REGIONAL— For competitors in the Arrowhead 135 ultramarathon, Mother Nature delivered just what they were looking for this year— serious cold. The annual competition, which runs from International Falls to Tower, is world famous among the small community of ultramarathoners as one of the toughest races on the planet.
After disappointingly mild conditions the prior two years, this year’s race, held Monday-Wednesday this week, offered up the kind of temperatures that these hardcore competitors hope for, and which regularly keep many if not most of them from finishing.
It was minus 20 degrees when the racers left the starting gate in International Falls. While the temperature warmed to near zero later in the day a stiff southwest wind and a short period of intense snow later in the day, made it feel much colder.
The cold poses real challenges, particularly for those who race unsupported, which means they must carry all their own food and fluids. Keeping those fluids from freezing is tough and it’s one of the most common reasons that racers eventually drop out. Racers have devised a number of ways to try to keep their water and other liquids they carry from freezing, but it can be extremely difficult when the temperatures are well below zero.
Leah Gruhn, of Duluth, said she keeps water packs tucked under layers of her own outerwear and wrapped in heat-reflecting liners to keep them from freezing. Even so, she said at least two of the six and a half quarts of liquid she carried with her froze solid this year.
And Gruhn is certainly no novice when it comes to brutal conditions. This was her 15th Arrowhead 135 and she’s finished it 12 times to date. She’s also finished the 1,000-mile Iditarod Invitational in Alaska. Unlike the Iditarod, where periods of sleep can’t be avoided, many of the bikers on the Arrowhead go straight through, which can mean anywhere from 20-30 hours of continuous exertion. Gruhn rolled into the finish line at Fortune Bay around 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, spending about 27 straight hours on the trail.
Gruhn said she tried a 15-minute cat nap in her sleeping bag, after downing a couple caffeine pills, but could feel herself getting colder by the moment. She opted to get up instead and keep moving to stay warm.
But the cold does have its advantages. After days of intense chill ahead of the race, the Arrowhead snowmobile trail, which is also the racecourse, was exceptionally hard and fast, at least to start. “The trail conditions were fantastic, really fast,” said Andy Weinzierl, also of Duluth.
Even so, this year’s event was well off the record pace. And a couple hours of moderate snow, with lots of blowing, which came through Monday afternoon, added to the chill and slowed trail conditions somewhat.
Even when racers are prepared for the conditions, things can happen on the trail. Weinzierl said he was having a strong race and was feeling good as he closed in on the checkpoint at Melgeorge’s Resort. But a sudden crash left him badly injured. While he made it to Melgeorge’s, he decided he was in too much pain to go on. “It was going good until that point,” he said. Weinzierl is also planning to bike the Iditarod Trail in late February and is hopeful he’ll be recovered enough to compete in that event.
The race attracts plenty of Minnesotans, and they make up a strong field. Among the bikers this year, Sage Seifert of Lino Lakes finished first in just 16 and a half hours. Along with Seifert, Minnesotans made up four of the top six male finishers this year, including Mike Running, of Ely, who finished in sixth place.. Kate Coward, of Minneapolis, was the top woman finisher, pulling into the finish at Fortune Bay at 4:38 a.m.
The race, however, regularly attracts competitors from around the world. Teziano Mulonia, of northern Italy, finished 13th, pulling into the finish at 3:35 a.m. Tuesday morning. He first raced the Arrowhead two years ago after hearing about it from Leah Gruhn while the two rode together along the second half of the Iditarod trail. This year, racers from nine countries were taking part, according to race organizer Ken Krueger.
Isolation a factor
While competitors tend to group up in the early stretches of the race, as the miles go on, the crowds thin out. As much as half the field tends to drop out before the finish. And as each racer settles into their personal pace, they tend to end up alone. That sense of isolation and disorientation is intensified by the fact that most of the race is run in darkness.
That, combined with the physical exhaustion, can be one of the biggest challenges of the event. At night, said Gruhn, racers end up forced to battle what many of them call “the sleep monster,” an overwhelming desire to nod off, which can be the most dangerous time on the trail.
As tough as the race can be for bikers, it is even more challenging for those extreme competitors who opt to race on foot or ski. Over the years, very few skiers have finished the race given the conditions, and most runners never make it, either. While they have 60 hours to complete the race, few can withstand that amount of time exposed to the kind of cold regularly served up for the Arrowhead.
Runner Mike Lessard, of Ray, said he knew by the time he reached the first checkpoint at the Gateway Store, just before the 1 p.m. cutoff time, that he was running on empty. It wasn’t his first attempt to complete the course. In fact, he said he’s run the race eight or nine times, finishing once. “It’s a unique challenge,” he said. “The thing with the Arrowhead is you can do it many times and it’s different every time.”
And this time wouldn’t end with a finish for Lessard, who is no relation to the former state Sen. Bob Lessard. “It was pretty chilly,” he said, “and the wind just made it worse. And when you’re on foot, you’re just surrounded by all of it.”
By the time he reached the Sheep Ranch Rd. around 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, he was done. He crawled into his sleeping bag and waited for rescue by one of the volunteers who collect the stragglers on snowmobiles. “When they determine you’re not going to make the cutoffs, they come and get you,” he said. “I just had a nice snooze under the stars.”
It turns out Lessard was in good company. Race organizer Ken Krueger noted that about half of the racers in this year’s competition ended up dropping out. While most ultramarathons typically see a finish rate of 90-percent plus, the Arrowhead 135 is a distinct exception. Over the years, only about 58 percent of those who start the race make it to the end, according to Krueger. It’s just that tough.
Like most Arrowhead competitors, Lessard said he expects he’ll be back to try again next year. “It’s a pretty unique community,” he said. “There are lots of repeat racers.”
Gruhn agreed. It’s like a family reunion every year,” she said.
And it’s not just racers. Krueger said many of the roughly 50 volunteers who assist with the race return year after year to help make it happen.
“It’s an amazing group of people,” said Krueger.