In early February, my wife and I were planning a June Marathon mini-vacation. We could not decide between San Diego and the "Flying Pig Marathon". We decided to send e-mails to Linda Thompson and Marty Winkel to ask their opinions of both. They responded saying they did not know about either race but were going to Deadwood, South Dakota (S.D) in June. My reply was "Where and what is Deadwood, S.D.?" Something that either Linda or Marty wrote impressed my wife because I was told to start training and the reservations were made
I really became excited about running this marathon while browsing their website. The point to point course is run from Rochford to Deadwood on part of the Mickelson Trail. The trail is a 114-mile rails-to-trails project originated by Governor George Mickelson. The crushed limestone course has a tunnel and 30 bridges on it. Rochford is a trailhead with a church and two or three stores 5305 feet above sea level. 1.1 miles of the course are on paved highway through Rochford. The course makes a U-turn on to the trail. Deadwood is about 4537 feet above sea level. The highest point of the course is about the 13-mile mark at 6200 feet. The trail is said to be uphill in the first half and downhill or flat in the second half. From about mile 24.8 to the finish is on pavement through historic Deadwood. The altitude is only 3 degrees of either uphill or downhill. The trains could only handle that much more of a climb.
The average temperature for Deadwood in June is between 40 and 70 degrees. A picture on the Internet even showed snow on the trail.
Deadwood's claim to fame is that it was a prosperous gold mining town in the early 1800's. The town is also famous for Wild Bill Hickok and his sweetheart Calamity Jane. Jack McCall shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back during a card game. Bill was holding 2 pairs of black aces and eights. This hand has become known as the Deadman's Hand. The emblem for the Deadwood Marathon is of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane running the course. They both have on running shorts. Wild Bill has such ugly legs, he deserved to be shot. Today Deadwood is a prosperous gaming town.
On Friday, the 4th of June my wife and I flew out to Rapid City, S.D. I was healthy and thought I was ready to run the Mickelson Trail.
We were sitting on the plane during a layover in Minnesota, and on comes Jeff Galloway. My wife told him I used his method to run marathons. He said we could blame this on him.
When we arrived in Rapid City, my wife told me we were going to make a stop at Wall Drug in Wall, S.D. This place was S.D's. answer to Ron Jon's. I had no choice about going there but it did prove to be interesting. My wife had many great ideas on this trip.
On the way to Deadwood, we went to our B & B. The directions were to go to the sign for Hideaway B& B and drive up a dirt road. We drove up this dirt road for a mile and came upon a two story Chalet in the middle of the National Forest. That was her second great idea. The area around our lodging was so thick with evergreens that the wind would whistle through them. In fact, Sunday morning (race day) about 3:00 A.M. we heard what we thought was a heavy rainstorm. Looking out the window, I discovered it was only the wind through the pines. Infact, the name Black Hills comes from the thick pine trees, which make the hills look black.
We went to Deadwood looking for the Pavilion that was housing the expo. This was difficult. Main Street was not one of the well-traveled streets and there was a parking problem. The expo was average, I guess. It had a great goody bag. The tee shirts were long sleeved and the bib had my first name on it.
We discovered that the course was not spectator friendly. We were not to drive to the starting line. The race director wanted all spectators to be on Main Street to cheer on the finishers. There were four trailheads, and about three roads that the trail crossed, along the course, but no one was giving out directions to them.
With my race packet, bib number and chip safely in our car, we were off to explore greater downtown Deadwood and find the rest of the Brevard contingency. Walking down Main Street amongst casinos and small shops we found Linda and Craig Thompson, their daughters and Marty Winkel sitting on the curb. We found out they were waiting for the gunfight reenactment between Calamity Jane and the killer of her boyfriend/husband Wild Bill Hickok. That girl was my idol for the weekend. She packed dual six shooters, carried a bullwhip and a fifth of whiskey while robbing gamblers to help out the poor.
The rest of the day was spent strolling around town window shopping and dropping a few coins into the one-armed bandits.
My wife and I had a great breakfast and good running conversation with the other guests at the Hideaway B&B.on Saturday morning. There was a couple from Houston Texas and eight guys from Minnesota. All were running the marathon.
My golf partner and I played nine holes of golf on Saturday morning. That was fun. Teeing off from high ridges through valleys to greens high on the hillside. YES!! You guessed it. I am a dual athlete. Presently I shoot about a 30 overpar. The PGA players don't have to worry about me yet. I max out on the handicap.
