Race Report: Arrowhead 135 DNF

Alex Pretti and Renee Good. May their names be eternal.

We were barely an hour outside the Twin Cities when my wife’s phone started getting texts from her friends about the second murder of an American citizen in Minneapolis by federal agents. She let me know what was going on as I continued to drive. When we stopped for snacks in Hinckley, MN I admitted that I almost turned the van around. My excitement for spending the next week walking through the woods felt vain and petty compared to what was happening back home.

However, I didn’t turn around. I knew that there was little that would be gained by going back home, especially with only the barest sliver of news about what had happened. So we kept going. The rest of the drive was weighty, but we did our best to distract ourselves with podcasts. Eventually we arrived in International Falls, MN and started seeing old and dear friends. At that moment there was no where I’d rather be. Even friends who skew to the opposite political spectrum as me were complaining about how insane the situation was and how much it needed to stop. It all helped me feel a bit more comfort with continuing on.

We spent Saturday evening hanging out with Angela, Jeff, and Josh, having a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was a reminder that what makes the trail and ultra running community so strong is what also makes Minnesota strong. We take care of, and look out for, each other.

On Sunday I switched it into race mode and we hit the grocery store so I could prep my food for the week. I try to buy my perishable groceries local for these types of events, both as a way to support the local community, and to not have to deal with logistics of transporting more food than I need to. I buckled down over a desk in the hotel room and started spreading various fillings into tortillas.

I got my sled all packed and arranged, complete with Minnesota flag. Total weight, 35 lbs.

After some time relaxing it was time for the pre-race meeting and so back to the community center we went to surround ourselves with our community. I’ve been a part of this event as a volunteer for many years, and so there was little that was new to me in the meeting. But, it’s always good to get a fresh reminder of all the logistical details for an event as huge as this.

For those unfamiliar, the Arrowhead 135 is the toughest winter ultramarathon in the lower 48. Participants travel from International Falls to Tower, MN along the Arrowhead snowmobile trail, carrying all of their survival gear and food with them on either foot, bike, or ski. There are only three checkpoints on the course, and they are spaced at least 35 miles apart from each other. The course is remote with little cell signal, very few road crossings, and often unforgiving terrain.

Only 47% of foot participants who start the race have ever finished it. This is not for the faint hearted.

After the pre-race meeting we had a quick meal at the community center and then headed back to the hotel for desert and drinks. We bumped into Ben, Angela, and Jeff again and spent some more time hanging out and getting mentally prepared for what was to come.

I got to bed at a decent hour, but sleep was mixed. I woke up feeling a little draggy, but ready to give this a shot. We got dressed and got the van loaded and before I knew it I was at the start line with 4 minutes to go. Next thing I know I hear the starting cry of the race director and we’re off. The air temp was -15°F (-26°C) but was warming up rapidly. I had a good layering strategy right off the bat, but within a half a mile realized I had one too many layers and had to stop to shed a coat.

The pack had spread out quickly and I soon found myself alone towards the front of the ‘back of the pack’. I was moving really well at a sub-20 minute per mile pace and was feeling mostly good. Somewhere around mile 8 I ran into my friend Kari and we spent some time hiking together. She was incredibly positive and encouraging as I was lamenting that I didn’t feel like I trained enough. As we made the turn off the Wild Ox trail that we start on, and onto the Arrowhead Trail I felt a good burst of speed and move ahead to keep the momentum going.

Then around 5 hours everything started to fall apart. The legs got heavy and sluggish, and the sled felt like it weighed 10 lbs. heavier than when I started. I kept eating as normal to keep the energy levels up, but the body just kept pushing back, and it was here that I started to realize how unprepared I truly was for this adventure.

Not unprepared from a logistics and systems perspective though. One of the things that I was most proud of in this event was how well I had dialed in my support systems. My food was easy to reach, my sled was stocked appropriately and only weighed 35 lbs., and my clothing layering strategy was working perfectly. All my years of learning and exposure to these races was paying off.

What was unprepared was my body. As I’ve lamented in some previous posts, the last two years have been a slow decline in my overall fitness output, both in mileage/duration and in intensity. My preparation for this event was no different, and now I was paying the price. The slow plod of my feet kept me moving forward, but the pace had come to a crawl compared to what I’ve been capable in the past (such as at Tuscobia 80 a few years ago).

