The Arrowhead started with 10 entrants in 2005 and is now roughly 150 starters, featuring some of the best winter ultra-athletes in the world. Historically, it’s the coldest gosh darn race anyplace, even the Arctic, check average temps, virtually every year, luck has the Arrowhead 135 at -30° to -40°C/F, and there's been plenty of frostbite to prove it. Or it snows and is a sloppy mess! Ken & Jackie Kruger organize the Arrowhead 135 with a crew of local folks dedicated to the promotion of human-powered ultra-endurance events across the beautiful Arrowhead Region of Northern Minnesota. The Arrowhead Race Mission is fostering national and international amateur endurance sports such as winter-biking, skiing, and trail running.
Talking with folks at check in, I understand some racers decided not to travel to the race because of the volatile situation in Minneapolis. This is an international event and I hate that my home feels unsafe to visitors from around the world or even other parts of the US!
Looking back, I feel good about making the trip; in a large part, because our community did so much, so well, I'm beyond proud to call Minneapolis my lifelong home. I will make it a point to help carry the message forward in the coming weeks, allow others time to rest and recharge. Like the Arrowhead 135, this fight for our democracy is massive journey, and we all need to step up and help when able, as well as rest and find joy when needed too. If we let these fascists steal all of our joy, they have defeated us. All that said, it is nevertheless an awkward time for me to celebrate this personal achievement.
Driving to International FallsOn Sunday morning, we made the decision to make the trip. We got the car loaded with all my gear and bike; plus a small pantry of food too ... there are lots of food options up North, but it's challenging to find options that work with Lisa's (my wife's) dietary restrictions. It also adds value to my race to have our own foods, eliminating possible issues with unknown foods on the road that can cause gut issues on the race.
The trip was smooth and easy. One story from our drive north was the number of boom trucks and utility crews headed south on I-35. Many states across the south and southeast had just been hit with major winter storms, causing wide spread power outages. It was good to see the help headed where it was badly needed.
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| Most of my gear stacked up and ready to load in the car |
Arriving in International Falls, we went straight to gear check at Backus Community Center. Racers must show that we have all the required gear to survive on the remote trail in the deep-cold (see the list of required gear near the bottom of the post). Once done with gear check and sign in, Lisa and I headed to our hotel to check in and unload our car.
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| Backus Community Center equipment check and race check in |
Funny story at the hotel, a group of a dozen people from Japan were checking in ahead of us at the hotel. I heard a conversation that they were engineers from Honda that traveled to International Falls for the local cold weather auto testing facility. I have to think they were curious about the racers showing up at the hotel with bikes and sleds.
After getting settled into our hotel room, we went back to the community center for the racers' meeting. There's always information shared to help you get ready for the big challenge the next morning, and a lot of good (& some dark) humor.
At the end of the racers' meeting, there was a raffle for racers with a ton of fun items. I have to admit I was only half listening at this point because I don't have much luck with raffles ... but I won the grand prize! One
Empire Wool & Canvas Company garment, I picked their Boreal Superhoodie.
We returned to our hotel for some of Lisa's homemade chicken and dumplings... YUM! I did some packing and bike prep for the morning and took a quick ride in front of the hotel to be sure everything was good to go. Then it was time to relax then try to find some sleep as my mind keep thinking of every little details I might have forgotten.
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| Pugsley ready for the big ride in the morning |
International Falls to Gateway 36 miles - 4 hours 54 minutes
My alarm went off at 5:00 AM, but I was already awake. Lisa brought homemade overnight oats for our breakfast, a great way to fuel up for the long day ahead! At the start line, we must check in, confirming our mode (bike/foot/ski), confirm our red blinky lights are on, and our satellite tracker is on.
Out in the -20°F air, there's a good amount of nervous talking between friends, both long-time and just met friends, as we wait for the fireworks to signal the start.
