Thanks to the people of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, reindeer can now be considered as “sports participants” and not merely as a main dish in their state. Reindeer sausages, stews, hotdogs – to name a few – are food favorites.

The first Running of the Reindeer was inaugurated in the snow-packed Fourth Avenue. Hundreds cheered the seven little reindeer and about one thousand (1,000) costumed runners who participated. This is Alaska's answer to the famous Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

The reindeer were introduced as semi-domesticated livestock by Sheldon Jackson in the late 1800s as a source of livelihood for the Alaska Natives. Reindeer can provide meat, hides, antlers and milk, and used as transportation. Though these large four-hoofed mammals were herded for centuries, they cannot be regarded as fully domesticated since reindeer usually roam freely on pasture grounds.

In the wide open, the herd can be threatened by nature through avalanches and by predators like wolves, wolverines, lynxes and bears. There are also parasites - such as warble flies, mosquitoes, ticks and nose botflies – that can endanger them. The parasites that can harm these ruminant mammals may also cause infections in humans, like Lyme disease from an infected tick. These dangers make the herders keenly care for their reindeer. Modern Alaskan reindeer herders employ satellite telemetry in tracking their herds. To check progress, they use online maps and databases.

Since this is the first race to be held, the organizers were not sure how the antlered animals will react. So, on the day of the event, the reindeer with their handlers were lined up behind a few hundred women who wore costumes – like paper bulls-eye, carrots and lichen – to attract the reindeer and encourage them to run. When the signal to start was given, their human handlers were caught by surprise. The reindeer went rapidly past the women then through the other runners, and were way out front in the race.

Amanda Pelkola, who masqueraded as a carrot in the race, said, "We thought, 'Ok, they're just going to mosey along,' but they took off running. We got smoked by the reindeer."