One of the difficulties with Arrowhead for me is the timing. Trying to sustain a training block through the holidays is difficult, but then when you compound it with volunteering at Tuscobia, and then putting on St Croix 40… it becomes an incredible challenge. Because it’s winter there’s also a good chance that I’ll have at least one week of being sick in the middle of it as well. All of this combined means that training for Arrowhead needs to happen throughout the entire year, building up a strong enough base to sustain the down time in January. That just hasn’t been the reality of my last couple years of training.

Back on trail I was plodding along and facing the reality that I was going to start pushing cutoffs at the checkpoints at the rate I was going. By the time I hit mile 18 and was crossing Highway 53 I was resigning myself to what would probably end up being a DNF. However, despite the very real opportunity to stop and quit at Highway 53, I committed to getting myself to the checkpoint under my own power. I wanted to see how far I could actually take this.

Around mile 20 I had to stop and take care of a blister on the side of my heel. Despite my pride in my systems, there were still a couple things I could have done better, and putting my blister kit somewhere other than in the very back of my hydration vest would have been a good choice. I had to strip off multiple coats to get the vest off, deal with the blister, and then get dressed and moving again. That is something I could have made a lot easier on myself.

By mile 25 my lower back started to scream at me, another sign that I didn’t do enough work in training to keep it healthy. I decided that since my day was 99% ending at the checkpoint to start popping ibuprofen. I avoid taking ibuprofen during events as it can cause real damage to bodily systems, but since I knew it would only be temporary I decided to do what I could to make things better while I was out there.

Sure enough when the ibuprofen kicked in I felt like my old self again and my pace significantly improved. I wasn’t moving sub-20 anymore, but I was actually starting to see people again in the distance and gain on them. This gave me a bit of a motivational boost and I decided to see what I could do in these last 12 miles before the checkpoint.

As darkness hit, I got closer and closer to lights in front of me. First I passed one person, then another, and finally two more. The magic of drugs, and pain free hiking, make the miles pass by much quicker. I chatted with each of the folks I passed, and offered encouragement, hoping some of them would keep going. I had called Lisa and she was planning to pick me up when I got to the Gateway store (mile 37 checkpoint). The idea of being able to stop the pain also gave me a little bit of a boost and I felt like I was flying. In reality it was barely a 20 minute mile, but it felt like I was really cruising.

I arrived at Gateway a little after 8pm, and though I had until 9 to head back out, I turned in my tracker and called it a day. Sustaining myself with doses of painkillers was not something I was willing to do, just to try and chase cutoffs for two more days. Lisa was just arriving as I got there and so we loaded up the sled and headed back to the hotel.

Despite the day not turning out the way that I wanted, I have no regrets. That is due to the fact that this was one of the most beautiful days I have ever spent in the woods in winter. The trail was stunningly beautiful with mixes of young and old growth forests. There was a light snowfall for part of the day that gave the entire scene a magical quality.

As I walked through some of the most remote areas of the state, hearing nothing but the wind in the treetops I was hit with an immense gratitude for the opportunity to experience this. I looked around me and saw nothing but natural beauty. The quiet stillness of the forest floor was disturbed only by a giant snowshoe hare that darted across the trail in front of me. I could have stayed walking the trail forever.

Granted, I would have much rather had a hot tent in my sled, set up a little wood stove, and watched the woods with a cup of hot cocoa in my hand. But that’s not the reason for Arrowhead, and so I just kept moving forward. It does make me think some winter camping might be in my future though.

We’re safely back home and I’m recovering from the adventure. Mostly just stiff and sore, and nursing a bad blister, but otherwise unscathed. I promised the race directors of Arrowhead that I’d be back next year as a volunteer again, and I’m looking forward to stepping back into that role. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to try this race, and I have mad respect for everyone who completes it, or even toes the starting line.

This is a special place, and I hold this race, and it’s community dear to my heart.

#arrowhead135 #RaceReports #winterUltra

The Arrowhead that wasn’t

When I said the odds weren’t in my favor for completing Arrowhead, I at least assumed I’d be starting the race. However, the universe had other ideas, and unfortunately I didn’t set foot on the race course at all this year.

