This article was in today's Minneapolis paper (the StarTribune)
:Wisconsin race winner suffers frostbite, scheduled for
amputationMILWAUKEE — Andrew Wells may pay a heavy price for his
victory in last weekend's Frozen Otter Ultra Trek: two toes. The
27-year-old from Davenport, Iowa, was one of only two competitors to
make it past the halfway point of the 64-mile race that started at
noon Saturday. He spent nearly 17 hours on the Ice Age Trail in the
Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest. At one point, the temperature
dropped to nearly 15 below zero. Wells was the only person to make it
past the fifth checkpoint near the 40-mile mark. He got turned around
and mistakenly returned to the finish area, where at 5 a.m. Sunday he
was declared the victor for covering the longest distance: 49 miles.
"I guess it was fortunate that I went back to the finish," Wells said.
"Otherwise, I would have kept going. At the 40-mile mark, I felt
great." Wells said he never noticed the frostbite set in. "My feet
were obviously frozen, so I couldn't feel them," he said. "And it was
too cold to take my shoes off to check my feet. On my hands, I had
mittens on, and just to take them off for 30 seconds, my hands got
really cold, painful. "I thought my toes were OK." After finishing, he
went to a friend's home in Madison and napped. He woke to intense pain
in his toes. He removed his shoes and discovered a purple
discoloration. Wells, a chiropractic student, tried to warm his feet
in warm water and then went to a hospital in Platteville. From there,
he went to Iowa University Hospital and clinics in Iowa City, where
doctors plan to remove his big toe and the one next to it from his
right foot. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that surgery is
scheduled for Friday. "There's nothing I can do about it now," he said
during an interview from his hospital bed. "I can live a good life
without toes. "I don't think it will slow me down. My balance might be
a little bit off, but I'll still continue racing." Competitors could
navigate the trail with any non-motorized form of transportation, such
as snowshoes or skis. But most, like Wells, used only shoes and socks.
He plowed through several inches of snow in running shoes, one pair of
wool socks and a pair of waterproof socks. Race director Rod McLennan
competes with Wells as part of Team Fat Otter, an Illinois-based
adventure racing squad. He said Wells was the only competitor injured.
But most of the 43 starters dropped out after 8 or 16 miles, and only
four continued past the 32-mile mark. "Everybody seemed to really
enjoy it and called it quits at the right time and were happy they
gave it a shot," McLennan said. "For the most part, they stayed pretty
warm when they were moving. "But they weren't able to stop or slow
down." What did Wells win? A victory package that included energy
drinks, gel flasks, Moosejaw adventure gear and a subscription to
"Trail Runner" magazine.