The winner is expected in the old Gold Rush town of Nome, on the Bering Sea coast, in about eight days Dee Dee Jonrowe, of Willow, mushes during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, March 4, 2017. Iditarod rookie Laura Neese of McMillan, Mich., greets the crowd as she mushes through downtown during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, March 4, 2017.