1925 serum run to Nome

The Mercy Race to Nome took place in the winter of 1925, during which dog sleds played a key role in delivering diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska, preventing possibly thousands of deaths.

On January 25, 1925, Nome sent an emergency radio signal announcing an outbreak of diphtheria and requesting a supply of antitoxin serum. The closest supply was in Seattle, Washington, from where it was flown to Anchorage. However, the intense cold and snow made it impossible for aircraft at that time to fly any further.

The first batch of 300,000 units of serum was delivered by train from Anchorage to Nenana, Alaska, where it was picked up by the first of twenty mushers and more than 100 dogs who relayed the serum a total of 674 miles (1,085 km) to Nome.

Together, the teams covered the 674 miles in 127 and a half hours, which was considered a world record, all done in incredibly subzero temperatures in near-blizzard conditions and hurricane-force winds. Some dogs froze to death during the trip.

Seppala and Togo

Leonhard Seppala and his dog sled team, with his lead dog Togo, traveled 170 miles (274 km) from Nome in three days, and picked up the serum from Henry Ivanoff just outside of Shaktoolik on January 31. The temperature was estimated at −30 °F (−34 °C), and the gale force winds causing a wind chill of −85 °F (−65°C).

The return trip crossed the exposed open ice of the Norton Sound, where Seppala and Togo were temporarily stranded after the ice they were crossing broke off and became an ice floe for several hours. When the ice drifted back to the solid sheet of ice crossing the bay, Seppala had Togo jump across the 5-foot (1.5 m) gap in harness to pull the floe closer to the shore. The harness snapped, and fell into water, but Togo took the traces in his jaw and pulled the floes together until it was safe for the rest of the team to jump. After reaching safety, a ground blizzard prevented Seppala from being able to see the path but Togo navigated to the roadhouse at Isaac's Point on the shore. After traveling 84 miles (134 km) in one day, the team slept for six hours before continuing at 2 AM in the morning.

During the night the temperature dropped to −40 °F (−40 °C), and the wind increased to 65 mi/h (105 km/h). The team ran across the ice, which was breaking up, while following the shoreline. They returned to shore to cross Little McKinley Mountain, climbing 5,000 feet (1,500 m). After descending to the next roadhouse in Golovin, Seppala passed the serum to Charlie Olsen, who in turn would pass it to Gunnar Kaasen and Balto. Kaasen and his team ran two legs when he found the next musher in the serum relay asleep, and finally delivered it to Nome through 80 mph winds and snow.

Balto, as the final dog to Nome, was later idolized as the hero dog of the trip, although Togo in fact covered more miles of the trip.

After the successful serum run, the slower freight dog Balto became the most famous canine of the run. But many mushers today consider Seppala and Togo to be the true heroes of the run as together they covered the longest and most hazardous leg. They made a round trip of 261 miles (420 km) from Nome to Shaktoolik and back to Golovin, and delivered the serum a total of 91 miles (146 km), almost double the distance of any other team.

Relay participants and distances

Mushers (in order) and the distance they covered included:

(Salisbury, 2003)

Start	Musher	Leg	Distance
January 27	"Wild" Bill Shannon	Nenana to Tolovana	52 mi (84 km)
January 28	Edgar Kallands	Tolovana to Manley Hot Springs	31 mi (50 km)
	Dan Green	Manley Hot Springs to Fish Lake	28 mi (45 km)
	Johnny Folger	Fish Lake to Tanana	26 mi (42 km)
January 29	Sam Joseph	Tanana to Kallands	34 mi (55 km)
	Titus Nikolai	Kallands to Nine Mile Cabin	24 mi (39 km)
	Dan Corning	Nine Mile Cabin to Kokrines	30 mi (48 km)
	Harry Pitka	Kokrines to Ruby	30 mi (48 km)
	Bill McCarty	Ruby to Whiskey Creek	28 mi (45 km)
	Edgar Nollner	Whiskey Creek to Galena	24 mi (39 km)
January 30	George Nollner	Galena to Bishop Mountain	18 mi (29 km)
	Charlie Evans	Bishop Mountain to Nulato	30 mi (48 km)
	Tommy Patsy	Nulato to Kaltag	36 mi (58 km)
	Jackscrew	Kaltag to Old Woman Shelter	40 mi (64 km)
	Victor Anagick	Old Woman Shelter to Unalakleet	34 mi (55 km)
January 31	Myles Gonangnan	Unalakleet to Shaktoolik	40 mi (64 km)
	Henry Ivanoff	Shaktoolik to just outside Shaktoolik	0 mi (0 km)
	Leonhard Seppala	Just outside Shaktooli to Golovin	91 mi (146 km)
February 1	Charlie Olson	Golovin to Bluff	25 mi (40 km)
	Gunnar Kaasen	Bluff to Nome	53 mi (85 km)

References

• Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury (2003). The Cruelest Miles. ISBN 0-393-01962-4

External links

• Iditarod background from the Iditarod Trail Committee
• "The story of the REAL Balto"