The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March from Settler's Bay to Nome, which takes place entirely in the US state of Alaska. Mushers and a team of 21 dogs, of which at least 6 must be on the towline at the finish line, cover the distance in 9–15 days or more. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams but evolved into today's highly competitive race. The current fastest winning time record was set in 2016 by Dallas Seavey with a time of 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes, and 16 seconds. As of 2012, Dallas Seavey was also the youngest musher to win the race at the age of 25, while as of 2013, at the age of 53, Dallas' father Mitch Seavey was the oldest person to ever win the race.