Watch these excited pups race in the annual Fur Rendezvous sled dog 'sprint'
The most well-known sled dog race is undoubtedly the Iditarod Trail, a 1,049-mile trek through the Alaskan wilderness that has been run in no fewer than eight days and 18 hours. Usually, though, sled dog races are much shorter — such as the annual Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage. Only this year the "Rondy" happens to be much shorter than anyone had anticipated.
The Fur Rendezvous, or Open World Championship, is typically 26 miles, with dogs running in teams as big as 20. However, due to this year's nearly snow-free conditions, the organizers of the Rendezvous truncated the race to just 3.05 miles through the city, Alaska Dispatch News reports. "[It's] as if you had been a person training for the Boston Marathon and then asked to run a 200-yard dash," explained race marshal Janet Clark.
The Rondy is now a whole new ballgame, in other words:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Watch the chaos — and excited pups — below. Jeva Lange
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
North Carolina Supreme Court risks undermining its legitimacy
Under the radar A contentious legal battle over whether to seat one of its own members threatens not only the future of the court's ideological balance, but its role in the public sphere
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Sudoku hard: January 14, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: January 14, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published