The Great Race of Mercy: how 150 dogs saved a sick Alaskan town from diptheria

The 1925 Serum Run to Nome

In January 1925, Dr. Curtis Welch found diphtheria spreading through Nome’s children. The town of 1,400 people had no fresh antitoxin because their supply had expired five years earlier.

Worse, winter storms blocked ships and trains. Planes couldn’t fly in temps that hit 50 below zero. Only one path remained: dog sleds across 674 miles of frozen wilderness.

Twenty mushers and 150 dogs took turns carrying a 20-pound package of life-saving serum.

Here’s how they completed this impossible relay known as the Great Race of Mercy, racing along what became the famous Iditarod Trail you can visit today.

When Diphtheria Struck Nome

Dr. Curtis Welch diagnosed a 3-year-old boy with diphtheria on January 20, 1925. The boy died two weeks later.

The next day, a 7-year-old girl showed the same symptoms. Dr. Welch tried using old medicine, but she died within hours. Dr. Welch alerted Mayor George Maynard right away.

The town started a quarantine on January 21 to slow the spread of this throat infection. On January 22, Welch sent radio messages to other Alaska towns asking for help.

Without medicine, the disease would kill many more people.

The Race Against Time Begins

The closest medicine was in Anchorage, 1,000 miles away. Workers put it on a train to Nenana, the last train stop before Nome.

Planes couldn’t fly in the winter cold with their open cockpits. Dog sleds remained the only option.

Governor Scott Bone gathered 20 of Alaska’s best dog mushers and about 150 sled dogs to form a relay team. Mail moved by dog sled in Alaska back then.

The teams faced 674 miles of trail with temperatures as low as -60°F. The mushers knew this would be their toughest journey ever.

Wild Bill Shannon’s Dangerous First Leg

William “Wild Bill” Shannon started the relay on January 27 at 9 p.m. His nine dogs led by Blackie left the Nenana train station with the medicine wrapped in fur.

Shannon traveled through -62°F cold during the night. In such freezing weather, skin freezes within minutes.

By morning, Shannon’s face showed severe frostbite. Three of his dogs became too tired to keep going and later died.

Shannon covered 52 miles before reaching Tolovana at 11 a.m. on January 28. He handed the medicine to Edgar Kallands, then collapsed from exhaustion.

The Brutal Conditions Mushers Endured

Edgar Kallands headed into the forest with the medicine. His hands froze to his sled’s wooden handlebar in -56°F cold.

At the next stop, workers had to pour boiling water over his hands to free them. Despite this injury, Kallands kept going.

Musher Edgar Nollner lost both his lead dogs to the cold. He had to pull the sled himself to finish his part of the relay.

Strong winds created whiteouts where mushers couldn’t see the trail. Temperatures dropped to -85°F at times, turning breath into ice instantly.

Leonhard Seppala and Togo’s Critical Journey

Leonhard Seppala, Alaska’s best musher, left Nome on January 28 with his team led by 12-year-old Siberian Husky Togo. Seppala had won Alaska’s biggest sled race three years in a row.

Seppala planned to go all the way to Nulato for the medicine. He didn’t know extra mushers had been added to speed up the relay.

Togo, despite being old for a sled dog, was Seppala’s most trusted leader. He knew Alaska’s trails better than any other dog.

On the fourth day, Seppala met musher Henry Ivanoff near Shaktoolik. By then, Seppala and Togo had already traveled 170 miles from Nome.

The Dangerous Crossing of Norton Sound

After getting the medicine from Ivanoff, Seppala faced a big choice. He could take the safer land route or risk a shortcut across the frozen Norton Sound bay.

With time running out, Seppala picked the dangerous ice crossing despite an approaching storm. The ice had started breaking up and could send the team drifting into the sea.

Togo led them through blinding snow, finding safe paths around weak spots. Water spurted through cracks as they raced across.

This risky move saved at least a day of travel time. They made it across just three hours before the ice broke apart.

Seppala’s Record-Breaking Achievement

After crossing the bay, Seppala’s tired team climbed 5,000 feet over Little McKinley Mountain. The steep climb pushed the dogs to their limits.

Togo and Seppala covered 261 miles total in their section, far more than any other team. Most teams averaged just 31 miles.

They traveled for 4.5 days with less than 5 hours of rest. Both man and dogs pushed far beyond normal limits.

On February 1, Seppala handed the medicine to Charlie Olson in Golovin. Just 78 miles remained between the medicine and Nome.

Charlie Olson’s Run Through the Blizzard

Charlie Olson got frostbite while putting blankets on his dogs before his run. Taking care of his animals cost him dearly.

Olson traveled 25 miles from Golovin to Bluff through a worsening blizzard. He could barely see in the swirling snow.

Wind gusts grew strong enough to blow his sled off the trail. Olson fought to stay on course in the whiteout.

Upon reaching Bluff, Olson warned Gunnar Kaasen about the terrible storm ahead. Kaasen would face the worst weather of the entire relay.

Balto and Kaasen’s Final Push to Nome

Gunnar Kaasen left Bluff with lead dogs Balto and Fox pulling his team. Both dogs came from Seppala’s kennel but weren’t his first choices.

During the journey, Kaasen’s sled flipped in the darkness. The medicine flew into a snowdrift.

Kaasen took off his gloves to search for it, getting frostbite on his hands. Every minute lost put more lives at risk in Nome.

Balto proved his worth by smelling the trail when Kaasen couldn’t see. The dog also stopped at the edge of thin ice that would have swallowed the whole team.

The Unexpected Final Handoff

Kaasen reached Point Safety at 3 a.m. on February 2. The final musher, Ed Rohn, was supposed to take the medicine for the last stretch.

Rohn slept in the dark roadhouse, thinking the relay had stopped because of the storm. Kaasen had to decide what to do.

He chose to keep going rather than wake Rohn. Getting a fresh dog team ready would waste time when his dogs could still run.

This choice later caused arguments. Some said Kaasen wanted the glory of finishing the relay, while others said he made the right call to save time.

Visiting Balto Statue, Central Park

You can explore the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum in Nome (207 Front Street) to see photographs and artifacts from the serum run. The museum houses original equipment used during the relay.

In Wasilla, visit the Iditarod Trail Headquarters where Togo’s preserved body appears on display. Balto’s statue awaits in New York City’s Central Park near East Drive and 67th Street. His preserved body remains at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Ohio.

You can also catch the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonial start in Anchorage each March, following much of the 1925 serum run route.

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