About 135 hardy individuals set out from International Falls this morning, expected to arrive at Fortune Bay near Tower, Minnesota by Wednesday of this week.
They’re taking part in the Arrowhead 135, one of Minnesota’s most extreme silent sport races. Participants ski, bike or run through the middle of the night and subzero temperatures for 135 miles. Last year, temps reached minus 25, and the year before that, minus 35. Add the isolation, frost bite and sleep deprivation (some racers sleep only a couple of hours a night), and it’s an event only Minnesotans could pull off (or want to pull off).
This year’s race drew racers from 9 countries and 25 states, but a Duluth News Tribune article says that nearly half of them won’t reach the finish line.
Read the Duluth News Tribune article HERE, and coverage in the International Falls Journal HERE.
To live vicariously through the racers and celebrate the north country from the comfort of your home, visit the Arrowhead 135 web site for live updates HERE.