The Iditarod races started this past weekend in Alaska.

Historically protested by animal rights groups, the race pits sledding dogs against the worst forces of nature in our country in a 1,150 mile race in the Alaskan wilderness. The official Iditarod site even says,

Mother Nature…throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra, and miles of windswept coast…Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness, and treacherous climbs and side hills…”

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