When 75-year-old Michael Koppy crossed the end line of the 2026 Arrowhead 135 Mile on January 28 with 59:30:00 on the clock, he turned the oldest ever finisher of the tough winter race in northern Minnesota. The occasion, held totally on snow on the Arrowhead State Path, usually sees temperatures that dip effectively under zero levels Fahrenheit and excessive attrition charges, and this yr was no exception, with lower than half of the runners ending the race.
Michael Koppy (heart) on the end of the 2026 Arrowhead 135 Mile with two race volunteers. Photograph courtesy of Michael Koppy.
The route, which traverses 135 miles of groomed multi-use winter trails, begins in Worldwide Falls, Minnesota, a metropolis nicknamed the “Icebox of the Nation,” and finishes in Tower. The race is infamous for its frigid temperatures, and this yr, solely 32 of the preliminary 70 runners completed. The race additionally has a ski and bike class, and all rivals should carry a full complement of survival gear, together with a -20-degree Fahrenheit sleeping bag, a bivvy or tent, eight ounces of gasoline, a range, and a pot. Koppy, in addition to many of the different runners, carried their gear in a tow-behind sled. Racers should carry a whistle round their neck to name for assist if wanted, with the warning that their mouths might turn into too numb to yell.
This yr, situations had been — as anticipated — chilly. On the Worldwide Falls begin line on January 26 at 7 a.m., the temperature hovered round -2 levels Fahrenheit. Over the subsequent 135 miles and almost two-and-a-half days, Koppy traversed the huge and well-groomed multi-use path with about 6,500 toes of elevation acquire. Many of the hills are within the center part, with a remaining climb up Wakemup Hill about 26 miles from the end.
Michael Koppy (proper) throughout the 2026 Arrowhead 135 Mile. Photograph courtesy of Michael Koppy.
Koppy is not any stranger to the occasion. He began the race in 2025 — vying for the title of the oldest individual to complete the run — however sadly needed to drop simply six miles from the end. He says that after a mishap with some caffeine drugs and sprinting for 15 miles, “I simply collapsed. I used to be so spent. The medics got here and acquired me. I couldn’t stand up. They needed to elevate me up.” Whereas he nonetheless had seven hours to complete these remaining six miles, he says, “I couldn’t even stroll.” This yr, he got here again with a special however related purpose. Had Koppy completed final yr, he’d have merely been the oldest individual to complete the run. He proudly states, “This yr, I used to be the oldest individual to complete any of the classes.”
The race has a 60-hour cut-off time. Regardless of starting to assume he wasn’t going to make it because the clock began to rely down, Koppy completed by Lake Vermilion in Tower with half-hour to spare. He says, “Once I got here into the hospitality room, all people stood and cheered. It was fairly nice.”
Koppy is not any stranger to ultramarathons, and his prolific checklist of achievements consists of finishes on the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile2022 Bigfoot 200 Mile2021 Tunnel Hill 100 Mile2020 100k flag2019 Tahoe 200 Mileand 2017 Moab 240 Mile. He additionally holds the boys’s supported quickest identified time on the 310-mile Superior Mountain climbing Path in Minnesota, a file he set in 2020 at age 69. He additionally began the 2025 Western States 100aiming to turn into the oldest finisher. Sadly, he needed to drop on the Robinson Flats support station, 30 miles into the race, after narrowly lacking the cut-off time.
Michael Koppy pulling his sled by the evening on the 2026 Arrowhead 135 Mile. Photograph courtesy of Michael Koppy.
This yr, Koppy is doing the Bighorn 100 Mile in Wyoming — a qualifier for Western States — hoping to return to the California race for redemption sooner or later. He’s additionally doing the Summit 200 Mile in Colorado and hoping to take his variety of 200 milers to a pleasant spherical 10.
Koppy says it’s too quickly to say for positive, however he would additionally wish to return to Arrowhead 135 to compete within the bike and ski classes, persevering with to make a stable declaration that age will not be a barrier to unimaginable feats of endurance.
