Jake Berkowitz makes his way through the trail during the official start of the race on Sunday in Willow. There are 66 mushers in this year’s competition.
AP
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A sled dog barks near its team as mushers prepare to leave during the official start on Sunday.
AP
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Gwenn Perkins, handler for Michelle Phillips of Canada, gives the dogs one last hug before they set off during the ceremonial start of the race in downtown Anchorage. The event has grown from an obscure contest many considered a one-time lark into a world-famous, big-money sports extravaganza.
Reuters
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Ryan Redington takes the trail as the last musher to leave during the official start of the Iditarod on Sunday. Redington is the grandson of the race’s co-founder Joe Redington.
AP
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Joanna Matos, of Seal Beach, Calif., watches the ceremonial start in Archorage on Saturday.
AP
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Matt Failor of Mansfield, Alaska, greets the crowd along a wooded portion of trail during the ceremonial start in Anchorage. The total purse for the race’s winner is $550,000 for the first 30 finishers, with the winner receiving $50,400 and a new truck.
Reuters
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The lead dogs of Norway’s Silvia Furtwangler head down a snowy wooded portion of trail.
Reuters
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A musher runs a team down 4th Avenue during the ceremonial start of the 40th Iditarod trail sled dog race on Saturday in Anchorage, Alaska. The mushers and their dog teams will spend the next eight days traveling across nearly a thousand miles of Alaska wilderness in a sled.
AP
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Two dogs that are a part of Michelle Phillips’ team look on as mushers prepare a ceremony before the race’s start. Phillips and her team came in from Tagish in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
Reuters
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Simeon Patkotak Sr. was the highest bidder and had the honor of being the “Iditarider” with last year’s champion John Baker while Andy Baker rides on the back during the ceremonial start.
Reuters
