A Short History of the Iditarod: The 1925 Serum Run

The Iditarod traces its roots to a life-or-death emergency — and to a trail that once carried mail and gold across Alaska.

The 1925 Serum Run

In the winter of 1925, a diphtheria outbreak threatened the isolated town of Nome. The nearest serum was far away, and Nome was icebound and cut off. The antitoxin traveled by train to Nenana, and from there, 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed it 674 miles to Nome — in just five and a half days, through −50°F cold and blizzards.

Two dogs became legends. Togo, lead dog for musher Leonhard Seppala, ran the longest and most dangerous leg — roughly 260 miles, including a treacherous shortcut across the sea ice of Norton Sound. Balto led the final 53-mile push into Nome and arrived on the morning of February 2, 1925. Balto got the statue in New York's Central Park; many Alaskans will tell you Togo did the harder work.

From mercy run to race

The modern Iditarod was created in 1973 to preserve the historic Iditarod Trail and Alaska's sled dog culture, championed by Joe Redington Sr. — "the Father of the Iditarod." That first race was won by Dick Wilmarth. More than fifty years later, it's the event the world most associates with Alaska.

Keep reading

Meet the mushers who defined the race, get the first-timer's explainer, or see this year's race on the Iditarod 2027 hub.