The term IDITAROD NEEDS can be solved by the crossword solution SLEDS. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in Alaska, USA, which covers a distance of over 1, 000 miles. The race commemorates the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which mushers and dogs relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled to save the small town of Nome from an epidemic. In order to compete in the Iditarod, mushers must have a team of sled dogs, hence the crossword solution SLEDS.