Alaska News

Photos: 2014 Iditarod ceremonial start

Despite this year's record-breaking high temperatures and lack of snow along parts of the fabled Iditarod Trail, the race's ceremonial start plugged the downtown streets of Anchorage Saturday. Bundled fans and furry dogs inundated Fourth Avenue, covered by race workers the night before with trucked-in snow, creating the trail that cuts from downtown to Campbell Airstrip, about 11 miles away.

Richard Roberts craned over other spectators near the starting line, trying to catch a glimpse of his home state favorite, Minnesota native Ken Anderson. The Gopher State, where negative temperatures and snowstorms are common occurrences during winter, hosts many of its own sled dog races.

Sporting a puffy beige fur hat, Roberts said he came to Alaska to see the race with his own eyes. He watches its progress back in Minnesota online and on TV, but being here is "a dream come true."

"It's the best thing ever," he said. "Seeing the wrinkles in the competitors' faces, hearing the dogs bark. You can't beat the real thing."

Read more: Hundreds of dogs, thousands of fans pack Anchorage streets for Iditarod start

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