Iditarod Dog Sled Race Memorial

This statue of Balto is the official start of the annual Iditarod dog sled race. Across the street is a list of all the winners throughout the years.
The race, as I’ve learned, is a memorial to the original run of dogs back in 1925. They were bringing a shipment of diptheria medication from Anchorage to Nome.
The big brass dog looks pretty tough! There’s such a look of concentration in his eyes as he’s running for the finish line.

«Balto, The Wonder Dog» was my son’s absolutely favorite book when he was a kid. We read that darn book EVERY NIGHT before bed. I know that story by heart so imagine my surprise to be riding my rental bike along 4^th Ave. last week and coming upon The Balto Memorial in downtown Anchorage! This statue of the legendary lead dog Balto also marks the «official» starting point of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race every March.
Balto was a very brave dog and a big hero who lived from 1919 — March 14, 1933. He was a Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. Balto’s heroics saved the lives of many sick people, many of them children. The «Serum Run» is now commemorated by the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The Memorial is very nice and shows a very sturdy-​looking Balto in full stride. Someone downtown told me it is a mad house there every March when they start the Iditarod race right there on the main drag. I guess the race has sold out & become a media stunt now but the statue of Balto is still 5 Unilocal STARS!