It was a trip into South Dakota, visiting the iconic Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse national…read moremonument. And to run a marathon too. Why not?
I finished the 2012 version of the Deadwood Mickelson Trail marathon in Deadwood, SD on 6/7/2012. It was my first "trail" race in my marathon life, but not unlike real trail as with the Bear Chase 50K in Lakewood, CO. The marathon course was basically what we marathoners call "rails to trails", where a running / jogging path is created over what was railroad tracks that are no longer in use. This was my 33rd lifetime marathon and 23rd marathon state to run 50 marathons in 50 states from Hawaii. Getting here to South Dakota wasn't easy, but with tight connections in LGA and MSP, I arrived in Rapid City, SD and it's a short drive to Deadwood. These trails are more suitable to runners such as myself, but avoid any real technical trails, which would involve tree roots, uneven surfaces, and river crossings, etc. The Deadwood Mickelson trail marathon is a favorite among my crazy running group, however there's just a dozen of races to choose from this state. I happened to pair up this one with Vermont City marathon in Burlington, VT a week before to make it a nice week long vacation.
The Deadwood Mickelson Trail marathon and half marathon is definitely a scenic race, which takes place on the Deadwood Mickelson Trail (its namesake). Most of the trail is quite beautiful, like you're running in a never ending garden, at least in the first half of the course. It's a quite flat course, but with a few hills in the later sections of the course. Eventually, the route crosses over to a quiet, but busy roadway, but on a rural road on a Sunday in Deadwood, SD, there was hardly any traffic anyway, except for some rogue cars. I did see deer while I ran this one and that was quite awesome. They just jumped about 100 yards ahead of me, over the trail and disappeared into the brush. I thought that was something special, since I don't see that stuff in Hawaii anyway. With that said, the marathon caps out at roughly 2,000 people, so it's a small town atmosphere to be honest. The way I was going, it was more of a training run in lush surroundings rather than a race. It's quite beautiful here and I am glad that I picked this one, versus the others that South Dakota provides. I would like to recommend this race because the race organization is great and the volunteers are always amazing - especially at mile 20 when you're just wanting to be done already!
The Deadwood Mickelson Trail marathon and half marathon expo and packet pick up was held at The Lodge at Deadwood. It's large enough, so that the expo hours are held over 2 days instead of just one. The expo itself is held in a semi large conference room, but they don't really utilize the space that much. The expo is quite small, but quite upscale for this race. There are vendors who sell marathon specific products and other runner related wares. It's quite nice for them to be there when you need something you didn't pack for. The course time limit is 7 hours for both the half and full marathon, but I am glad they were generous with me, when I took a little more time than what was required. I am definitely thankful for that. The finisher medal is quite nice and modeled after the Deadwood Mickelson Trail marathon logo, which are the initials of the race, along with a tree in the middle, and 3 playing cards to signify that you can try your luck with the marathon. Or maybe Deadwood is a town where you can gamble. Either one answer would be plausible, I guess. I wouldn't recommend this one as your BQ race, since trails can be unpredictable for some.
If you need a marathon or half marathon in South Dakota, try the Deadwood Mickelson Trail marathon & half marathon. Early June provides enough warmth and cool to make it an enjoyable day.
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