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| Photo credit: Ben Sunne |
Once Ken released the hounds, I found a nice group to work with. After a while, I was leading this group for a couple miles. With a strong headwind, I was working hard but not getting too hot. We weren't far out of International Falls when I heard "CAR BACK" (WTAF?!?!), I looked back to see the bright lights of the snowmobile trail groomer behind us. We all pulled off at a small driveway crossing to let the groomer pass us, as we got rolling again, I got into the middle of the pack of riders and started feeling too warm now that I wasn't out in the wind. Believe it or not, even when it's -20°F, you need to focus on not overheating!
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| The trail groomer - photo credit: Lisa Nelson |
After nearly 10 miles on the Blue Ox Trail, we take a hard left turn onto the David Dill Arrowhead Trail. At this point, our group splintered with a few riders stopping to make some changes and adjustments, while I rode through with a handful of riders. A couple of these riders were stronger than me and pulled ahead, others fell behind, and I was solo off-and-on for many miles on the way to Gateway.
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| The fast miles early on the Arrowhead Trail |
The trail was in great condition, the tires didn't sink into the snow at all, allowing everyone to move a good pace... for reference, 8 mph is a good pace with a fully loaded fatbike on a snowmobile trail.
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| Frosty face selfie |
I was excited to get to Gateway before noon, more than two hours quicker than my last Arrowhead. I went inside to get water refills, and dump some trash. I was in-and-out quickly, roughly 20 minutes, ahead of my goal of 30 minutes.
Gateway to Melgeorge's 34 miles - 6 hours 56 minutes
On this leg, we passed through some active logging areas, this offered a very fast trail surface with the heavy trucks packing the snow as hard as concrete! I had one logging truck pass me on the trail, when I heard the vehicle, I pulled to the far right and stopped to allow them to pass. This is also the area when the course gets hilly, adding to the challenges. You can bike up some of the hills, others required getting off and push the bike up the hill.
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| I don't think this pic does justice to how steep & long this climb is |
My race hit its biggest challenge in the miles after Gateway. Only a few miles out of Gateway my gut started making the most awful and uncomfortable noises. I was getting worrying signals that things were going south. I continued to push forward, there are few other options. I was fighting 'urges' and hoping against hope that I could get Melgeorge's to use the bathroom in the cabin, but that was A LOT of miles away.
I stopped with Leah Gruhn on the trail for a minute, I shared my gut issues, she gave me some Tums to see if that might help me. I let Leah know she shouldn't wait for me, and a short while later, I ended up needing to make a trip into the woods, hoping for some relief. In the most G-rated terms, I can not recommend having the runs in the woods when it's sub-zero ... there is not one single good thing to say about this experience! The first step is to find a place with some kind of privacy, this is not strictly required, but it is a best practice. Then you need to remove the top outer layers, remove the CamelBak, then remove a couple more layer to get to your bibs before you can get the business end of things accessible. Let us simply skip ahead to redressing process, which needs to be done quickly as you are losing tons of heat in these frigid temps, the clothes you took off were all damp with your sweat and they are now stiff as a board. Once you've got everything back on, your core temp has dropped and your fingers are starting to feel numb from the cold. It's time to get back on the bike and push hard to get your internal furnace heated up and pumping warm blood to your chilled fingers. I repeated this process two more times on the way to Melgorge's ... on the bright side, I was getting practiced and more efficient with each stop.
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| photo credit: Trenton Raygor |
As I'm dealing with this most uncomfortable issue, I'm trying to think what in the hell caused it! I thought of two things while I rode on: the water from the tap at Gateway or the caffeine in my Embark Coffee Maple. Fast forward to a week after the race, I emailed with the race director and a friend that came into Gateway after me, no other reports of gut issues from the water at Gateway. That got me to go back to the other option: caffeine. I had
.5 liter Gu flask with
Embark Coffee Maple. I've used this product many times over the last 4 years in the classic 3 oz pouch packages, it has never caused me an issue. The 3 oz package is 72 mg of caffeine per pouch (nearly a cup of coffee's worth), my .5 liter Gu flask holds the equivalent of 5 to 6 of the 3 oz pouches ... that's roughly 400 mg, and over 400 mg of caffeine is considered an overdose. I finished a whole .5 liter flask before Gateway, plus I had a couple coffees before the start. So that's A LOT of caffeine in a little over 5 hours, and WAY more than I have on a normal day. It seems clear to me that the caffeine could easily be the cause my 'issue'.
