Anchorage , Alaska ( CNN ) -- Alaska 's famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officially gets under way Sunday after a ceremonial start to a 1,000-mile competition that takes mushers through some of the harshest conditions imaginable . Sixty-two teams are competing this year and will travel more than 1,150 miles across the Arctic for a chance at $ 50,400 and a new truck . They sped through Anchorage Saturday to the sounds of racing paws and cheering crowds . An official `` restart '' of the race is set to take place Sunday in Willow , Alaska , about 70 miles north of Anchorage . The competition will end in Nome . `` You know , some people were put on earth to be lawyers , construction , you know whatever . I was put on earth to race , train and promote sled dog racing , '' said Lance Mackey , 40 , who is gunning for his fifth consecutive win . He won the 2010 race in eight days , 23 hours , 59 minutes and 9 seconds . Mackey 's stepson , Cain Carter , is competing in the Iditarod for the first time this year . The teams face strong winds and temperatures well below zero that will test the strength of the dogs and the stamina of their owners . The Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome first ran in 1973 . `` This is my job . It is my hobby ; it is my passion ; it is everything that I love , '' Mackey said .
62 teams are competing this year and will travel more than 1,000 miles . At stake is $ 50,400 and a new truck . The competition will end in Nome .