A dog sled team competes in the World Championship Dog Derby in The Pas, Manitoba, Canada. Dog sled teams like this one delivered life-saving diphtheria medicine to Nome, Alaska, in 1925.
Photograph by W.E. Garrett, National Geographic

Download this file

  • Audience versions of this page: Family

    On February 2, 1925, a dog sled team delivered medicine to the town of Nome, Alaska. The team delivered a crucial supply of diphtheria antitoxin, preventing an epidemic of the deadly disease in the isolated Arctic town.
     
    The first leg of the relay, involving 20 mushers and more than 100 sled dogs, had begun five days earlier in Nenana, Alaska, about 1,046 kilometers (650 miles) east of Nome. The mushers raced across frozen tundra, icy rivers, forbidding mountain ranges, and shifting sea ice. Dogs and mushers also had to endure blizzards and avoid other animals, such as moose, bears, and reindeer herds.
     
    The athleticism and dedication displayed by the dogs and mushers inspired one of the most famous and intimidating races in the world—the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Every year, hundreds of athletes (both human and canine) compete in a grueling test of physical and psychological endurance from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome.
  • Term Part of Speech Definition Encyclopedic Entry
    Arctic Noun

    region at Earth's extreme north, encompassed by the Arctic Circle.

    		 Encyclopedic Entry: Arctic
    athlete Noun

    person who participates or competes in sporting events.
    blizzard Noun

    storm with high winds, intense cold, heavy snow, and little rain.
    crucial Adjective

    very important.
    endure Verb

    to survive.
    epidemic Noun

    outbreak of an infectious disease able to spread rapidly.
    forbid Verb

    to disallow or prohibit.
    grueling Adjective

    physically difficult.
    inspire Verb

    to influence to act.
    isolate Verb

    to set one thing or organism apart from others.
    medicine Noun

    substance used for treating illness or disease.
    musher Noun

    driver of a team of sled dogs.
    psychological Adjective

    having to do with mental facilities and awareness.
    relay adjective, noun

    type of team racing where athletes compete in sequence. Also called a relay race.
    sea ice Noun

    layer of frozen ocean water that forms in the Arctic and Antarctic.
    toxin Noun

    poisonous substance, usually one produced by a living organism.
    tundra Noun

    cold, treeless region in Arctic and Antarctic climates.
Credits

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Writer

Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Producer

Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Last Updated

Jan. 24, 2014

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact natgeocreative@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please visit our FAQ page.

Media

Some media assets (videos, photos, audio recordings and PDFs) can be downloaded and used outside the National Geographic website according to the Terms of Service. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the lower right hand corner (download) of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.