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| Photo credit Scott Rokis |
The Arrowhead 135
The Arrowhead 135 is recognized in the book “The World’s Toughest Endurance Challenges” by Richard Hoad and Paul Moore as one of the 50 toughest races in the world. It is a human powered Ultra Marathon taking place in the coldest part of winter in the coldest city in the lower 48 states.
The average finish rate for the Arrowhead 135 is less than 50%, in 2014 & 2019 the finish rate was 35%; and the finish rate for new racers is much lower.
The race is 135 miles in deep winter across Northern Minnesota on the rugged and scenic Arrowhead State Snowmobile Trail from Frostbite Falls (actually it's International Falls MN; and commonly referred to as I Falls) to Tower, MN. Pick mode of transport at start: bicycle, ski, or foot. 2024 is the 20th year of the Arrowhead 135, it began with 10 entrants in 2005; and up to 150+ starters 2024, featuring some of the best winter ultra-athletes in the world, including some Olympians.
My Journey to The Arrowhead 135
I started dreaming about this challenge roughly 10 years ago, after seeing the stories from some of my bike friends that took on this event. I knew I needed to learn a lot; and beg, borrow, or buy a lot of gear.
Over the years, I'd get out for training rides any time the temps in the area dipped below 0°F/-18°C. Back in 2019, I was so excited for the polar vortex that delivered -28°F/-33°C air temps; and that just happened to be the same day the Arrowhead 135 was starting, and racers had much colder temps at the Canadian border. I felt badass for riding in these conditions, but I was out less then 2 hours, while my friends were out for 24+ hours in colder conditions in the remote northern woods.
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| Selfie after 90+ minutes riding in -28F conditions |
2024: A Year Without Winter
The Start to Gateway (36 miles)
As we got closer to the start of the race, it was very clear, we would not have very much snow and very mild temps for the event. It was understandably stressful getting prepared to be out in sub-zero temps for dozens of hours, but it became oddly stressful trying to adapt to these warm temps. The trail had so little snow there'd been extremely little traffic and little to no grooming. Some folks posted pictures of the trail including open water from a flooded stream and tons of uncut brush on the trail. Adapting to these conditions, I made a couple last minute changes, included a tire repair kit and extra tubes in case the brush trashed tires; and some shower booties for a cast to cover my boots in case I needed to walk through some ice-cold water.
Prerace: Arriving in I Falls
We drove up on Sunday morning, getting to I Falls for the race check in and equipment check. We pulled into the Backus Community Center right behind good friend, Trenton Raygor, that was a great thing for me, to see a friendly face as we arrived.
Racers are required to show that they have all required gear (see gear list below with all required equipment for this event).
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| Showing my required gear at the Backus Community Center |
After gear check, we headed to our hotel for a couple hours before the racer's meeting. This allowed me time to set up my bike, loading and mounting all of my bags.
Later, we went back to the community center for the racer's meeting. The meeting had a lot of good and critical information. The organizers also had a great sense of humor, I was laughing nervously to hear the race director saying they had bets on the number of racers that could finish in this unique winter. A couple of funny quotes from the racer's meeting: "There is no budget for the Arrowhead" (so true); and "I paid for 60 hours and I intend to use all of them"
Some statistics shared at the racer's meeting about the 2024 race: 166 racers signed up, 30 female, 136 male; roughly 45 volunteers; 86 bikers, 73 foot, and no skiers due to the lack of snow; 28 unsupported; 46 rookies; & 2 A'trois (anyone finishing Arrowhead 135 3 years/3 disciplines bike/run/ski eligible for unique Arrowhead a’Trois Award. Only 22 ever issued).
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| Me and Pugsley resting up the night before the race |
Dozens of nervous and excited racers show up at Kerry Park before dawn to check in and start the race. The check in is quick and easy: give your race number, confirm your race division, and confirm that both your tracker is on and your lights are on.
The race starts with a great fireworks show!
