Iditarod 2014

Here is a great news topic to discuss in class today or tomorrow! It would be great to discuss weather and geography vocabulary, time and numbers, and competition vocabulary (won, raced, ran, etc.). Here's an overview of the race with links to articles with more information: Have you heard of the Iditarod? Known as "The Last Great Race", dog mushers from around the world come to Alaska each year to race over 1150 miles through the world's most brutal conditions from Willow to Nome. This year's historic race concluded with an unprecedented finish--just TWO minutes separated 26 year old winner Dallas Seavey from runner-up Aliy Zirkle. This was the closest finish since 1978, and it was Aliy's third year in a row as runner-up, so understandably there are a lot of people out there rooting for a win for her in the near future! When Seavey arrived in Nome, he didn't realize that he had won---he thought that it was his father behind him, not Zirkle. Dallas also won the 2012 Iditarod to become the youngest winner ever, and his dad, Mitch Seavey, won the 2013 Iditarod to become the oldest winner ever.  Furthermore, D. Seavey set the record for the fastest finish in the history of the race. After eight days of no sleep, Seavey accepted his awards, grabbed a meal, and headed to bed. This year's race was terrifying. With low snowfall across much of the state, mushers were forced to race across bare, frozen ground for miles on end. This caused 11 mushers to scratch from the race within the first few days, and more scratched as the race continued. Terrifying winds near the Safety checkpoint (ironic) gave Seavey his chance to overtake Zirkle, as both mushers took extra time to ensure their own personal safety and that of the dogs on their team. Jeff King, who had led the race leading up to Tuesday morning, withdrew from the race in Safety after the winds blew his sled off the trail. It's a great day to be an Alaskan!! #Iditarod2014