TOWER, Minn. — Duluth’s Nick Nygaard has won the 2024 Arrowhead Ultra 135 bike race from International Falls to the Fortune Bay Resort Casino on Lake Vermilion near Tower.

Nygaard crossed the finish line at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday with a time of 24 hours, 37 minutes, about 37 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Ryan Haug, of Fargo, N.D. Twin Cities cyclist Kate Coward was the first female finisher with a time of 25 hours, 23 minutes.

In the runner category, Alan Chapman, of St. Paul, won Tuesday evening with a time of 34 hours and 42 minutes. The first female runner to finish was Emily Krantz, of Burnsville, who finished early Wednesday with a time of 43 hours and 17 minutes.

Difficult trail conditions were challenging for the athletes, who began the race Monday.

Both the Nordic ski and kick-sled categories of the race were canceled due to a lack of snow. And what snow remained was often like mush in above-freezing temperatures.

It was Nygaard’s first Arrowhead Ultra 135 race.

“I certainly would have been curious to see what smoother trails would have been like,” he said in a statement. “But I think part of the ethos of the race is to deal with whatever is handed to you and make the most of it. I was ok with how it turned out.”

The Arrowhead Ultra 135 racers typically have to deal with extremely cold temperatures, but not this year, with temperatures well above normal. The soft conditions were described as brutal for racers.

The lack of snow has made usually pristine snowmobile trails into a mixture of slush and occasional open water. With skiers out of the mix, 155 hearty souls started the 135-mile trail via bike or foot.

“The trails were highly variable,” Nygaard told race officials as he enjoyed a post-race meal of homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls Tuesday morning. “There were some sections where I had to push my bike for an hour or more and then there were some rideable trails, followed by trails you could ride for a minute or two, crash and then get back up. It was challenging.”

Nygaard said a couple of snowmobilers were out on the trails to make sure racers were aware of open water on the course.

He said he spent a lot of time training and working on his bike leading up to the race.

“It took up a lot of mental space for the past three months to get to this point,” said Nygaard, whose father witnessed his win and spent some quality time hanging out at race headquarters after the big race. “It was nice to pull the trigger and do it — I had a great time.”

Race director Ken Krueger said one thing he loves about the Arrowhead Ultra 135 is that the 155 racers knew it would be challenging, but they showed up anyway.

“To be fair, they don’t want an easy race,” said Krueger. “I had one racer tell me, ‘I paid for 60 hours, and I am going to use all of them.’ I loved that comment.

“The bikers are moving at half their normal speed and are dealing with open water and rough terrain,” said Krueger, who thanked all of the volunteers and staff for their work in pulling off the annual race. “I gave the racers a lot of credit for staying the course because it was anything but easy navigating this course.”

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