The 1925 serum run to Nome , also known as the Great Race of Mercy , was a transport of diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled relay across the U.S. territory of Alaska by 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs in five and a half days , saving the small town of Nome and the surrounding communities from an incipient epidemic .
The 1925 serum run to Nome was also known as the Great Race of Mercy .