The 2010 Alaskan Iditarod is nearing, and the musher list is filling quickly. One of the most respected races in the world, where each musher travels approximately 1,150 miles from Anchorage to Nome in harsh conditions from one checkpoint to another. On Mar. 6, about 71 mushers, male and female, will battle the weather and each other.

Every even year, the trail goes north after hitting the checkpoint Ophir. On odd years the mushers go south through Iditarod, Shageluk, Anvik, Grayling, and Eagle Island, then meet up in Kaltag where the northern route meets up. The northern route, which is this year's course, features each musher going through Cripple, Ruby, Galena, Nulato and meets up in Kaltag. While the difference between the two paths is only 19 miles, both ways will test the best of these dogs and mushers.

This is not just a race you can enter at any given time and compete with the best  there are. A few rules that were put into place include the age requirement, where you have to be at least 18 years old at the time of the race to compete, a minimum of two races that the musher has competed in prior to the Iditarod that spans at least 750 miles, and you must be in the top 75% of the race to be able to apply for the Iditarod. Rookies also must attend pre-race meetings on time or else they could be fined 50 to 500 dollars for being late or absent to these. Throughout the race, the mushers must sign in and out of each checkpoint. They are also required to take a 24 hour rest at any point and an eight hour rest at both Yukon and White Mountain checkpoints. While the race seems pretty straightforward, there are a lot of rules and regulations that must be followed. If not, the musher could be disqualified, or appropriate actions will be taken by the race official.

 The race is filled with mountains, frozen lakes, deep forests, and long strips of land where there is no cover from the blasting wind chill. While these mushers train to go through the harsh conditions, their jobs in the off-season include fishermen, lawyers, and even miners. They all usually have completely different backgrounds due to where they used to live and train, and why they are willing to put so much on the line for a race.

The Iditarod has a proud history on why dog sledding came to be, when a bacterial infection called diphtheria hit Nome. Diphtheria is a rather rare infection that is caused by unclean conditions, and affects people that are not well nourished. Almost half the time if untreated, these bacteria can cause death, or paralysis. This caused major concern and there weren't ways to get the immunizations all the way to Nome. This left the people of Alaska to do what was right, and travel by dog sled to give these people the medicine they needed. It marked a period of time when the people of Alaska came together to help each other out.

Through the rich history and dedication of these mushers, the Iditarod Race has become a tradition and a statement, as a person, if you decide to race. If you are first, or come in dead last, you are a respected person and still have people lining up at the chute to see you go through the finish line.