In December of 1924 in Nome, Alaska, a two-year old child became sick. The doctor thought it was tonsillitis, but the boy died the next day. By January of 1925, many children had died. An epidemic that could wipe out an entire community of 10,000 people was about to occur if the town didn't get the medicine it needed. But the closest supply of medicine was far away, and extreme subzero temperatures, near-blizzard conditions and hurricane-force winds meant that there weren't planes that could get there in time. There weren't cars or trucks that could get there in time. There weren't boats that could get there in time. Lucky for the people of Nome, they didn't need planes, cars, or boats. They had heroes on their side.
The trip from Nenana (where the medicine was) to Nome normally took 30 days, but the medicine would go bad in 6 days. Against amazing odds and terrible weather, twenty mushers and more than 100 dogs relayed the package in 127.5 hours, and not a single vial of medicine broke over the 674 mile trip.
The town was saved, and the Iditarod was born.
For more information, click here.
The trip from Nenana (where the medicine was) to Nome normally took 30 days, but the medicine would go bad in 6 days. Against amazing odds and terrible weather, twenty mushers and more than 100 dogs relayed the package in 127.5 hours, and not a single vial of medicine broke over the 674 mile trip.
The town was saved, and the Iditarod was born.
For more information, click here.