Synopsis
In the wilderness of Alaska, LEONHARD “SEPP” SEPPALA has made quite a life for himself. Known everywhere he goes for his championship run in the All-Alaskan dog sled races, Sepp is comfortable here, living a good life with his wife CONSTANCE and their children CHARLIE and KATY.
Retired from racing, Sepp works as a miner, but is devastated to learn that he is being let go. Making the best of a bad situation, he works with his brother delivering firewood to the townspeople, hopeful he can earn enough money to make Christmas memorable for his kids.
On Christmas morning, Sepp and his family attend a gathering of the townspeople on the frozen Bering Sea. A day of fun and merriment is interrupted when the town’s physician, DR. WELCH, learns that his niece is suffering from a bad cold. After examining her, he concludes she is suffering from diphtheria, a treatable but potentially deadly disease. Welch realizes that he has no vaccine, and is therefore helpless to save his niece.
Only hours later, another child from the same school also dies, shocking the town. Dr. Welch realizes that the town is in the early stages of an outbreak of diphtheria, a debilitating illness that can spread like wildfire. Fear grips the town when they learn that there is no medical treatment or vaccine for the disease available for hundreds of miles. Worse, a recent storm has made the roads impassable.
The Alaskan government arranges for a shipment of vaccine to be sent to Juneau, and the town’s mayor asks Sepp to make the journey to Juneau. The disease has taken hold; half of the town’s children have been diagnosed and are in desperate need of a cure. Sepp accepts the job without hesitation, and the media learns of his potentially heroic journey.
A grandstanding journalist named WILLIAM THOMPSON implores the government to allow him to fly to Juneau, but weather conditions won’t allow it, leaving Sepp as the last hope for a desperate town.
Fortunately, a group of dog sledders have agreed to take the vaccine from Juneau to a point closer to Nome, and as Sepp leaves for Juneau, he learns that his daughter has been diagnosed with the disease. Braving horrific weather conditions, freezing temperatures, and battling exhaustion, Sepp makes it to the checkpoint and retrieves the serum.
But the journey back to Nome proves far more dangerous. The desperate townspeople, including Dr. Welch and Constance, have no contact with Sepp. His friend GUNNAR sets out to find him. After barely surviving the harsh conditions, Sepp faces his greatest danger yet when a pack of wolves surrounds him and his sledding team.
“The Great Race” is a classic inspirational family adventure featuring a hero who braves insurmountable odds in an exciting race against time to save an entire town.