A GREAT RACE.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 14727, 4 August 1921, Page 8

A GREAT RACE.

THE ARCTIC MARATHON.

According to a writer in the "Birmingham Gazette" what the Derby is to Englishmen the 'All-Alaska Sweepstake for dog teams is to the spouting miners and prospectors of Alaska. No doubt the 1000-mile dog Marathon now being spoken of is ai/development of the annual race from Nome, on the Behring Sea, to Candle City, on the Arctic Ocean. There and back is the course—4oß miles in all. The purse is 10,000 dollars; the time taken on the return journey by the winning teams has ranged! between 74£ hours and 119£ hours. The latter (32 hours worse than the next highest) was the time for the first of the series in 1908 Much had to be learnt then about the route, methods of training, etc. A driver must be able to judge the capacity of the team, so that the rests are not too long or too short. He has to be in the pink of condition himself for most of the, way he will run behind pushing the sledge for all he is worth In order to .guad against cuelty, one of the rules makes it obligatory on the drivers to bring home all their dogs:. Tlie number "constituting a team is optional, and usually varies from ten to eighteen. A first-class leader is almost priceless. As the dogs are guided by the human voice alone, a sensible, stout-hearted leader ma v. make all the difference between victory •and defeat. Training for tho race which is in April, usually begins in November, but throughout the year the dogs are fed on well-considered lines, the diet being selected with the idea of producing sound, hard flesh and muscle. The "better-dog" movement, as it has been called by a local writer, has led to experiments being

maaewitn several breeds, including the Borzai and Airedale. It has taught owners to breed more scientifically, and has undoubtedly improved the status of draught animals in the district. During the war the French used many dogs for haulage work in the Vosges. They sent to Nome for all that could be procured.