Eric Johnson, First on foot

Without question the last 65 brutal miles is what defines the Arrowhead 135. On Monday, February 2 in the frozen reaches of northern Minnesota, 26 people started and placed their bets they'd finish 135 miles away. Sixty hours later at race end there were 18 DNF's. The only similarities between the Arrowhead and a summer 100 is that you wear running shoes, which is where all resemblence stops. Add another 35 miles, all of which are done in a deep freezer and your're in for it.


As I mustered my way through the second night in temperatures that dropped to -35, I wished for an extra check point. Problem is, there are only two, total, one at approximately mile 36 and the second at 72. That provides a lot of real estate between the runner and the finish to be completely on their own, and is a painful test of self-reliance, which is exactly why I love winter or artic ultras so much. Perhaps in no other aspect of the extremes of organized ultras is self-reliance so absloutely critical. That along with sleep depreviation, a 25 pound sled and no pacers or extra drops, not to mention the mind blowing mercury drops of -35, and you've just met the Arrowhead. Maybe the last 65 miles of Pierre and Cheryl's race should be called "Pierre's Payback".

You also better pray it's not windy at -35, and that you don't need to stop and add any moleskin to your already sorry looking feet. Because if you get it to stick without subjecting your toes to frostbite, I doubt your fingers will be so lucky, I promise. There are plenty of reasons why the sub-culture of active winter or artic ultrarunners is so small, which is also why the active sub-culture of ultrarunners who participate in extreme heat events like the Badwater 135 is so sparsely populated: the margin of error is extremely tight, and if the ultrarunner has any physical or mentally weaknesses, they will be forcefully and painfully exploited, and they will suffer. A Navy Seal once said "It's mind over matter, and if you don't mind it doesn't matter."

Meet you at the starting line next year, and I hope that you don't mind.

Eric

Challenge for few in ice

Film taken by Brazilian TV crew during the 2009 Arrowhead.


Link to Brazilian TV report on Globo Videos

Translation:

João Prestes and Márcio Villar face the adverse conditions of Minnesota, in the United States. Brazilians speak on the difficulties of the test, disputed in a very cold place.

Jeremy's tale of the trail

Thanks again to Pierre and Cheryl for putting on the best race I have ever done. It was one of those once in a lifetime feelings completing this bugger. But I hope to be back next year for another totally unique experience. By bike? We'll see...I still have something to prove by ski, though. A little less time and a bit more glide (and grace). Well, mother nature will always decide that. It's exactly one of the best things about the race. One is always at the mercy of the weather at the end of the day (with a little luck and experience thrown in there, too).

Here is yet another tale of the trail. http://jkcadence.blogspot.com

Jeremy

Link to Jeremy's Blog

Everything falls apart at 4am.

Everything falls apart at 4am. Parties wind down, cramming for exams becomes intolerable, sleepless nights become restless mornings. In this year's Arrowhead 4am is when the cold set in, the shelter was full, and wax wouldn't stick to my skis...

Matt Maxwell


Link to Matt's report here.

Frostbite Falls alumnus

Hello ,


2009 was my 3rd Arrowhead Ultra. I got initiated the hard way, during the 2007 Arrowhead Ultra, where brutal weather, poor trail conditions, and mechanical issues pushed me (as I pushed my bike for 80 miles) almost to my limits. The biggest change for 2009 was the addition of a Pugsley to my gear list (Thanks to my wife Jackie) and 2 prior finishes to boost my confidence.

During the pre-race meeting, Mike Curiak shared slides from the race in Alaska, I think I could have stayed all day and listened to stories. My Brother-in-law John made the 500+ mile drive from Wisconsin to be the finish line official and offer support. My mother in law also made the trip North to offer support and bring me her special "Arrowhead cookies". I had my gear laid out for weeks but almost forgot to pack a drop bag (which would have been OK, I could have fed a small army with the extra food I had at the finish).

I started the race at 07:14 am and finished 34 hours, 46 minutes later. The race start weather was close to perfect, the trail conditions were not. We had 3-4" fresh snow and the trail was soft, this made riding harder, especially for the athletes breaking trail in front. The race leaders have my respect and awe, the pace they set is amazing. It is nice to see all of the racers in the first couple of hours, and all the gear variations they employ.

