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Written by Dogsled.com
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Saturday, 18 February 2006 |
The annual running of the Norman Vaughan Serum Run from Nenana to Nome got underway Sunday Feb 19th in Nenana, Alaska. The serum arrived in Nenana via the Alaska Railroad a little after 10 am, the conductor placed the serum packet into the waiting hands of a Serum Run representative Carolyn Vaughan who turned it over to the Serum musher Kurt Jokela. Twelve mushers and fourteen snow machiners are participating this year.
They run in honor of the founder of the serum run, Col Norman Vaughan
who passed away at the age of 100 December of 2005 and Mellen Shea, a
participant in the Serum Run for many years, who is battling breast
cancer, Mellen's dogs will be on the trail with musher Kurt Jokela
& Skijorer Mathieu Bonnier, a adventurer from France, who is
tagging along with the Serum Run this year using one of Mellens dog
named "Tico".
The Serum Run is a dog team journey with snow machine support across
768 miles of Alaska's frozen rivers, tundra and sea ice from Nenana to
Nome following the historic Iditarod trail. The mission of this annual
trip is twofold. First, it is to commemorate the twenty men and their
dog teams who relayed crucial diphtheria serum to Nome, saving
countless lives. Second, and more importantly, it is to widen the
awareness throughout Alaska of the need for inoculations for every
single child and to stress important health issues such as
immunizations, medical exams & cancer screening, tobacco cessation,
accident prevention, HIV awareness and drug and alcohol abstinence.
Mushers and their snow machining partners along with over 150 sled dogs
will retrace the route of the original Serum Run. Stopping at each
village and school along the way, they will rekindle the spirit of the
Serum Run by bringing a message to school children and their parents
regarding the need for inoculations, awareness and making healthy
lifestyle choices. This year they will also discuss the importance of
wearing helmets with ATV & snowmachine.
Follow the 3 week journey from Nenana to Nome on their web site at www.serumrun.org
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Last Updated ( Friday, 17 November 2006 )
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