Word: trailing
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...epic challenge for man and man's best friend: the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which begins Saturday, is a grueling 1,150-mile trek in which a human captain (or musher) and an average of 16 dogs brave Alaska's frozen tundra and icy forests to compete for $69,000, a new truck, and the honor of conquering one of the country's last frontiers...
...modern Iditarod, which for more than a week winds from Anchorage to the isolated town of Nome, began in 1973. When settlers rushed to Alaska in search of gold around the turn of the 20th century, the Iditarod Trail - for which the race was christened - served as the primary artery for ferrying mail and supplies. Given the frigid conditions, the route was often impassable except by dog sleds. (See pictures of the Iditarod...
...emergence of air travel blunted the Trail's importance in subsequent decades. But in the 1960s, a Wasilla resident named Dorothy Page moved to memorialize its importance by staging a race during Alaska's centennial celebrations in 1967. The inaugural title was won by Isaac Okleasik, who pocketed $25,000 for speeding through the abbreviated 27-mile jaunt. After a one-year hiatus due to lack of snow, the modest second running in 1969 drew just 12 mushers and paid out a mere $1,000. (See TIME's Top 10 Endurance Competitions...
...year ban in 2007 for abusing his dogs. But most Alaskans steadfastly defend the event as a celebration of the state's heritage. This year, the greatest threats posed to the race come from other directions. A heavy snow recently blanketed parts of the Alaska, burying the trail in deep drifts and forcing mushers to break out their snowshoes. And just as it has in the Lower 48 states, the economy has cast a pall over the Land of the Midnight Sun. Due to higher operating costs, entrance fees have spiked 33% to $4,000 despite a shrinking prize pool...
...than many of their parents did. By all means, come down hard on the kid who uses a phone to cheat or bully or harass or cause harm. But when it comes to baring all, remind them that even if they escape the law they'll never erase the trail, when they decide to apply for college or a job or run for President: indiscretion lives forever, their naked teenage ghost in cyberspace. (See the top 10 scandals...