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60 free Iditarod trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Iditarod trivia quiz covers the Last Great Race from the ceremonial start on Fourth Avenue to the burled arch in Nome. The easy questions are the ones any fan can answer: which state hosts it, which month it runs, roughly how far it goes and where it finishes. From there it moves into the race's real story, from gold-rush mail trails and the All-Alaska Sweepstakes to Joe Redington's 1972 planning meetings and Dick Wilmarth's 20-day win in 1973. The harder end is for mushing devotees and pub-quiz specialists: why the race alternates northern and southern routes, the three mandatory rests, the checkpoint at the exact halfway point, moose alley, Dalzell Gorge, the one-second finish of 1978, the widow's lamp tradition, how many dogs must be on the towline at the end, how many calories a racing husky burns, and the record times of Mitch and Dallas Seavey. The 1925 serum run, Balto's fall from grace and Togo's 261 miles get their due as well. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries for the race, its route and its champions before publishing, and the supporting sentence is stored with each question. If you enjoy this one, try our Alaska, dogs and winter sports quizzes next.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Roughly how many days does it take a team to complete the Iditarod?
8 to 15
The first winner in 1973 took just over 20 days; every winner since 1996 has finished in under 10.
Q 02In which month does the Iditarod take place each year?
March
The ceremonial start is on the first Saturday of the month in downtown Anchorage.
Q 03Between which two places does the Iditarod run?
Anchorage and Nome
The official restart takes place in Willow, about 80 miles north of the ceremonial start.
Q 04Before the 2019 rule change, how many dogs could a musher start the Iditarod with?
12 to 16
At least five must still be on the towline at the finish line; the maximum starting team was cut from 16 to 14 for the 2019 race.
Q 05What is the minimum number of dogs that must be on the towline when a team crosses the finish line?
Five
Exhausted or injured dogs are carried in the sled basket to the next dog-drop site.
Q 06In which year was the first Iditarod race held?
1973
Thirty-four mushers started and 22 finished, competing for a $51,000 purse.
Q 07How low can the wind chill drop on the Iditarod trail?
-100 F
In 1974 winds of 50 mph at Rainy Pass pushed the wind chill to -130 F.
Q 08Where was the official restart held until it was moved to Willow because of a lack of snow?
Wasilla
During the first two races the teams crossed the mudflats of Cook Inlet to Knik.
Q 09Who was the first foreign musher to win the Iditarod, in 1992?
Martin Buser
Competitors from fourteen countries have completed the race.
Q 10Who was the first woman to win the Iditarod, in 1985?
Libby Riddles
Her long-shot victory brought the race much more attention outside Alaska.
Q 11Which musher won the Iditarod four times between 1986 and 1990?
Susan Butcher
She was the first to win four out of five sequential years, and Alaska has a Susan Butcher Day.
Q 12What ended the 1985 race of the woman who would go on to win four times?
A pregnant moose attacked her team
The moose killed two dogs and injured six more before another musher arrived and shot it.
Q 13Who set the fastest-ever Iditarod time in 2021?
Dallas Seavey
He finished in 7 days, 14 hours, 8 minutes and 57 seconds on the pandemic-shortened Gold Trail Loop.
Q 21In which year was the Iditarod Trail designated one of the first four US National Historic Trails?
1978
The full trail runs 938 miles from Seward to Nome and was first surveyed in 1908.
Q 22Which early race, first run in 1908 from Nome to Candle and back, was the Iditarod modelled on?
The All-Alaska Sweepstakes
It introduced the first Siberian Huskies to Alaska in 1910.
Q 23What nearly drove dog sledding to extinction in rural Alaska in the 1960s?
Snowmobiles
Bush pilots had already replaced the mail-carrying mushers by the end of the 1920s.
Q 14How many Iditarod titles has the record-holder won, more than anyone else?
Six
Dallas Seavey's wins came in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2024.
Q 15Besides becoming the oldest champion, what did Mitch Seavey achieve with his 2017 win?
The fastest winning run ever
He crossed the line in 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds; his son later beat it.
Q 16Which musher, known as the King of the Iditarod, was the first to win five times?
Rick Swenson
He is the only person to win in three separate decades and once beat Jerry Riley by 4 minutes 52 seconds.
Q 17Who won the inaugural Iditarod in 1973 with lead dog Hotfoot?
Dick Wilmarth
The miner and trapper from Red Devil assembled his 12-dog team only months before the race.
Q 18Who is known as the Father of the Iditarod?
Joe Redington Sr.
He planned the race from October 1972 with teachers and mushers Gleo Huyck and Tom Johnson.
Q 19Roughly how long did the winner of the first Iditarod take in 1973?
Just over 20 days
Every winner since 1996 has finished in under 10 days.
Q 20The Iditarod Trail is named after a ghost town, which was in turn named after what?
A river
The river's name comes from the Athabascan word Haidilatna.
Q 24When is the Iditarod's northern route used?
In even-numbered years
The southern route was added in 1977 to spread the impact on small villages and pass through the ghost town of Iditarod.
Q 25At which checkpoint do the northern and southern routes diverge?
Ophir
They rejoin at Kaltag, 346 miles from Nome.
Q 26What is the official length of the northern route?
975 miles
The southern route is 998 miles, and both are usually rounded to 1,000.
Q 27Where did the race restart in 2015, 2017 and 2025 because of a lack of snow?
Fairbanks
The 2025 route with its Yukon River loop was the longest ever at roughly 1,128 miles.
Q 28How long is the single longest mandatory layover each team must take?
24 hours
There are also two eight-hour rests, one on the Yukon River and one at White Mountain.
Q 29At which checkpoint must every team rest for eight hours before the final sprint to Nome?
White Mountain
From there it is 55 miles to Safety and 22 more to Nome.
Q 30What is the name of the volunteer flying service that carries drop bags to checkpoints?
The Iditarod Air Force
Its failure to reach Rohn and Nikolai in bad weather forced the race's first safety suspension in 1985.