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Join us for the Ceremonial Start of the 2026 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®! Race day is Saturday, March 7 and festivities begin at 8 a.m. in Downtown Anchorage at the corner of 4th and D street. Come down, hang out, visit vendors and see the human and canine athletes as they start preparing for the Ceremonial Start which will take these teams with their IditaRiders through 11-Miles of Anchorage. The teams leave the start line at the corner of 4th and D Street at in 3 minute intervals, with the festivities and opening ceremonies starting at 10 a.m.
Get there early to get a good viewing spot!
The mushers follow multi-use trails through Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip, an 11 mile run. The Saturday start is a ceremonial start and does not count in the overall time in the race to Nome.
On the following day, Sunday, mushers will again line up for the Restart in Willow. At 2 p.m., the first teams will depart on their way to Nome, leaving in 2 minute intervals until all of the teams have left. The clock starts for the mushers as they leave the starting line. The difference in starting times is made up on a musher’s 24 hour mandatory layover.
It is impossible to predict the exact day or time that the first musher will cross the finish line in Nome. However, we expect it to be between 9 and 12 days, arriving the second Tuesday or Wednesday after the race restart. Follow along with all of the mushers and support the Race by becoming an Iditarod Insider! Live streaming, videos, GPS tracking, email alerts, documentaries, you name it! Register today at: iditarod.com/insider
For more information about the Iditarod visit iditarod.com
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Downtown Anchorage, 606 W 4th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501-2213, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
