Arrowhead IX: 2025

The race meeting

It’s Arrowhead Eve here in International Falls.

At 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, I’ll make my ninth attempt to finish the Arrowhead 135 ultramarathon. So far I’ve finished all eight of the Arrowheads I’ve started, and I hope to keep the streak alive this year!

As usual, the race can be followed through the Trackleaders website. (Trackers won’t be live till just before the start.)

Unlike last year’s low-snow/high-temp race in which I walked with my bike for at least 25 miles, this year’s race should be a more normal event. The entire course is apparently well covered in snow that’s been groomed for snowmobiles, which makes it faster for bikers and runners.

The Arrowhead Trail at about mile 37

And while I’d love another super-cold year, we should enjoy moderate temps rising from about 10º at the start to 25º by mid-afternoon and then falling to near zero overnight, with snow flurries starting after midnight and continuing past dawn on Tuesday. Should be pretty!

I aim to finish by 7:00 or so on Tuesday morning – making for a 24-hour effort – but my fitness this year is not nearly as good even as last year, when I was pretty undertrained. (Since the last Arrowhead, I’ve done about 25% of the miles I rode in 2023, and only amassed about 41% of the overall training time.)

Still, I hope the good conditions, my experience, a bit of sisu, and this good ol’ bike

The Blue Buffalo

will help me ride steadily, take what the trail gives me, and get to the finish line again!

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