Author: Joel Runyon

The Iditasport Impossible is the ultimate test of endurance. Forget your Ironmans, Ultra Marathons and the lot. Let us know when you’re tired of playing at the kiddie table. The Iditasport Impossible is the Ironman’s badass uncle who did a tour in Vietnam and then went back for vacation.

Yes, you have to be nuts to do it.

The Idistasport is Alaska’s Human Powered Ultra Endurance Race. There are four divisions: bike, ski, foot, and snowshoe.

There are 3 Different Distances

For the babies and small children, there’s the Iditasport 130, which as you might guess, runs 130 miles from Knik, Alaska to Finger Lake. 130 miles is the upper limit of most ultramarathons. For the Iditasport; however, things are just gettting started.

Next up is the Iditasport Extreme, which runs 350 miles over the Alaska Range from Anchorage to McGrath. There aren’t any roads. You only get out by snowmobile or airplane. This is for the prepubescent boys who want to prove their manhood. 350 miles.

Then there’s the Iditasport Impossible, which skips a whole other category of difficulty and is only for those interested in inflicting so much pain on themselves that they could be locked up in a room with padded walls, and they’d still find a way to inflict hurt themselves. This ridiculous race is 1,000 (that’s one thousand) miles from Anchorage, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. If you’re wondering where those are, keep wondering, because it’s entirely too far. To give you an idea of how far it is, completing the Iditarod Impossible would be like trying to go from New York to St. Louis. In snow…during subzero temperatures, with no backup plan. Absolutely insane.

I wish there were more details to relay about this insane race in the tundra, but apparently most people that attempt it either die or spend the rest of their life trying to repress the memories of this tortuous event that there aren’t many details that actually escape. All the things we know, we have to gather from a few janky looking website (who cares what your website looks like when you’re a tundra-proven badass?)

If you’re crazy enough to enter and have the cash to pony up for the registration costs (a pretty penny at $1150, not including drop bags, lodging, food and other contacts beyond the McGrath checkpoint which could run you as much as $5,000), here’s what you can look forward to.

• Transportation from Golden Lion Best Western 1000 East 36th to race start at Knik Lake
• Lodging and food at Winter Lake Lodge (mile 130) on Finger Lake CP 3
• Lodging and food at Puntilla Lake/Rainy Pass Lodge (mile 165) CP 4
• A tent camp and food in Rohn (mile 200) CP 5
• Lodging and food in Nikola ( mile 300) CP 6
• Lodging and food in McGrath (mile 350) at the finish line
• A food/supply drop of 10 pounds each at the checkpoints Finger Lake and Rohn
• Please keep your drops small, we bring those to their location via small ski plane.
  ( All survival gear, sleeping bags, clothing ect. must be carried from the start)
• T-Shirt

I haven’t confirmed this yet, but I’m fairly certain the t-shirt just says “I’m a badass.”

If you’re one of the few that finish, you get forever bragging rights to say you’ve done a race too painful to accurately remember. And, if you’re lucky enough to not only survive, but actually win the whole thing, you get a free entry for the following year, to relive all the pain and agony you just got done with. Absolutely free. Congratulations.

Just to give you an idea how impossible the Iditarod Impossible actually is, in 2001, 130 competitors started. 4 Finished. Good luck.

[Photo]