On June 5, 2022, I finished the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon. It was not my best race, but I survived to run another day.
The Mickelson Trail is an old rail bed from Edgemont to Deadwood, South Dakota. The rail line was built in 1890 to move supplies to Deadwood and ore to Edgemont. At Edgemont, the line connected with the main east-west Burlington Northern line.
The abandoned rail line was converted to a recreational trail in 2007.
The race started in Rochford, an end-of-the-road mining town on the rail line.
Race day weather was a 51-degree dew point with a 56-degree temperature at 8 am, rising to 63 by my finish. There was some rain, some clouds, and some sun.
We needed to park at the Days of 76 Rodeo Grounds in Deadwood. The buses left for the start at 7 am, and we arrived at the start around 7:40 am. I hit the porta pot line. The organizers had 12 units for 250 runners, and the single queue moved quickly.
I took off the raincoat and sweatpants I wore on the bus and put them in my drop bag. For the race, I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, a neck gaiter, a ball cap, gloves, and my Nike Pegasus Trail shoes. I’m glad I took the gloves as periodic winds made my hands cold.
I carried a single bottle belt with UCAN topped with water at each aid station. I added another scoop of UCAN at mile 9 and mile 20. I drank at every 20-minute break.
The race starts on pavement, going downhill for the first mile. With my Patella Tendon issues, I could not take advantage of the slope.
We went south through Rochford past the trailhead and turned around on the paved road to the trail access.
The race started at 5400 feet, and the initial drop went down to 5300 feet. After accessing the trail around mile 2, there is a constant 1% grade uphill to mile 14, which is at 6200 feet.
I planned to walk 2 minutes every 10 minutes and any other noticeable uphills. I started getting breathing issues in the third mile. My running was not going well. So, I decided to walk to the top.
There was one tunnel around mile 6, and all the rail bridges were replaced. The surface was crushed stone after the initial pavement.
At about mile 11, I started getting digestive issues. I knew there would be porta pots at the half marathon start line.
The porta pots were on the other side of a fence. The aid station people gave me a challenging route to them. After taking care of the issue, I tried a safer path around the fence.
I went through the half-marathon at 3:11:41.
After reaching the top, I wanted to return to the 2-minute walks every 10 minutes. Even going downhill, I was getting breathing issues. I was only able to run 100 paces before walking. So, I reverted to 100 paces running and 100 paces walking.
At my 20-minute drink break, I walked 120 paces. With the extra 30-second break, I was able to run 200 steps.
It could have been an altitude issue. I’ve run at these heights before and overcame the breathing issues after the first mile. But that was 15 years ago.
I had the same issues at the Historic Half Marathon in the last 4 to 5 miles. I need to check with my doctor when I get back into town.
Except for miles 19 and 20, the remainder of the course is downhill, finishing at 4600 feet. At mile 15, I calculated a pace faster than 13 minutes per mile would get a sub-6-hour finish. So, I pushed hard.
The route followed the rail bed until mile 20. The following mile’s surface lacked stone cover and many mud sections. In the last 6 miles, some of the course is not on the old railbed as there are sharp turns and steep declines that trains could not navigate. The last mile was on pavement, and I could see the old rails in the grass to the right side.
Those two uphill miles took over 30 minutes. I kept pushing hard but could not maintain the sub-13-minute per mile pace.
The second half took 2:53:49 for a finish in 6:05:32 for 176th overall, 107th male, and 4th male 65 to 69.
This race was my 76th marathon finish in my 41st state.
The scenic course will place this race higher up on my list of favorite marathons.
The organizers did a great job until the finish. There were many enthusiastic volunteers at each aid station, crossing guards, and marshals to ensure we were going in the correct direction.
But after finishing, the only foods left were bananas, watermelon, oranges, and Choc Chip Chewy Bars. I’ve experienced the same shortages at other races with half and full options, even when running 80 minutes faster.
Organizers left the drop bags in the rain. So, make sure to put your stuff in a plastic bag inside their provided required drop bag.
I needed to take a bus back to the parking. One left at 2:10 pm and returned at 2:30 pm. However, the RD told the driver to wait until 3 pm to take his last trip, having us wait around for an extra 30 minutes.
I could not get to the post-race gathering until 5 pm with the bus wait. There the band only played from 2 to 4 pm, and the free beer only went to 5 pm.
At 2:15 pm, if I knew I’d have to wait until 3 pm, I would have walked the mile to the parking lot.
There was no apparent first aid at the finish area. I should have checked my blood pressure to see if it was low. I was a little light-headed. To know would have been good.
As I have told race directors and stressed in the races, I directed, “runners remember the last part of their experience the most. Have them leave happy.” It’s not the great, beautiful course that I remember.