The last finishers in the 2017 Arrowhead 135 endurance race from International Falls to Tower reached Fortune Bay Casino on Wednesday night after more than two days on the trail.
The 135-mile race is open to runners, bikers and cross-country skiers, and is known for seeing many - sometimes most - competitors drop out before reaching the finish because of often-brutal winter weather. But conditions were favorable this year, and race officials said 123 of 156 racers, or about 79 percent, reached the finish ahead of the mandatory 60-hour cutoff.
That's not quite a record, though; organizers said the record percentage of finishers is 82 percent.
The conditions did help some other records to fall at the 13th annual race: Ted Loosen of Minneapolis and Jill Martindale of Grand Rapids shattered the men's and women's course records for cyclists.
Runner Ashley Heclo of Florida was the last official finisher, crossing the finish line at 5:33 p.m. Wednesday for a time of 58 hours, 29 minutes.
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Jay Giddings of Duluth completed the Arrowhead 135 running-biking-skiing triad, finishing his run in 58 hours, 2 minutes after previously successfully skiing and biking the event.