Video Credit: Lisa Nelson
The first miles were smooth and fast, but there's only one good line, so riders are all in one long line. As good as the trail is at the start, it still offered some challenges, and if you lost focus (try to get a drink or adjust something) you'd quickly lose the line and bog down to a crawl. I'd just stop and wait for a break in the long line of riders and jump back in. And for a little humor, you'd pass another rider standing, waiting for a gap to get back in the line, it was like this for the first hour or two of the race.
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| The early miles out of the I Falls start (photo credit Jamison Swift) |
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| Lead runners mixing in with the bikers |
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| An example of the brush in the trail |
Rolling into Gateway was fun with so many friendly faces cheering. I made this checkpoint quick, I had a short list to do at the stop: change socks, fill my hydration pack, and dump my trash. A bonus was Lisa greeting me with cheers and a hug!
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| The Gateway minnow water is the best hydration on the Arrowhead 135 ... just kidding, but too funny having the fresh water tap next to the minnow tanks |
I left Gateway feeling good and strong, but I was aware my arms were suffering from pushing the bike and handling the rough terrain. This section of the race is where I was pushing my body too hard. I had a stupid thought I could make up some time from walking so many early miles. This lead to me crashing too much, and wasting energy to get on the bike and only pedal a couple feet before bailing out again.
Not too long after Gateway, I caught up to Leah Gruhn (star of "40 Below"; see info below), she was stopped talking with a couple racers. She'd taken a hard fall and was worried she injured some ribs, she said she was good enough to get to Melgeorge and reassess there. Leah's crash should have sobered my 'speedy' energy, but I continued to push too hard to find any speed the trail offered and taking some avoidable falls as a result.
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| Here's a the classic hike-a-bike tracks: bike on the right and boots on the left |
On trail bike adjustments are something I was prepared for; and from early in the race, I was noticing my left thigh was getting chaffed, and my bike kept pulling to the right. This was all quiet odd. I got off the bike and eye-balled the saddle to see the saddle was clearly twisted to the left. That was a quick and easy fix, but the damage to my left thigh was not great especially so early in the race and with the rough terrain continuing to abuse my 'saddle zone'.
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| Amanda caught me recovering from one of my falls |
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| The warm temps meant there was a fair amount of melt puddles to navigate |
The miles after sunset were getting long, I kept taking dumb falls, and there are some long steep climbs to push the bike up, I think one climb had to be the longest and steepest of the whole trail. And right before the resort, the course takes you across Elephant Lake and that meant you had to ride into a strong and unprotected headwind. I found myself walking a short distance on the lake because the headwind was that challenging ... and I was that worn out.
Long break at Melgeorge
I got to Melgeorge at 9:30 on Monday night. I was feeling totally wrecked, and couldn't see a way to move forward. I had thoughts of dropping out, but gratefully, Lisa texted that she wasn't going to pick me up until morning.
As I got inside the Cedar cabin (the check-in location), and pealed off my layers, but I couldn't stop sweating. I was seriously worried there something wrong with me, but when asked a volunteer working the checkpoint and they said it's like 90F in the cabin. I went shirtless to the unheated porch and laid on the floor with my feet up for a while to cool my body down.
After a few minutes, I went to the loft in the Cedar cabin and claimed a twin bed for an hour or so, this got me feeling OK again. I realized I'd need to recover in the cabin for a few hours, maybe all night, so I wanted to get my electronics off my bike to save batteries. After getting everything inside, I went back to the loft and moved to the only open bed in separate room with door. A volunteer asked if I wanted a wake up call at a specific time, I told her my theory: if I can sleep through all the noise in the cabin, I need the sleep. And if I can't sleep through the noise, it's time to hit the trail! I was also informed that there was a second cabin (Tamarac) available for folks that wanted to sleep in a quiet place, but moving to another cabin seemed like too much work at this point!
After sleeping for awhile, I heard someone come into the private bedroom and lay down on the floor next to the bed. I told him the queen sized bed was big enough to share, and as he was getting into the bed I asked if he preferred big spoon or small spoon (it was a positive sign that I felt good enough to make dumb jokes).
