News Release
March 2, 2005
McKinley-Thatcher Elementary School Students Replicate Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race On Thursday, March 3 As Part Of "Reading Is Fundamental" Theme
On Thursday, March 3, McKinley-Thatcher Elementary School will host its third Reading is Fundamental (RIF) book give away and first Iditarod race.
For its RIF theme this year, the school selected the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race, the famous dog race held each March in Alaska. This 2,000-mile race honors the brave mushers and sled dogs that carried life-saving serum from Anchorage to Nome during an epidemic of diphtheria in 1925. (In November, RIF parent coordinators arranged for Bill Pinkham, a Colorado resident and Iditarod racer, to visit the school and share his experiences with students.)
On the afternoon of Thursday, March 3, teams of students from kindergarten to grade five will race to the finish during physical education classes using sleds and ropes, pulling a musher with a simulated serum package safely to its destination. Friends of McKinley-Thatcher are invited to watch the races and join in the fun.
Beginning on Saturday, March 5, the students will be tracking the progress of the real Iditarod mushers and their dog teams as they race from Anchorage to Nome in the 33rd Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race.
McKinley-Thatcher Elementary School is located at 1230 S. Grant St. For more information, contact the school at 303-777-8816.