History1

]1. Balto 2. Events leading to first "race" 3. Map of original path Balto is an amazing dog who saved a lot of lives. It all started when Nome had the great gold rush. The population had grown to 20,000 at that time. Diphtheria, came to Nome. The disease was so bad it made over 18,000 die. By the time they got medicine there were only Balto is a world famous dog. He and the rest of his team won the race to get to Anchrage Alaska from Nome AK. to bring a serum back to help sick kids. This race eventully became the Iditarod. When the sickness broke out in Nome people were in need of the serum whitch was 674 miles away in Anchrage. Twenty dog teams raced to get to the serum. This was the first Iditarod [|Iditarod map.bmp] By AnimalAngel Balto is an amazing dog who saved a lot of lives. It all started when Nome had the great gold rush. The population had grown to 20,000 at that time. Diphtheria came to Nome. The disease was so bad it made over 18,000 die. By the time they got medicine there were only 1,400 people left. When they found the Serum It was in Anchorage. They tried to send the Serum by train but the train got stuck in bad weather. That’s when they started using mushers. They could have made the Serum, but they didn’t have the right equipment in Nome so they had to find it. During the gold rush when everybody was coming to Alaska someone must have had Diphtheria and it spread really fast. Diphtheria lives in your mouth, nose and throat. The dieses can spread when you cough or through dirty cloths. You can get Diphtheria more than once if you get have had Diphtheria and you don’t get vaccinated you could get it again. By Swindle, Belle, and Arwen
 * 1
 * 2
 * 3

In 1925, diptheria epidemic medicine was needed for people in Nome. The plane could not be used because it had been taken apart for the winter. In January 1925 the medicine left with a dog team from Anchorage. Twenty-five dog teams relayed the medicine 674 miles. Six days later, on February 2, 1925, Gunner Kaassen with his lead dog, Balto, arrived in Nome. In 1967 a dog sled race was held to remind people of the sled dog's role in Alaskan history. By 1973, the Iditarod had grown into the modern dog sled race. The Iditarod starts in Anchorage the first Saturday in March and a ends 10 to 12 days later. In 1995 Doug Swingley arrived in a record 9 days. Rick Swenson has won the race a record 5 times. cheesemo
 * 1925 route through Nenana in gray**
 * Race trail through Iditarod in red**

Image from [|knowledgerush.com/ kr/encyclopedia/Iditarod/]
 * [[image:http://knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/4/43/Iditarod_map.jpg caption="iditarod_map.jpg"]] ||
 * iditarod_map.jpg ||