Up North: Northland runner gears up for 135 mile ultramarathon at age 74
Running 135 miles is no small feat, but what about when you strap a sled to your back, and get on a trail in the dead of winter all at the age of 74?
Michael Koppy is a legend in the Northland.
In May of this 2024, he took first place in the 70+ age category in the Cocodona 250, a 250-mile race in Arizona. In October, he completed the Wild Duluth 100k, which is 61 miles, as the oldest person to ever do so in the 16-year history of the race. But this month, he’s got his sights set on one of the hardest races he’s ever done, and hardest races in the world, the Arrowhead 135.
In the dead of winter, 74 year old Koppy will pull a sled with him, with necessities.
“There was a ridiculous trophy that I saw in our trophy case that was a thousand mile club,” said Koppy. “So my junior year of high school, I asked my coach about that. ‘What is it?’ He says, well, ‘when school gets out in the summer to when school starts in the fall, if you run a thousand miles, you get your name on that’. There was only one name on there. That began, sort of started my long running.”
Koppy is one of the best runners you’ll ever see, even despite his early up bringing with polio in his legs. Despite that, running has always been a great mental release for him.
“Running itself is a great release for just being able to figure out life in general. It helps you when there is a situation or a problem you have to deal with. I make my best decisions out on the trail.”
The average finish rate for the race is less than 50%, with 2019’s finish rate at just 35 percent. The finish rate for a 74 year old? Zero percent. Koppy hopes to be the oldest finisher in the races history.
“I’m kind of used to doing these extreme events and I’ve never done a winter one. So this is new to me and it’s right in our backyard. So, you know, being a resident right here, I thought I got to give it a try. So, here I am.”
Koppy will raise money for the duluth YMCA, and the donation page can be found here.
Koppy can also be tracked while he runs the Arrowhead 135, with the link here.