigging - Collection of lines to which dogs are attached. Includes tow line, tug lines and neck lines

Runners - The two bottom pieces of the sled which come in contact with the snow.

Swing Dog - or Dogs 
Dog that runs directly behind the leader. Further identified as right or left swing depending on which side of the tow line he is positioned on.

Tether Line - A long chain with shorter pieces of chain extending from it. Used to stake out a team when stakes aren’t available.

Toggles - Small pieces of ivory or wood used by Eskimos to fasten tug lines to harnesses.

Trail! - 
Request for right-of-way on the trail.

Tug Line - 
Line that connects dog’s harness to the tow line.

Wheel Dogs - or Wheelers 
Dogs placed directly in front of the sled. Their job is to pull the sled out and around corners or trees.

Whoa! - 
Command used to halt the team, accompanied by heavy pressure on the brake.

Did You Know?

Iditarod dogs are not driven with reins, but by spoken commands. The leader of the team must understand all that is said to him and guide the others accordingly. An intelligent leader is an absolute necessity. At times it appears that there is ESP between musher and lead dog. Don’t be surprised if you hear a musher have an in-depth conversation with her lead dog.