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| 3oz pouch on the left & .5 liter (17 oz) refillable flask on right |
The plan for future events: buy the Salted Maple in the 1.5 liter bulk package for these .5 liter Gu flask, and keep to the 3 oz pouches Embark Coffee Maple, making it easier to manage how much caffeine I'm getting. I always learn new things on these events!
Late in the afternoon, I was blown away to see two skiers pass me! They were skate skiing and able to climb so much faster than me pushing 80+ lbs of bike/gear up the hills. They were both packed lean and moving fast! Jump forward to Melgeorge's, I said I expected a new skier course record, but was told that both skiers dropped out after a crash before getting to the checkpoint.
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| FAST moving skiers |
To add to my troubles, I was eating and drinking very little, I didn't trust my stomach to handle it. So as I got close to Melgeorge's, I was in a hole for both nutrition and hydration. I was ready to call my Arrowhead done at Melgeorge's, I was miserable and didn't feel it was a good plan to push on in these deep-cold conditions in a compromised state!
As I got to the cabin, I let the volunteers know my need for the bathroom, and they made sure the main floor bathroom was available for me as soon as I got my outer gear stripped down. It was nice to not deal the cold for once!
My plan was to rest for a while and see if I could recover, and happily Bill, the race medic, was in the cabin and heard my issues. He offered me an Imodium before I laid down. After an hour, with some rest and a little sleep, I got up feeling OK. My biggest priority was to see if I could drink and eat to refuel before deciding to call my race over or push forward. One of the volunteers was extra kind, giving my water bottle and CamelBak bladder a good flush before filling, just in case my issues were related to the water.
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| The night scene outside the Cedar cabin at Melgeorge's |
While in the cabin, I drank roughly 24 oz of water, ate two grilled cheese, and had a bowl of wild rice soup. Everything went down well, and I was getting my strength back. I made the decision to push on.
Melgeorge to Embark 40 miles - 8 hours 22 minutes
I got rolling at 10:00 PM and in the first few miles out of Melgeorge's, I passed 5 unsupported racers bedded down, they ware the last racers I saw on the course.
The frigid forest in the dark was a magical place! I found myself double and triple checking shadows and other mirages in this snow covered landscape. The half moon was lovely, but after it set, I was treated to the most amazing night sky, free from all light pollution! These miles of the course have so many hills to push the bike up, then there's the sketchy dark ride down the other side.
At some point, my hydration hose froze up. If you forget, or fail, to blow the hose clear after a drink, the water can freeze up. I spent a few miles with sessions of sucking and blowing hard into the hose; and between sessions, I'd pack the hose deeper in my layers to get additional body heat to help melt the frozen block. My backup plan was to pour water from the CamelBak into my one insulated water bottle I had on the bike, but that would take a lot of time and be messy. Thankfully, after a few sessions, I was able to get the water flowing again!
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| The half moon shrouded in the clouds |
There was one more "trip into the woods", and I will keep this as 'clean' as possible... I was out of TP and forgot to get more from Melgeorge's ... so the snow was my only option. Another thing that I advise everyone to avoid! This is the point where my saddle zone started getting raw. The last miles into Embark had me standing to pedal or freewheel; and a lot of walking when the trail kicked up.
About 10 miles from Embark, I saw the first sign of human life in hours, one of the volunteers on a snowmobile checking on me. It's great to know they are on the trail watching out for us racing. But it has been said many times, this is not the comfy SAG wagon you might find on many supported rides. You will be underdressed for a snowmobile ride and the ride will be rough. You can expect to get off the trail alive, but you will not enjoy that ride and there have been stories about the rough conditions racers arrive in from this ride. The point, be prepared for these conditions and ready to solve your own problems on trail, snowmobile rescue is the last resort!
