A pre-race warmup for the annual Iditarod sled dog race was held on Saturday, March 4.

Even for a pre-game, competitors did not hold back but dashed across the ice during the 11-mile ceremonial start, as seen in this drone footage.

This year’s long distance sled dog race officially kicked off on Monday, March 6. Wade Marrs was leading all mushers, including reigning champion Dallas Seavey, as of March 8. As the top 63 mushers had reached Tanana, temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees fahrenheit were no longer their only concern – They will face the longest stretch of the trail between Tanana and Ruby.

The race, starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, stretches across 979 miles. Credit: Richard Dennis via Storyful