A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
One of the toughest winter endurance races in the world gets underway today in far northern Minnesota. It's called the Arrowhead Ultra 135. Skiers, bikers and runners race the equivalent of more than five marathons over a snowy trail through the night alone. One of the competitors hopes to become the oldest person ever to finish the race on foot. He's 74 years old. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Kraker introduces us to him.
DAN KRAKER, BYLINE: The conditions when I met Michael Koppy recently for a training run on a snowmobile trail outside Duluth were perfect, at least if your goal is to prepare for the Arrowhead 135. The wind chill was 20 below zero.
MICHAEL KOPPY: I've got several layers, but, you know, as I move more, and especially when you're pulling up big hills, you really warm up fast.
(SOUNDBITE OF SLED GOING THROUGH SNOW)
KRAKER: Koppy hauls a sled carrying about 40 pounds of survival gear required to compete in the race. Secured on the back is a small, insulated container he built to keep his food and water from freezing. But his biggest fear is getting too warm, because if he sweats, that means later he's going to freeze.
KOPPY: You've got to be on that edge all the time. If you're comfortable, you're in a bad place (laughter).
KRAKER: Getting too comfortable is not in Koppy's DNA. The retired college instructor began running in high school. Later, he progressed to marathons and triathlons. After he turned 50, he added ultras, races 50 kilometers - that's 31 miles - and longer. Five years ago, he recorded the fastest known time for running a rugged 300-mile trail along Lake Superior. Last spring, he won the over-70 division of a 250-mile race in Arizona. He says the expression, a runner's high, that's a real thing.
KOPPY: You can zone out. And you can get into what's called the flow, where time sort of disappears. I mean, it really does. You can be running 30, 40 miles, and it feels like it was 10 minutes.
KRAKER: Koppy says there's magic in those moments. But make no mistake, there's also plenty of suffering. For a 200-mile race, Koppy sleeps only about five hours over two to three days.
KOPPY: And if you have to have a little pity party, go ahead and do it for five minutes, but then you got to just let it go and move on.
KRAKER: Koppy doesn't see himself as a role model, but he's inspired Christine Paliewicz, who works at the YMCA in Duluth. Koppy is raising money for the Y through his racing this year. Paliewicz is a runner, but she stopped after having a baby a couple years ago. Now, after meeting Koppy...
CHRISTINE PALIEWICZ: I was, like, there's no reason that I can't get out there for a mile or two miles. And, you know, with running, it can be so hard that when you finish, you're mentally stronger to take on the day.
KRAKER: Koppy says for him, his age is irrelevant. He just thinks about whether he can do something, or at least try to see if he can. That's his approach to the Arrowhead 135, which he admits is scary.
KOPPY: It's out of my comfort zone. I mean, I've trained hard for it and tried to be in different situations, but I know I'm going to learn a bunch of stuff out there, and some of them the hard way.
KRAKER: After the Arrowhead, Koppy plans to run the Western States 100 through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It's one of the most prestigious ultras in the world. He's aiming to become the oldest runner ever to finish that race, too.
For NPR News, I'm Dan Kraker in Duluth.
(SOUNDBITE OF RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME SONG, "FIDDLE DEE DEE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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