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| The rescue snowmobile - photo credit: Lisa Nelson |
As I got close to Embark, I was considering dropping out a second time. My plan was to use the outhouse at the checkpoint, using what I could find (hand wipes, TP, ...) to clean up my raw undercarriage, then apply a lot of Chamois Butt'r and see if that would allow enough relief to ride the final 23 miles.
Embark to Fortune Bay 23 miles - 3 hours 48 minutes
I rolled into Embark before the first light of morning, around 6:20 AM. As I arrived, I talking with Brie from Embark, she had a pack of baby wipes I could use to help with my issues. It was very nice to have the Embark checkpoint to myself, not another racer to be seen. This allowed me time in the 'heated' tent ... I'd say the wood stove had the tent up to 45°F ... I pealed off many of my outer layers and had them on a rack next to the stove, along with the pack of nearly frozen baby wipes. I think I fell asleep in a chair in the tent for 20-30 minutes while wait for the wipes to thaw out.
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| Priority parking when you're the only racer at Embark |
At the same time, Lisa was on her own adventure trying to find the middle-of-nowhere Embark checkpoint. I was happy she was making her way to find me, because I was not sure I could continue. Note for anybody looking for the Embark checkpoint: Google Maps will get you lost!
After the chills woke me from my nap, I found the wipes were no longer frozen, so I walked up to the porta-potty to see if I could get some relief.
Lisa found the checkpoint just as I was ready to take a short ride to test if I could find any comfort on the bike. I went 100 yards up the trail and back, and decided I could push on to the finish.
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| The view from the last major climb on the trail |
There was a road crossing just 5-6 miles up the trail from Embark, and Lisa said she'd drive to there to give me the option to drop the race there if things weren't working out. But the icy roads took Lisa into the ditch before she got to the trail crossing. Thankfully, she was completely fine, but needed a tow to get out of the ditch, the locals checked in and helped out. I was feeling good enough to figure out riding the last 15-20 miles, while Lisa waited on a rescue from the tow truck.
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| There's no easy way outta that - photo credit: Lisa Nelson |
On those last few miles to the finish, I had some music going in my Shokz to both motivate myself and keep the sleepies from sneaking up on me. With my very eclectic mix on shuffle, Willie Nelson's cover of Rainbow Connection started just before I got the resort and there were some frozen tears on my checks, both the emotions of our communities' struggles, my personal struggles on this challenge, and just loving the song's message ... it just hit me in all the feels.
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| Lovely sunrise on Tuesday morning |
I was able to gently settle onto the saddle for a few minutes at a time and avoid spending all of the final miles standing on the pedals. But in the last few miles, I couldn't comfortably sit down, there were cries of "WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK!" when I'd try to sit on the saddle. Just to give my raw parts a break, I found it easier to walk the smallest climbs on the way into the finish ... except that last ramp to the finish line, my pride had me mash up that little climb!
I was greeted at the finish by Lisa and a few volunteers. We got some pictures, and I got a "Welcome to the GCN Show" clip to submit. Inside the resort, we did a quick equipment check, the volunteer only really wanted to be sure I still had hand warmers; I had one pack in my frame bag, two packs in my CamelBak, another in my sleeping bag, and maybe a couple more squirreled away ... I had that requirement covered. Then we went to the hospitality suit, it was quiet because the racers that finished before me were hours ahead, and there wouldn't be another finisher for an hour or two.
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| Finish line pic! photo credit: Lisa Nelson |
I was slower getting to the finish than I hoped, and we wanted to get home early enough to pick up the dogs on Tuesday afternoon, so we made a quick turn around. I was able to shower and I couldn't help crying out with the pain as the shower water ran over my raw undercarriage. And as soon as I was dressed, we packed all our stuff into the car to head home. I struggled getting into the car seat and getting comfortable ... it was a serious pain in the ass!
There was a little excitement to the drive home, when the car went into the ditch, snow got packed into the rims and made the wheels unbalanced (the car bounced). We used the ice scraper to get much of the snow out and smooth out the ride.
Race Stats
I ranked 22nd of 41 bike finishers (plus 20 DNF); with an official time 28:30:00.
