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2006 Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon Race Journal

• Race results

• Virtual tour of the course

• Charts and Graphs for Running Geeks (course/HR/speed plot, splits, HR trends)

I’d wanted to do Deadwood for a couple of years, ever since running across a writeup identifying it as one of the nicer small marathons in the US.  It had a reputation as a great smaller marathon, with a beautiful and challenging course.  And it doesn't disappoint on any of these counts, as I came to find out.  I’ve had a busy spring, running the Yakima River Canyon Marathon, Mount Si Relay, Sunflower, and the Kirkland Half. If that sounds like too much, you’re right and you’ve got more common sense than I do. I had definitely paid a price, as my times got slower. On the other hand, it’s been a lot of fun. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

I arrived in Rapid City a couple of days before the race. That gave me a bit of time to explore the area, taking in Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Devil’s Tower. Carving up one’s mountains is an odd custom, but there are plenty of natural wonders to appreciate as well.

The town of Deadwood boasts a distinct wild-west atmosphere. Main Street stands preserved mostly as it looked in 1879 when the town was rebuilt following a fire. The appearance is complemented by the return of casinos several years back. And every evening at 7:30, there’s a reenactment of Wild Bill Hickok’s assassination, which is pretty surprising if you’re not expecting it.

lakota sioux dancer, at the crazy horse memorial

devil's tower national monument, wyoming

downtown deadwood, south dakota

Deadwood's expo consisted of three booths and the registration desk.  I browsed for a few minutes while folks prepared for the race, and checked out the small assortment of running stuff for sale.  Then I walked down the street to eat a delicious pasta dinner at a local place I’d found the night before. The chef prepared a splendid plate of linguine with vegetables and olive oil – my usual pre-race meal. By 9:30 PM, I was tucked away and sleeping.

race stuff, laid out and ready for Sunday morning

I was awake at 4 the next morning to eat, drink a small cup of tea, and to dress. Although the race didn’t start until 7, the bus to the start in Rochford left at 5. At around 4:30,.small groups of bewildered runners trickled out of their hotels along Main Street, wandering to the north end of town for the bus. We piled in, and spent the next 40 minutes winding slowly along mountain roads.

Dawn came shortly after the bus left. As we rode, we traded stories. I spent a while talking with a couple from Los Angeles who are working at doing marathons in all 50 states. They asked about Portland and Seattle, then to my surprise, asked about our own Yakima River Canyon Marathon (apparently the secret’s out).

As we rode along, we stole glances at the Mickelson Trail as it came in and out of view. As advertised, the course looked beautiful. A narrow, but well-groomed trail wound alongside creeks and through trees, below attractive hillsides. With the hillsides shading the sun and the steady 2% grade not discernable from the bus, it all looked very pleasant.

A word about the course : it’s deceptive. The first half is all ascent, gaining just under 100 feet per mile. The second half is a nearly equivalent descent. My race plan was to try to go to sleep for the first half, and then run like hell. Sadly, it did not go as planned.

The bus dropped us off just outside Rochford. Once a Black Hills boom town, only a few people live there today. After arriving, we had almost an hour and a quarter to pass. And pass we did, with the line for the 8 porta-potties winding down the road. After getting in line, I no longer had any concerns about how I would spend my pre-race time. That critical ritual out of the way, I spoke with a group of folks who had driven the 18 hours from Indianapolis to join the early morning crazies in Rochford. Many folks drove over 500 miles to do this race. That type of following is pretty impressive.

At 6:55, we filed over to the start. The sky was still gray, and the temperature was about 50 degrees. So far it was a perfect day for running. We got a ten second countdown, and then we were off!

Much of the first mile was downhill, as we wound through the town of Rochford, and eventually found the Mickelson Trail.  The trail is a well-kept ribbon of dirt, stretching over 100 miles on an old railroad grade.  Most of the first half of the race is a steady uphill climb, about 1000' by mile 14.  This is a deceptively difficult race.  There's not much of an incline, but (as I found out) 14 miles is a long way to climb, especially in the thinner air.

My heart rate was a too-high 160 right out of the gate.  I'm not sure whether it was the steady uphill grade or the altitude.  Whatever the reason, I was never able to settle into a nice easy pace.  My race plan had been to try to sleep through the uphill portion, then run like hell for steeper downhill during the second half.  Between mile 4 and 9, we ran along open meadows where we'd seen deer playing from the bus.  The course is very pretty, likely even more pretty if you're quietly running solo and can see wildlife.  There are babbling brooks and railroad bridges - much to engage the eye.  There were also small groups of friendly runners from all over the US and Canada to talk with.  My only complaint was the fatigue I felt.

By the time I hit mile 9, my legs were threatening to cramp up.  My calves were twitchy and quads pretty well spent.  My heart rate pushed 165 for long stretches, about 15 beats more per minute than is desirable.  I began to take regular walking breaks by mile 11, and actually walked for about a half mile close to the top of the hill.  When I hit the halfway point, I'd surmised that I was likely going to come in over four hours.

After cresting the hill just before mile marker 14, I was surprised at how tired I was.  My experience on steep trail runs had been that once I headed downhill, all the pain of the climb magically disappeared, and I was able to make up some time.  I guess I'd never tried doing this after taxing my heart and legs for over two hours.  I kept to a steady diet of Accel Gel and Endurolyte capsules, supplemented by sport drink on the course, but it just wasn't enough.

Between mile 14 and 17, I walked about a minute per mile.  After that, I walked much of the time.  This part of the course was probably the most attractive.  The course wound between steep hillsides, and through forest.  It was getting warmer, but we were sheltered enough from the sun.  It was a beautiful day, and I had some great company.  I just couldn't run well.  I ran and walked sporadically to the end.  I ended up running in with a guy from Ohio who was finishing his first marathon, and a woman from Indiana.  After mile 25, I was finally able to muster somewhat of a stride and finish with a little pride intact.

climbing during the first half of the race

smiling for the cameras and masking some pain in the late miles

another race on the books

When I think about this race, I'm pretty torn.  It frustrates me that I didn't run a better (perhaps smarter) race.  I spent four days away from my family, and laid out some money to make this trip.  Even if my time wasn't great, I wanted to feel good about my effort.  On the positive side, I got to visit a part of the country I'd not seen before, and enjoyed meeting runners from all over.

My spring races have all been similar : fun, not fast, and pretty challenging.  Is this bad?  Not really.  Adversity is your teacher.  And at least I get to learn these lessons while I'm out with some like-minded crazies, enjoying nature.  Some days it's best to let go of the time goals, and just keep moving.
 

Charts and Graphs for Running Geeks

I haven't put together the usual array of charts/graphs for this race.  I'm not sure there's much of a point.  The blue and red lines tell the story.  Just need to learn from this and run better next time.