Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod

The 2008 Iditarod begins, and returning champion Lance Mackey already has a hitch in his plan. Race icon DeeDee Jonrowe loses her dog team outside a checkpoint, and the mushers prepare to face the dreaded Alaska Range.

The mushers cross the treacherous Alaska Range. Jonrowe faces "the Step," where she was injured last year. Mackey drops his lead dog due to injury, and Buser takes a strategic rest before resuming the treacherous trek.

Mushers turn their attention to rest, a strategy all its own. Mackey cares for his exhausted team, which is down a lead dog. Jonrowe, nursing a virus, is first to the halfway mark, but may have cost her team some vital rest.

Mackey makes up for lost time, while King devises a new plan. Eskimo Nelson debates whether to withdraw from the race, and the Busers separate to allow former champion Martin a chance to go for the gold.

Mackey continues to break trail for rival King but is catching on to King's game. Rookie musher Holt makes a slew of beginner's mistakes and has to decide whether he can carry on, or succumb to the treacherous Iditarod trail.

With Nome, Alaska, less than 100 miles away, Mackey, King, and Buser battle for the finish line. Icon Jonrowe battles to stay in the top 10, and for rookie Holt, just finishing Alaska's toughest race means winning.