BY Reese LaFollette, 5th grade
MIDVALE, Idaho – February 8
Last week, Feb. 1, Midvale 4th and 5th grade class and twelve parents went on a field trip by bus to the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge in Cascade. The 4th and 5th graders also fit ice skating into their fun, busy day. They went to the McCall Ice Skating Rink before the race.
The class had been studying the Iditarod and sled dogs, so Mrs. DeVries planned the field trip. She had also taken another class back in 2019. What is the history of the Iditarod, you might ask? In 1925 diphtheria broke out in Nome, AK. The people of Nome were eager for medicine, but there was no transportation to get it there quickly. So they sent 20 sled dog teams to retrieve and deliver the life-saving serum. It was 674 miles from Nenama to Nome. In 1973 the 1,000 mi. Iditarod Race was created by Alaskans to remember this famous journey and the heroic mushers and dogs. The 300 mile ISDC is a qualifier for this important race.
When the class was at the race, they got to meet musher Elizabeth Nevills from Middleton, ID and her dog, Mars. Sadly she had to scratch from the race due to technical difficulties with her dogs. The winner of the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge 100 mile race was Nicole Lombardi. In the 100 mile there were 17 sled dog teams. Nicole was trained by 4 time winner of the Iditarod, Doug Swingley, who students also got to meet. He competed in the Iditarod seventeen times! When interviewing one of the students of the 4th and 5th grade, Kyla Nauman, she said, “It was really fun. We got to meet musher Elizabeth Nevills and her dog, Mars. Also, ice skating was a blast.”
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