After getting roughly 3 hours of sleep between a couple naps, I was feeling like it was time to get back on the trail. The cabin crew made me a wonderful grill cheese sandwich, and a bowl of soup too. I grabbed my drop bag of food to keep me fueled for the last 63 miles and checked out of Melgeorge at 3:45 Tuesday morning.
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| The overnight crowd at Melgeorge |
Melgeorge to Embark (40 miles)
I rode out of Melgeorge well before dawn and I was by myself, the woods were quiet and beautiful in the darkest part of the night. Before dawn I caught up to good friend Sean Mattner, we shared a ton of miles through the morning. Lots of walking, talking, and some biking when the trail conditions allowed.
Sean and I both suffered ice building up on the bottoms of our boots. Sean was riding with clipless pedals and was really challenged to get the ice off his cleats so he could clip in. I was riding with platform pedals, but left my cleats in my boots. Getting ready for the Arrowhead, I didn't think the cleats would cause any issues, but the ice build up was enough that the icy chunk was taller than the pins on my pedals, leaving my boots slipping around on the pedals. This was a unique challenge with temps just below freezing, call it the perfect conditions for icing up your cleats.
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| This IS the trail! |
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| The Embark (checkpoint 3) with Lisa and Eric the Embark Fox |
Embark to Fortune Bay (25 miles)
Coming out of Embark, there are two more big climbs before a long stretch that's a gentle grade but constantly going up.
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| The view from the last big climb |
The damage from the saddle pounding me was getting difficult to ignore, and with only 15 miles to go, I stopped to apply some more Chamois Butt'r (single pack to the rescue!).
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| This looks inviting and fast, but the ground is so lumpy |
The cheering crowd at the finish included Lisa and I was so honored to find my DAMn buddy, Elizabeth Powers, made the trip to cheer my finish!
After crossing the finish line, I let the bike rolling a little too long and the race official checking my gear was worried I knew I'd finished ... I knew I'd finished, I just wasn't sure I could safely stop and get off the bike.
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| Photo credit Elizabeth Powers |
Like everywhere on this race, the volunteers are THE BEST! The volunteer that did my gear check at the finish line noticed my Birchwood Café vest, he grew up in South Minneapolis near the creamery that became the Birchwood Café (West River Racing's former title sponsor). That was a fun small world connection at the end of this long journey!
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| The back hall of Fortune Bay where racers show they finished with required gear |
Lisa had a room for us and it was located right next to the hospitality room, I was thankful for the short walk. I was happy to get a shower and get on some fresh clothes.
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| The racer's lounge at Fortune Bay and the finishers photo op |
Once we got home, I needed to get my bike off the rack, and take the rack off the car (our garage is too small to close the door with the rack mounted). After that, I had one last thing to do before crashing ... I had to keep my Wordle streak going... LOL!
My Finish
I finished in 34 hours and 51 minutes, making me 41st place for the bikers. There were 84 bikers at the start line in I Falls, and 60 finished at Fortune Bay (24 DNF'd). Here's the full results.The Arrowhead was my longest duration bike race by a long shot, even if you just look at the roughly 29 hours biking/hiking. Also the first placed runner finished minutes before me, that was seriously impressive runner!
I want to return to the Arrowhead 135 to ride it in true winter conditions, it may sound silly, but I spent years preparing for sub-zero weather and damn it ... I want to challenge myself on this course in those conditions!
Ken's Recap
Race director Ken shared the following on Facebook:And that's a wrap, folks! The last racer finished at 17:57 today (5:57 PM Wednesday, 58 hours after the start).We started 84 bikers, 60 finished. 71 runners started, 46 finished. Total finish rate of 68%. That is waaaaay higher than predicted given the conditions.There is very little snow on the trail and the weather was warm. The bikers took much longer to finish but the runners were not slowed very much.Ken and Jackie would like to thank all involved - racers, volunteers, and sponsors.
