It is the time of year when the Iditarod has already started. The racers are on their way to Nome and one racer had to drop out but her husband stepped in to finish the race. Today I'm only going to talk about the cost to the entrant to participate in this world renown race. This does not cover the cost of the entity that puts it on, only the racers.The racers have to spend around $22,000 dollars to enter the race and this cost does not include the cost of the dog team. The racers are not entering for the prize monies. They enter for the challenge because the first place winner is only expected to win about $50,000.
Now to the costs.
1. The entry fee is $4000 per musher.
2. The mushers have to pay a fee of $1500 to pay to have their dogs flown from Nome back to Anchorage along with the musher, their gear, and a handler.
3. The have to pay $350 for the pre race vet check and they have to place a deposit incase the dog needs special care during the race.
4. Mushers plan allot another $1500 for expenses such as food and lodging both before and after the race, and the sky kennels used to transport dogs when they fly home.
5. The handler runs another $500 on average but it depends on several factors such as where their home base is.
6. Mushers will spend around $1800 for dog booties which are used to protect the dogs feet during the long trip. The total cost depends on the number of dogs the team has.
7. Dog Food can run upwards of $2400 for bags of food set all along the trail. The race officials require that each musher have at least 60 pounds of food at every checkpoint. Furthermore, nothing is returned so what ever they do not use, becomes waste. Most mushers will send out between 1200 and 1800 pounds of food at about $1.00 per pound and it costs at least $1.00 per pound to ship the food out to the various checkpoints.
8. People spend at least $1000 on plastic sled runners and spare parts to be used during the race. This also includes sending spare sleds out to later checkpoints just in case but it does not include the cost of the sleds themselves.
9. The mushers spend at least $250 to send their own food out to various checkpoints so they won't starve.
10. Mushers also spend another $500 for personal supplies such as socks, batteries, toiletries, hand and foot warmers, and other important items.
11. Competitors then budget another $8000 to cover things like harnesses, at least two sleds, sled covers, vaccines, medicines, axes, proper clothing, and everything else needed for the dog. They are going to be outside for a couple of weeks so they need to have enough to survive extremely cold weather.
Now this does not include the cost of the dog sled. Some competitors lease dog teams that they train with the kennel owners while others buy and train their own teams. It is estimated that leasing a dog team can run between $15,000 to $20,000 and another $2000 per dog per year to cover the cost of shelter, vet bills, and food.
Just to let you know, the cost for 2020 is estimated to run about $3.5 million to organize and run the roughly 1000 mile race. The Iditarod cannot exist without corporate sponsorship because the $4000 entry fee is not enough to cover all expenses. As stated earlier, most mushers are not in this race for the money but for the challenge because if they win the first prize, it will barely cover the cost of the dogs and running the race.
I covered the cost of entering this race because many students have heard of it but are unaware of how much it costs to enter. Have students turn this information into an infographic to share with others. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.
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