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More than 30 women and men started the 52nd Iditarod dog sled race in frigid Alaska. There are approximately ten days and 1,600 kilometers ahead of competitors in the largest and toughest dog sled race in the world. This year, there are 38 teams – led by 11 women and 27 men – who started the first official stage on Sunday (local time), the Anchorage Daily News reported.

The sleds had already left Anchorage, the capital of the American state, on Saturday for the ceremonial start. The destination is the city of Nome on the Behring Sea. Three previous winners are trying to be the fastest again this year. Pete Kaiser, who won in 2019, record five-time winner Dallas Seavey and defending champion Ryan Redington – all three are from Alaska.

The Iditarod passes through the Alaskan wilderness – often during snowstorms and extreme subzero temperatures. The contest was founded in 1973 and takes its name from a river and now-abandoned town in western Alaska. The race commemorates a 1925 dogsled expedition to bring vaccines to Nome to combat a diphtheria outbreak. The Iditarod Trail also transported goods and mail in the 20th century. (sda/dpa)