Key memories for me from the 2009 Arrowhead Ultra are:
- The race leaders drafting early in the race
- Skiers not getting much glide
- A brat and juice at Gateway
- The leaders breaking trail, following their tire tracks when I was able
- Good soup and grilled cheese at Melgeorges, wonderful volunteers
- Wishing for more logging so the trail would be faster
- Leaving Melgeorges at 5:30 am, seeing wolf tracks in Josh and Chuck's tire tracks that were only 2 hours ahead of me.
- How long it took to get to the tee-pee and how beautiful it was.
- How flat the last 22 miles are and how far it is from Bayview to Fortune Bay
- How glad I was not to be saddle sore.
- Cold feet
- flying down hills thinking "this could be the most spectacular crash in Arrowhead history"
- Frozen thermoses
- 29 below the last night, and how tough the racers were that were still going.


In closing, the Arrowhead Ultra is a world class race with great organizers, volunteers, and racers. The memories from each race keep me looking forward to the next one. My only regret is that I don't get to know all of the people better who are involved in this great event.

See you next year,

2009 Racer #11,

Ken Krueger

UNFAIR

Dave Pramann reports:

This race is unfair.....TeePee of Despair... must change everything, so there!!!!

Navy Guys

Luke--by the Numbers:
$ 15,023.10 raised for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation
135 Miles
53 hours 27 minutes
2 hours of sleep
2 sleds
4 or 5 layers
3 checkpoints and 1 tepee
Countless powerbars and gu’s
4 days of school missed
40 hours of driving
1 race, 1 goal

Blaine-Highs and Lows:
......Of course there were highs and lows during the race. Sometimes we would be able to pull each other out of it, and sometimes we would both be low, and we would remind ourselves to listen to our head and our heart, not our body. The times when we were both high, we would sing songs. I think I even did a couple of cartwheels at some point during the race.

...I had started to fall asleep while moving and running off the trail, so I followed the blinking light on the back of Luke’s sled, sometimes waking up and realizing I had been sleeping for ten minutes and had kept on moving. At those temperatures, it is very important that you don’t sweat too much so you don’t get hypothermia, and I had started to sweat. I took the mask and bandana off my face which had been warming the air I was breathing in so my lungs wouldn’t freeze. After this point, I only remember tiny segments until I opened my eyes and was in the hospital....



Luke's full report


Blaine's full report

3rd place/bike finisher Dennis Grelk

The Arrowhead 135 was everything I was hoping it would be and more. Truly a stepping stone for larger more self sustained multi-day events, whether it be racing or touring. Much was learned, yet there is much to learn.

I can't put my finger on what it is that makes this sort of event so appealing to me, all I can say is that this was the most enduring event I've ever done, and yet the most lucrative. The gear and knowledge required to finish this event is the most expensive and rewarding that I've ever strived for. Who knew racing at 8mph could be so addictive?

Many thanks to Pierre and Cheryl Ostor for putting together such a great event, and to all the volunteers and fellow racers for helping make the event what it is.


Full Report Here



Dennis Grelk

Canadian, Olympian or just another candidate for therapy?

It was 4 am and I was struggling to push my 70 pound Surley Pugsley bike up one of the interminable hills and I found myself thinking about where this event fit in among the races I have done. I’ve found that there are two basic levels they fall into. This didn’t reach the “ Please let me keep going for just 5 more minutes level. It was more where I found myself asking why a supposedly sane and well adjusted 60 year old would want to do this to himself. For those of you who’ve read of some other race I’ve been in, you’ll recognize a common theme but it once again seems totally appropriate to this event....

Lindsay Gauld

For more,

Click Here

Canadian Bill Shand

The temperature is -28C. It’s 2:00am. I am crawling inside my sleeping bag trying close up the zippers before my hands go completely numb. This was not part of my race strategy.....


.....As I reflect back on the race, I have to question some of the decisions that I made. Those decisions did get me to the finish line without injury in my fastest time yet but I took some unnecessary risks and things could have gone very differently. I was really happy to make it to the finish but I have some work to do before next year.

This is my third time finishing the Arrowhead. It sure isn’t getting any easier.

Bill's full report:

Click here