The Duathlon
I knew I'd walked A LOT on the Arrowhead Trail, but wasn't sure how much walking I'd done. The day after there race, I noticed my Garmin watch tracked nearly 80,000 steps over the two days, or in very rough numbers, 40 miles of walking. I didn't trust that number and look a little deeper into my stats. The real number of miles walked is between 30 and 50 miles, so the Garmin watch step counter is in the right range. Here's more details from my nerding out on this detail:
Speed data from VeloViewer (this is an app that gives deep data analysis of your activity), I spent 30.73 miles at 0-4 mph (definitely walking pace); and 51.58 miles at 0-5 mph (clearly includes some slow biking). I'm sure some of the data reported at 4-5 mph was slower in reality because the data I'm working with includes 72 miles recorded on my inReach satellite tracker that only captures my location once every 10 minutes.
VeloViewer data on the left showing percent of time spent at each speed, the right side is my spreadsheet converting the time into distance
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| Screenshot with my inReach tracks into and out of Gateway, inReach is the orange line and the blue line is the trail |
After seeing that my 1040 lost the data for the first half of the race, I spent too many hours thinking of ways to capture that data. When I got home, I was able to export the data from the inReach satellite tracker for I Falls to Melgeorge; and merged it with the data from my 1040 for Melgeorge to Fortune Bay. The inReach data lost 6+ miles of the race by clipping corners with only one data point every 10 minutes, but this was better than nothing.
Post-Race Odds & Ends
- Lost one NiteRider light in a crash, didn't notice it was gone for many miles
- Also lost my iconic white Rock The Garden swag sunglasses in a night time crash
- I suffered nerve damage to my right shoulder/arm causing numbness in my fingers, the combination of handling the heavy bike over extremely rough trails, and every time you'd push the bike, you'd walk on the left side of the bike; therefore, your right arm was extended adding to the fatigue ... and subsequent inflammation. As I recover and the inflammation goes down, the numbness is fading and everything is getting back to normal.
- The big toenail on my right foot suffered from all the miles of hike-a-bike, I found blister/puss under the nail bed a couple days after the race. This toenail hasn't been right since the 2015 Westside Dirty Benjamin when the nail totally bruised and months later fell off. YUCK! (if you wanna see gross stuff, look up "runner's toe")
- Thanks to an extremely rough trail, I'm nursing some saddle sores, I rarely suffer saddle sores, so that's a statement to conditions. Plus the saddle being twisted added pressure unevenly and more damage on my left ... um ... cheek.
Arrowhead Documentary
Keep an eye out for 40 Below - The Toughest Race in the World documenting the 2019 Arrowhead 135 when air temps were -40F/C. The film has been on tour in 2023 and 2024, and I understand it will be available for streaming soon.
Lisa: I could not do The Arrowhead 135 (or so many other challenges) without her loving support. She is my best friend, biggest fan, travel agent, driver, CFO, nutritionists, dog mom, and too many other roles to remember and list here. Seriously, I've heard too many stories of support crews falling short of the athlete's needs, Lisa has never left me wanting for anything on these endurance challenges (sorry folks, she's not available for hire).Ken and Jackie, as well as all the volunteers: I was so honored by the amazing care and support everyone offered.Bill Brandt event medic: Bill was super supportive and knowledgeable. Leading up to the event, Bill organizing a couple on-line meetings with Arrowhead veterans, the conversations covered a wide range of topics. Plus he was there throughout the race, I had a great conversation with him on the couch at Melgeorge and he offered help loading my bike while we packed out of Fortune Bay.Tonka Cycle and Ski Team: Brett, Tyler, and the whole crew did great work helping me get my Pugsley ready for this challenge and some extra equipment for this big ride. One quick story about their help, I found my seat post was seized in December, Brett worked for days to extract the seat post and got me set up with a new seat post; and in the process, found my bottom bracket was at the end of its life, getting that replaced too.Dr Paulie Glatt GO Physio: A couple months prior to the race, I had a minor but nagging pain in my knee. I'd typically give it time to see if it's sorting itself out, but with the Arrowhead 135 right around the corner, I wasn't willing to risk it getting worse. Paulie's consultation was super informative and helpful, and I'm happy to report that with some light PT and minor changes, the pain is all gone.Risa & Verse Racing: Risa Hustad and Versus Racing put on a winter bike camping trip in December. This was great for a few reasons: I had the opportunity to test out my fully-loaded bike, test out my winter sleep system, and we had a great conversations about the Arrowhead 135 as well as other winter bike events. I learned so much and gained a ton of confidence.
