Michael Koppy Is the Oldest Person to Finish the Arrowhead 135 Mile

On January 28, 2026, with the race clock showing 59:30:00, Michael Koppy finished the 2026 Arrowhead 135 Mile. Seventy-five year old Koppy’s performance earned him the honor, “the oldest finisher.” Koppy started the Arrowhead 135 in 2025 but minor medical issues forced him to drop out of the race six miles from the finish. 

Competitors can cover the course on a bike, skis or on foot. Koppy chose to walk and pull a sled with required safety equipment behind him. Race organizers require racers to carry survival gear, including a -20-degree Fahrenheit sleeping bag, a shelter such as a bivy or tent,, eight ounces of fuel, a stove, and a pot.  “This year, I was the oldest person to finish any of the categories,” boasted Koppy.

When the race started at 7am on January 26, 2026, the temperature hovered around zero. The Arrowhead 135 requires competitors to reach the finish line within a 60-hour time limit. Koppy finished with thirty minutes to spare. 

Known as a difficult race often with extremely cold temperatures, the 2026 race lived up to that reputation. Only 32 of the initial 70 runners finished. The race also has a ski and bike category, and all competitors must carry a full complement of survival gear, including a -20-degree Fahrenheit sleeping bag, a bivvy or tent, eight ounces of fuel, a stove, and a pot. Koppy, as well as most of the other runners, carried their gear in a tow-behind sled. Racers must carry a whistle around their neck to call for help if needed, with the warning that their mouths could become too numb to yell.

This year, conditions were — as expected — cold. On the International Falls start line on January 26 at 7 a.m., the temperature hovered around -2 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the next 135 miles and nearly two-and-a-half days, Koppy traversed the wide and well-groomed multi-use trail with about 6,500 feet of elevation gain. Most of the hills are in the middle section, with a final climb up Wakemup Hill about 26 miles from the finish.

The race has a 60-hour cut-off time. Despite beginning to think he wasn’t going to make it as the clock started to count down, Koppy finished by Lake Vermilion in Tower with 30 minutes to spare. He says, “When I came into the hospitality room, everybody stood and cheered. It was pretty great.”

Koppy is an experienced endurance racer with finishes at the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile, 2022 Bigfoot 200 Mile, 2021 Tunnel Hill 100 Mile, 2020 Bandera 100k, 2019 Tahoe 200 Mile, and 2017 Moab 240 Mile. Koppy also holds the men’s supported fastest known time on the 310-mile Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota, a record he set in 2020 at age 69.