A Bloomfield Hills teenager is traveling to Alaska to compete in the 40th annual Junior Iditarod.
The Detroit Free Press reports that 17-year-old Hannah Mahoney decided to compete in the dogsled race after being moved by the movie "Balto."
The film was based on the real 1925 Great Race of Mercy, which in part inspired the Iditarod, where a lead dog in a dogsled team races to retrieve a life-saving diphtheria antitoxin in Nome, Alaska.
Hannah is the only Michigan representative in the event. She will travel to Alaska on Friday. It will be her first and last Junior Iditarod, because 17 is the last year a teenager can compete in the race.
The race is scheduled to begin Feb. 25. It covers about 150 miles over two days.
