ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Vern Halter and his team of Alaska huskies approached the start line, and after a brief personal history and a countdown, lifted his foot off the sled brake to become the first musher out of the chute Saturday at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Sled dog racing fans let out a cheer as Halter, starting his 16th race, and his team went down the Iditarod trail.
The ceremonial start in the 1,100-mile race from Anchorage to Nome - the longest sled dog race in the world - is a raucous affair where mushing fans line the start three-deep to give the dog teams a big sendoff. Fans crowd around their favorite mushers, getting autographs and photos.
Suzanne Jammin came from Washington, D.C., to get her picture taken with four-time winner Martin Buser of Big Lake. Buser is running in his 21st Iditarod.
"We have followed him since the beginning," said Jammin, who recently moved from Alaska.
Buser, who came in fourth last year and won in 2002, said he feels better than ever this year.
"I'm just getting good," he said.
The Iditarod, now in its 32nd year, commemorates a 674-mile relay race from Nenana to Nome in February 1925 when dog teams successfully delivered serum to prevent an outbreak of diphtheria among children.
A record 87 teams are competing this year. The purse is more than $700,000, with the winner getting $69,000 and a new Dodge pickup truck worth $41,410. About one-third of the field are rookies.
It normally takes top teams nine to 10 days to go the 1,100 miles from Anchorage to Nome, but race officials are expecting a faster race. Only Buser has done it in less than nine days. He holds the course record of 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, set in 2002.
Last year's winner, Robert Sorlie of Norway, is not racing.
