The Arrowhead 135 Winter Ultramarathon is gaining momentum this year and is finally starting in International Falls.
“I thought it was going to die. We didn’t think it would last long term,” race director Cheryl Ostor said.
After four years of starting along a strip of Highway 53, roughly a mile south of Ericsburg, the 5th annual ultramarathon begins at 7 a.m. Monday behind Kerry Park Arena.
The starting point is the biggest change ... for now.
What started as 11 people challenging themselves to finish a 135-mile ultramarathon in the dead of winter has morphed into large competition known around the world. Over 110 participants from 12 different countries and 26 states expect to participate next week in a challenge that makes the annual Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run look like child’s play.
“A lot of these people are world-class runners,” said International Falls’ Anton Oveson, who played a major role locally in coordinating the expansion of the race. “They are genuinely long-distance, world-class runners. ... And some are just plain animals looking for impossible races to do.”
Participants must bike, ski or run/walk the 135 miles from Kerry Park Arena to Fortune Bay Casino along the Arrowhead Trail. They must finish in under 60 hours and abide by the strict regulations in place to aid their survival. There are also numerous check points to help keep it safe.
Of the 59 participants last year, only 24 finished in under 60 hours, and one was disqualified for getting lost and taking a car ride back to the trail. Out of 26 bikers, 15 finished; out of 26 on foot, eight finished and out of seven skiers, one finished.
“People that do this, it’s a lifestyle,” Ostor said.
The Arrowhead 135 is also a founding member of the Badwater World Cup, better known as the “Bad 135,” according to the event’s Web site. It’s one of three grueling ultramarathons that cover 135 miles. The two others are the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile foot race from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, Calif., and the Brazil 135, a race through the mountains that’s considered the most difficult foot race in Brazil.
“It’s really something special to finish,” Ostor said.
It’s also becoming something special in itself. Oveson reached out to Falls Mayor Shawn Mason, the Falls City Council and the Fall Area Chamber of Commerce, and all three have coordinated efforts to help this event grow. There are equipment checks all weekend at the Backus Community Center, and a spaghetti feed at 5 p.m. Sunday at the VFW.
“I knew this would be a good way to get people to International Falls in the middle of winter,” said Oveson, who wants to push the number of participants to 250 as soon as next year. They’ll need to go through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to get the OK on the expansion, but “with the city and the chamber’s help, I’m fairly certain that they will (give the OK),” Oveson said.
Whatever happens, the Arrowhead 135 is taking steps to become a staple in the winter lore of International Falls.
“It’s just bragging rights,” Ostor said. “Everyone wants to say they finished the toughest race. The coldest and the longest. They all want to make a record.”
