Iditarod Dog Race Set to Start in Alaska
Sunday, March 05, 2006

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Dog teams in the Iditarod's ceremonial start on Saturday didn't care that the clock wasn't running. They just wanted to race.

Canine competitors from this year's field of 83 teams yelped and howled, begging to run as handlers halted them at the starting line in downtown Anchorage.

Some strained forward in their harnesses in fruitless solo attempts to pull their sleds and furred teammates past Fourth Avenue's storefronts toward the fog-veiled Chugach Mountains.
None seemed to care about conserving energy for the more than 1,100-mile journey to Nome.
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