The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. The nearly 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska was conceived to preserve the tradition of husky sledding and honor those who traveled the historic Iditarod Trail. It commemorates a 1925 relay by 20 dog sled teams that delivered diphtheria antiserum to Nome in just over 5 days, saving the isolated community from an outbreak when other means of transport failed due to harsh winter conditions.