We drove up to International Falls on Saturday, enduring a hundred miles or so of ground blizzard conditions which made things stressful. When we arrived at gear check things proceeded smoothly and I got to chat and hang out with a few folks before we headed to the hotel. I felt a little off most of the day, but I assumed that was due to anxiety and the stress of the drive. A nice dinner and cocktail should fix things right up!

After getting settled we headed to the bar to enjoy some food and relaxation, and ended up spending a few hours chatting with other participants who were there as well. It ended up being a really cool time, but by around 8pm or so I felt like things were not sitting right. I headed back up to the room and collapsed into bed feeling really crappy. And thus began the rest of the weekend.

I woke up on Sunday feeling meh, but decided to keep pressing forward with packing and prep. I got all my food put together, the sled packed, ran some last minute errands, etc.,. However by mid-day it was clear that I was sick. Upset stomach, sore throat, headache, general blahs. I took another nap hoping it would help, but it just kept hanging on.

Arrowhead is not an event you take lightly. You’re alone in the middle of nowhere, in the cold. Especially as a rookie you need to go into this event as close to 100% as possible. I was sitting at around 60%. Not sick enough to land me in bed, unable to move, but enough that starting an event like this would not be smart. And so I made the call to pull out from the race on Sunday.

I did consider going to the start line and trying a few miles just for the heck of it, but the logistics were getting too complicated with some other factors that we were dealing with and so we opt’d to cut our losses and head back home to recuperate.

There’s lots of thoughts in my head right now about this, and it’s going to take me some time to fully process it all. It’s difficult when you spend so much time training for something, and then get taken out by something out of your control. For now though I’m going to just focus on going into my reset for the year and start looking ahead to what might be next.

#arrowhead135 #Running

The next big adventure!

If all goes according to plan, next Monday morning I will begin the Arrowhead 135 race in far northern Minnesota. This is a 135 mile journey from International Falls, MN to Tower, MN on what is typically the coldest week of the winter. The event can be done on foot, bike, or ski, but no matter the method you need to be done in 60 hours and carry with you all the required survival gear. This is similar to the Tuscobia 80 race that I completed a couple years ago, as well as the St Croix 40 Winter Ultra that my wife and I host.

For my attempt this year I will be doing the course on foot. I feel like I’m most reliable on foot, and given the current conditions (soft snow), I don’t think a bike is going to give me a huge advantage. As of this moment the current forecast is for mostly mild temps in the teens and 20s and no real sign of getting below 0°F (-17°C). The area has not gotten a ton of snow so there’s been very little grooming done on the trail and not a lot of snowmobile traffic. This has the potential to slow things down a bit and make soft and slow conditions.

The upside to the milder temps is that I don’t need to pack as much “oh sh*t” gear and can rely on more traditional cold weather items. This will help lighten the sled I’ll be pulling a bit, and I can substitute in more clothing changes to keep myself dry if I work up too much of a sweat. I’m not going to be stupid though and some heavy mittens and a big heavy jacket will still be with me at all times.

I’m also getting my food situation in order. At Tuscobia I was able to rely on local businesses (gas stations, restaurants, etc) for more for variety. Arrowhead is much more remote and after the checkpoint at the Gateway convince store at mile 35, you’re pretty much out of luck. I’m hoping to cram enough variety in my menu to encourage myself to eat regularly, as a big danger in these multi-day efforts is simply getting tired and bored of eating. The means you’re not fueling your engine, which means everything is going to be much worse for you.

This challenge will be one of the biggest things I’ve ever attempted. I have some time goals (finishing around 50 hours would be great), but realistically I need to focus on just finishing. To be clear, this is a race that very few people finish. In the history of the event the average finish rate on foot is 46%, with some years being as low as 17%-18%.

Simply put: The odds are NOT in my favor.

That doesn’t mean I’m not going to give it a solid try though. I’m starting the race with a mindset that I’m there for an adventure and to simply soak in the beauty of spending 2-3 days in nature. All I need to do is eat and walk. Maybe 2-3 hours of napping throughout the event, but otherwise… eat and walk.

If all goes well, next Wednesday I’ll be crossing the finish line in triumph. However, even just starting this event is a bucket-list worthy item and I’ll get to cross that off Monday morning.

If you want to follow along on the trackers that we’re all wearing you can view the event on Trackleaders: https://trackleaders.com/arrowhead25

The dots aren’t going to move very quickly, but it’ll give you a sense of how things are going.

#arrowhead135 #winterUltra