Chicago Ultrarunner Has To Pull Out of 135-Mile Race in Frigid Conditions

Editor's note: Kummer pulled out of the race at the 51-mile mark. "The trail conditions were difficult, with a few inches of soft snow, it was really tough going," Kummer said in an email. "The conditions caused and escalated problems with my feet that made moving fast enough to finish within the 60-hour cutoff time impossible for me. Though disappointed, I feel like I gave the race all I had. I can't wait to go back and try again next year."

CHICAGO — Running 135 miles straight without sleep in minus-40 degree temperatures — while pulling a 30-pound sled filled with supplies — might be the craziest athletic competition ever created.

But that's exactly what Bronzeville's Scott Kummer is attempting to finish, beginning Monday in the three-day Arrowhead 135 — which begins in International Falls, Minn., and concludes in Tower, Minn.'s Fortune Bay Casino.

In between is a 135-mile snowmobile trail that about 160 competitors can either run, cross-country ski or bike through as they haul their sleds.

Temperatures could hit as low as 40 below zero, and International Falls is considered the coldest city in the lower 48 states. It prides itself on being called the "Icebox of the Nation." Kummer, a veteran ultra-marathoner — someone who completes races of 50, 100 and 150 miles or more — called the Arrowhead 135 "my Super Bowl."

^{Among the Wild: The Arrowhead 135 from AdventureMNFilms on Vimeo.}

"There is a saying that if an event doesn’t involve a risk of death, serious injury or complete failure, it isn’t really an accomplishment. This event has all three," said Kummer, who leaves for northern Minnesota on Friday.

"I think I am about 60 percent excited and 40 percent scared to death. If I only finish one race this year, this is the one I would like it to be. ... This isn’t a 5K in the park on a Sunday morning," said Kummer. "This is 60 hours of pulling a sled in the coldest place in America."

Kummer estimated he'll need to average a 27-minute mile to finish in about 60 hours. Racers do have the option of resting or sleeping, but Kummer believes a quick snooze will prevent him from crossing the finish line. Usually about 50 percent of the racers finish, according to the Arrowhead 135 website.

Kummer has packed a ton of supplies for the epic challenge. That includes freeze-proof containers for water; food that's edible when frozen solid, like Pringles, trail mix and peanut butter cups; a small stove; several different jackets and hats, and "some of the biggest gloves you'll ever see."

In case of emergency, he'll also have a sleeping bag that can withstand minus-40 degree temps. No one has ever died in the 12-year history of the race, but its official registration form warns of the dangers of running through the Minnesota wilderness in winter, including: hypothermia, drowning, wildlife, collisions with snowmobiles and the possibility of serious physical and/or mental trauma and injury, including death.

With all the layers he'll be wearing, Kummer said his biggest concern is perspiration.

"The one thing you cannot do is sweat," he said. "If you get sweaty, your race is over, or worse yet, you’re dead."

With as many as 12 hours between checkpoints, Kummer will be by himself most of the time in one of the coldest places on earth. But he plans to think about his late, great friend Alfredo Pedro, an ultra-runner who died from ALS in November. His sled also will have a large laminated photo of Pedro affixed to the inside.

"I miss him, and I also like the fact that I can complain to him and blame things on him when things get rough," Kummer said. "Sometimes I hear his voice in my head when I think about quitting."

Above all, Kummer, who is married with no children, said he's excited to conquer something that probably sounds like a nightmare for the average human.

"I love the idea of being alone on a snow-covered trail, with no one to save me, having to push through the night," he said. "While in the moment it has a certain 'suck' factor, when it is over, and you look back at what you did, there is a certain elation in knowing that you went to the depths of your capacity and pulled through. I love the challenge."

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