Does the race reflect any of the real challenges and situations of true settler life historically, or is it a completely modern (and sanitized) contrivance? Have the various ethnic groups in the region coalesced around the event as shared cultural heritage, or is it the exclusive preserve of one particular group?
Any other knowledge of the race's history is appreciated and welcomed. Thank you.
The Iditarod and modern sled dog racing as a whole are almost completely separate from historic sled dog racing, let alone historic sled dog travel.
Take the example of the All-Alaska Sweepstakes, the world's oldest organized sled dog race. Its records date back to 1908, when the Nome Kennel Club (founded in 1907) organized a 408-mile run from Nome to Candle and back. Scotty Allan's book, Gold, Men and Dogs was published in 1931, but it's still a good primer as to what those first races were like. "(Candle) was selected because the trail to it from Nome goes over all kinds of country, from sea ice to high mountains, with rivers, tundra, timber, glaciers, and everything else in the way of mental and physical hardships en route. We knew there wouldn't be any doubt about the excellence of a dog or driver that covered it."
The All-Alaska Sweepstakes was operated under some Iditarod-like rules, but not entirely. In the Sweepstakes, you had to finish with every dog you started with. If (s)he was injured, you had to carry him or her in your sled. You didn't have mandatory stops as the Iditarod does; you simply had to plan when and where you wanted to rest. Food was taken care of by the Sweepstakes organizers, who had commissaries set up along the way. In the Iditarod, food is pre-positioned beforehand along the way.
The Iditarod's trail is well-marked and generally broken by snowmachine traffic. In the past few years, mushers have been taking advantage of SPOT emergency beacons, which can summon help if needed. It's a safe race — no one has ever been killed in the Iditarod, though dogs die on occasion.
The Iditarod is intended to keep the spirit of dog travel alive, if not the actual practical travel itself. Sled dog racing is a rich person's sport — it takes a lot of money to raise a kennel and keep it going, and mushers tend to be older people with either established businesses or careers successful enough that they can keep going. In rural Alaska, snowmachine travel is cheaper and more practical for day-to-day hunting and business. You have to really want to keep dogs to run a team. Dogs aren't a necessity, as they were in 1908.