Practice TEST Reading602 (1) - 6

The Iditarod dog sled race commemorates the "Serum Run" of 1925, when dog sled teams transported diphtheria antitoxin 700 miles across Alaska from Anchorage to Nome in just six days. Gold was discovered in Alaska in the 1880s, leading to the growth of towns like Iditarod. In winter, when rivers froze, dog sleds pulled by teams of dogs delivered essential supplies, mail and goods to mining towns along the Iditarod Trail. A diphtheria outbreak in Nome in 1925 threatened lives as planes could not yet reliably fly in the cold weather, so 20 dog sled teams took just six days to complete the journey and save the town.

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Practice TEST Reading602 (1) - 6

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THE HISTORY OF THE IDITAROD —THE LAST GREAT RACE ON EARTH

In the 18805, gold was discovered in what

is now the most northern state of the USA,
Alaska. Many people came to the area
hoping to get rich. New towns were built
and grew quickly. One such town was
called lditarod, which means ‘far, distant
place’. This town grew so quickly during
1909 that it briefly became the largest city
in Alaska. In the summer months, essential
supplies could be delivered to these towns
by boat, but in the winter the rivers and the
ocean froze and there was no way to get to
them. So, in 1910, a winter track was built
which would be used by teams of dogs
pulling sleds. They would take mail, food and clothes to the gold miners.

The track became known as the lditarod Trail. It took a team of dogs about three
weeks to
travel across Alaska. They stopped at ‘roadhouses’ where the drivers could get a
warm bed
for the night and something to eat for both themselves and their dogs. The trail
was used
every winter until the 1920s when aeroplanes replaced steam boats and dog teams as
the
main form of transport.

However, the dogs had one last taste of fame in 1925, when a disease called
diphtheria hit
the city of Nome. The disease could be cured, but, unfortunately, the closest
medicine that
could be found was in Anchorage, right on the other side of Alaska. Aeroplanes were
still
quite new, so no-one knew if they could fly in such cold weather. Also, Carl
Eielson, the only
pilot considered skilled enough to manage the flight, was away on a trip at the
time. It was
therefore agreed that the medicine would be transported using teams of dogs
instead.

The trip covered over 1,000 kilometres, most of it along the lditarod Trail. It
took twenty
teams just six days to complete the journey. Leonhard Seppala, a Nonrvegian who had
come
to Alaska looking for gold, travelled the first 400 of those kilometres. He had to
trust his dog
Togo's ability to find his way in the blinding snow and Togo turned out to be a
reliable guide.
The last part of the journey was done by Gunnar Kaasen who had driven dog teams in
Alaska for 21 years. His lead dog was Balto. At one point Balto refused to go any
further,
and saved the team from falling into icy water. The diphtheria was stopped and
Balto
became a hero.

Nowadays a dog sled race is held every year from Anchorage to Nome, following the
route
of that famous journey in 1925. It is called the lditarod and has become known as
‘The Last
Great Race on Earth’.