Saturday afternoon was spent sightseeing and roaming about Deadwood. It was really fun relaxing with fellow running friends. We visited the expo because Ken Winn had not picked up his packet yet. We found some free stuff and had a chance to meet Billy Mills, the American 10,000-meter record holder. He had an interesting story to tell and I also got his autograph on one of my running shirts.
The Pasta Dinner has to rank high in comparison to others. They had three types of pasta, three types of sauce and three or four types of cheesecake. The all you can eat buffet was GOOD!!!!
Race time was at 7:00 A.M. We had to catch buses from the northern end of Deadwood at 5:15 to get to the start. That meant early to bed and early to rise.
The alarm went off about 4:00 A.M. and the prerace started: dressing, breakfast, driving 7 miles into the city to catch a 5:15 bus for a ride to the starting line. Thank God for Central Standard Time. The sun was already up and we did not have to hunt for the buses in the dark.
Marty asked me prior to lining up for the start if I had ever run in high altitude. I had not thought about the effect of high altitude on runners, especially for us Florida flatlanders. I was more concerned about running up and down hills rather than the effect the altitude has on runners. I had read and heard about it, but never experienced it. Marty told me to go slow and drink plenty of water. I thought he should know what he was talking about so I thought I would run with him.
At 7:00 A.M. the gun went off and the field of over 467 runners left the tiny hamlet of Rochford heading to the big city of Deadwood.
My race plans were to run from aid station to aid station. That meant 13 mini races with a minute walk between, drinking water. I have read and learned from experience that race strategies can be changed. Mine sure did.
I thought I would run with Marty. We started out together but by mile 2 he left me in the dust. Before mile 2, I was sucking wind. I remember that Craig T ran the 5k the day before and sucked wind after ½ mile. He only had about 2 ½ miles to go. I had nearly 24 miles to go. My first mile split was under 8 minutes. I had to walk just before the 2-mile aid station. My strategy went to hell in a hand basket. My 2nd mile split was under 9 minutes. I walked a minute at each mile and each aid station. It I could not make it to one or the other I would walk for half a minute then go on. The split times for the rest of the first half were 9 and 10 minutes, mostly 10 plus minutes. My wife told me, after I finished, that when she got out of church about 9:30 it was 88 degrees. I was at about mile 15. I was running about 6 miles an hour. I usually run 7 1/2 to 8 miles and hour. I felt so slow I was expecting Linda and Ken to be passing by me. I was trying to think whom to ask for the official cut-off time. I wanted to finish before they closed the course. I wanted that medal.
There was a hill prior to mile 13 that really slowed me down. I was walking ½ a minute and jogging a minute or two It was a little steeper than the 3 % grade that was advertised. My split time for the half was 2:11.
Then I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. The course turned down hill. I passed Marty just after the split. He thought that I would catch him before this point and I thought I would not see him till the finish and he would be waiting for me to help me in.
My splits for the next four miles were in the eight-minute range. I felt good and didn't even stop for water. There was another incline at mile 18. My splits slowed to a ten-minute pace for the next three miles. I slowed to a snail's pace of running a minute or two with a half minute walking break including a minute walking at aid stations and mile markers.
I was so glad to make the turn on to Main Street for the last two tenths of a mile dash to the finish, and my well deserved medallion. I have a picture of me coming to the finish line with a running step. All the finishers received alabaster medallions that were the same but different. Alabaster is white with reddish streaks. The streaks make each medallion different from all the rest.
I met up with my wife and gave her a big "glad to see you" kiss. We got me hydrated and went looking for Marty, Linda and Ken. Marty came in 20 minutes after me and the other two were about 30 minutes later.
My last 10k for the race was one of my best in a long time. I averaged a nine minute plus pace. My finishing time of 4:13 was 20 minutes slower than my previous marathon.
My statistics were good.
A 9:40 pace.
A 2:02 second half split for a 9 minute negative split.
. I was 102nd overall out of 467.
I was the 83 overall male out of 294.
I was 7th in my age group out of 43.
My wife took me for a great post race meal. It was four cheeseburgers and a double order of fries for a cheap price. I want to thank Craig Thompson for that great meal idea.
My wife and I headed back for a whirlpool treatment at our room at the B & B. That soak was the best thing for sore muscles.
If you are ever out in S.D. to run the Mickleson Trail or to vacation, be sure to visit Mt. Rushmore.It is really worth the trip. If you go there, you need to stop at the overlook just before the entrance. You can look back at the mountain and see George Washington's face. Like it was coming around the corner.
After a great breakfast and some post race discussions with the other B& B guests, we were off to the Airport and the flight home to rest and prepare for the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, N.M. in October.
This was marathon number 28 for me, with one ultra, in 8 states.