My Pugsley fully loaded on the Arrowhead Trail
The Overly Detailed Gear List (*means it fulfills mandatory gear requirements):
Bike:
Tech stuff:2015 Surly Pugsley the original fatbike! This bike is mostly stock, here are my modifications: Ergo grips, Brooks C-15 Carved saddle, and Salsa Guide carbon seatpost.45NRTH Cobrafist Pogies, raffle prize from the 2023 Tuscobia!Dillinger 4 Tires started with 6 psi, but stopped a few times early Monday to dump pressure. Checking the tires after the finish, I was at 3 psi. The low pressure helped 'float' over the soft snow, and suck up the rough trail. The tires felt awful anytime you'd cross a road (there are very few roads to cross, so that wasn't a problem).
Garmin Edge 1040 SolarGarmin inReach Mini 2 | Satellite Communicator*NiteRider Lunina 750 & 700 | bike headlighs*Black Diamond headlampPlanet Bike Superflash Turbo (x3) | bike taillights*
Nutrition/Hydration:
Bags:Skratch Labs Strawberry Lemonade drink mix with sodium citrate (I'm a salty sweater)Peanut M&MsLisa's homemade peanut butter balls with almond butter, oats, flax, chia, chocolate chips, and raisinsMalgeorge grilled cheese and minestrone soup
Jar of Peanut butter (3,000+ calories) *
Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Compression Sack (mounted in handle bar harness)CamelBak Lobo 100 oz hydration pack with Crux Thermal Control Kit*Toolbox, with my multi-tool, patch kits, and other field repair stuff, in the container in the seat tube bottle rack - it's so old and I have no idea what it's called
Clothing:
Podiumwear Arrowhead jacket (but that spent most of the ride strapped to my trunk bag)Podiumwear lightweight vestWoolly tank top base layerSmartwool midlayer45NRTH Naughtvind bib knickersSmartwool socks (x4)45NRTH Wölvhammer boots45NRTH Greazy hat45NRTH Nokken glovesPatagonia puffy jacket (never left my stuff sack)45NRTH Naughtvind shell pants (never left my stuff sack)
The Sleep System:
NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated Air Sleeping Pad (in bivy) *
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| My sleep system deployed on a the "winter" camping event with Versus Racing |
Spare tubes (x2)
PocketRocket 2 stove *
GSI Outdoors Isobutane Fuel Canister * (1x 110g in my CamelBak & 1x 230g in a fork bag)
Windproof matches *
1 Pint cup/pot *
Whistle on a string *
Reflective safety sash *
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Here’s the required gear list; racers must have the following on them at all times during the race:
- -20F degrees sleeping bag or colder rating
- Insulated sleeping pad
- Bivy sack or tent
- Firestarter (matches or lighter)
- Stove
- 8 fl. oz. fuel at ALL times (either gas, alcohol or 2 canisters of propane/butane 100 g. each or 12 Esbit tablets)
- Pot (min. volume is 1 pint)
- 2-qt (64 fl. oz.) or just under 2 litres, insulated water container
- Headlamp or flashlight
- Flashing red LED lights, both on front and back of sled or bike (or on backpack if skier).
- Everyone have at least 10 square inches of reflective material on front and back of the person for this race.
- Two lights total are required, one on the front of the bike, sled or racer (runner or skier with backpack), one on the back of the bike, sled or racer (runner or skier with backpack). Each light must have a minimum of three flashing red LEDS.
- Whistle on string around neck to call for help, because your mouth is too numb to yell.
- 1-day food ALL times (3000 calories)
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