"Today is fun, with a capital F, " said smiling veteran musher Aliy Zirkle, the runner-up in last year's race.

NPR: Iditarod Kicks Off With Festive Ceremonial Start

Once finished, visitors can tour the kennel, dress up like a musher and "cuddle adorable husky puppies, " Seavey's Web site states.

CNN: Mush! Five places to go dog sledding

Michael Musher, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said light snow in the Midwest and light rain elsewhere around the country could cause only minor problems.

NPR: Americans Take Off for Thanksgiving

To be a long-term investor, you have to think like a musher in the Iditarod: Hold the handlebars with an iron grip and brace yourself to take ferocious punishment.

WSJ: The Intelligent Investor: Lessons From the Iditarod

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Four-time champion Martin Buser held on to the lead Saturday in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, hoping to be only the second musher to ever claim a fifth title in the race's 40-year-history.

NPR: Iditarod Front-Runner Hopes To Claim 5th Win