Iditarod 2011: "The last great race on Earth"

(CBS/KTVA) - Mush, dogs, mush! Iditarod 39 is underway. Sixty-two mushers and their dogs are making the over 1,100-mile trek across Alaskan wilderness in what many call "the last great race on Earth."

The sled dog race began on Sunday in Anchorage, and mushers are racing through 22 checkpoints to get to the finish line in Nome. Each team of one musher and 12 to 16 dogs is expected to make the thousand mile journey in roughly ten days.

"This is a celebration of Alaska," veteran musher DeeDee Jonrowe told CBS affiliate KTVA. "We're going to take this relationship between dog and man that opened up Alaska and we're going to run through this state and we are going to take on the challenge."

The history of the Iditarod goes back to 1925, when mushers and their sled dogs ran diphtheria serum across part of what is now the Iditarod trail to ailing citizens in Nome.

This year, racer Lance Mackey is the obvious favorite. He has won every Iditarod since 2007 and a win this year would tie the record of five wins held by Rick Swenson. Swenson is in the race himself.

The mushers are competing for a $50,000 prize and a new truck.

Follow all the action at the Iditarod's official site.