- 2008 Iditarod
The 2008 Iditarod features 95 mushers and dog teams. The 36th Annual
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonally began on SaturdayMarch 1 ,2008 . The competitive start was the next day.The 1,700-kilometre dogsled race runs through the American state of
Alaska . The Iditarod course extends from just north ofAnchorage to Nome.The majority of competing teams hail from the
United States , while notable other teams fromNorway ,Germany , andCanada are in the running. [cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2008/03/01/iditarod-race.html|title=6 Canadians join the pack as the Iditarod gets underway|date=2008-03-02 ]The competition was one of the closest in recent memory, with defending champion
Lance Mackey and four-time winerJeff King mushing neck-and-neck for much of the race. Ultimately, the race was won by Mackey, who reached the final checkpoint at 2:46 AM on March 12th. Notably, this is the second year in a row Mackey has finished first in both the Iditarod and theYukon Quest , a feat once thought impossible. [cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/2693/story/342356.html|title=Lance Mackey wins his second Iditarod|date=2008-03-12 ]Canine Fatalities
As of March 12th, 3 dogs perished in Iditarod 36. The first was a 7 year old male on the team of John Stetson, from Duluth, Minnesota. This dog died of pneumonia. The second dog, 3-year-old Lorne was a member of Jennifer Freking's team. Lorne was killed when a snowmobiler crashed into Freking's team. The third death was 4-year-old Cargo, a member of Ed Iten's team, in which the cause of death is unknown.
References
External links
* [http://www.iditarod.com/ The official site]
* [http://www.iditablog.com/ Blogging the Iditarod Trail]
* [http://race.ionearth.com/iditarod/ Live GPS Tracking of Race]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/dweekly/tags/iditarod2008/ David Weekly's Creative Commons licensed Iditarod 2008 Pictures on Flickr]
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