What the Iditrod is NOT

Contrary to popular belief, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race does NOT commemorate the drivers and dogs from the  "Great Race of Mercy" that brought the diphtheria serum to those in need in Nome, Alaska in 1925.  Rather it honors the history of dog mushing and its traditions.

Wikipedia has this to say about the serum run:

During the 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy", 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed diphtheria antitoxin 674 miles (1,085 km) by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska in five and a half days, saving the small city of Nome and the surrounding communities from an incipient epidemic.

Both the mushers and their dogs were portrayed as heroes in the newly popular medium of radio, and received headline coverage in newspapers across the United States. Balto, the lead sled dog on the final stretch into Nome, became the most famous canine celebrity of the era after Rin Tin Tin, and his statue is a popular tourist attraction in New York City's Central Park. The publicity also helped spur an inoculation campaign in the U.S. that dramatically reduced the threat of the disease.

The sled dog was the primary means of transportation and communication in subarctic communities around the world, and the race became both the last great hurrah and the most famous event in the history of mushing, before first aircraft in the 1930s and then the snowmobile in the 1960s drove the dog sled almost intoextinction.

The notion that the Iditarod recreates the serum run has been perpetuated by the media over the years. But, the Iditarod Race was really patterned after the All-Alaska Sweepstakes of 1907-8.

You can learn more about the Iditarod National Historic Trail at the National Historic Iditarod Trail Alliance here.  It has a fascinating history.  More information on the history of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race can be found on the Iditarod site here.