Deadwood Mickelson Trail Half Marathon - Run

The title says Half Mary, but this was for the Full.

The race is on the George S Mickelson Railway Trail that ends in the historic town of Deadwood, South Dakota (yes, THAT Deadwood).

The first 14 miles is a constant, unrelenting uphill at approximately a 3% grade. You begin at an altitude of 5500' and ascend to just over 6200' before then descending to 4500' over the last 12 miles. The 700+ feet of ascent - after already not allowing enough time to acclimate well - is what got us.

We started out decently - I made a point of taking fluids right away at every aid station, Eliza however, ignored that and skipped the first one. Not saying that is the difference in anything, but I know it couldn't have helped.

We did quite well and were happy until roughly mile 9. At that point we were both extremely tired of going uphill. The scenery was so beautiful throughout the entire course, however, that it was very easy to forget about it.

Around Mile 11 things started to get bad... I had things hurting, like feet and above the knee caps - things that were to be expected, but she was talking about upset stomach, constantly having to stretch things, talking about muscles wanting to cramp, etc...

At mile 14 we had begun to take more frequent walking breaks, sometimes she would even walk backwards to change up the muscles being used. The sun was everywhere -- clouds in the sky all over the place, but pretty much not a bit of shade on the course.

Somewhere around mile 15, shortly after beginning to run again after taking fluids at an aid station, she threw up for the first time.. We were both already behind the 8-ball in terms of hydration as it was, but this was kinda a dagger in us. We continued to walk lots and do some seriously slow jogging for about 1/4 to 1/2 mile at a time as we could. The aid stations were every two miles, and at the next one she tried to take more fluids and thought she could get going right away after it... that was a mistake. The second bout of vomiting followed which pretty much signaled the end of any thoughts of a valiant finish for us. I told her we could stop at any time and catch a ride back, but she said no. Even if we had to walk the entire way in, we were going to finish it - and we did.

It was WAY more walking than even below-recovery effort jogging, but in the end we finally made it to finish line. Through the first 9 miles, we were actually on pace to set a P.R. for the distance for both of us, and in the end we set a Personal Worst for both of us, hehe. Such is sports.

It was an exceptionally tough day in an absolutely beautiful part of the country and I didn't mind being slow one bit.... that's not why we went there.

Allow an extra day - at least - to acclimate. Preferably two days.
I think I would take/wear a hydration pack the next time. That way, even if we have to walk we can at least go Gonzo on hydrating while we're not working hard.

We hobbled about a little and each chugged a couple of bottles of water, then walked barefoot back to the place we'd rented for the week (which was right on the trail and only about 200 yards from the finish line!). After that, we all went out for dinner and we gorged ourselves on pizza at some place called PizzaLAB (awesome food!).


Hahahahahh! Name it :)


This event is all about the location. It's a destination event for those wanting to check out Deadwood, SD and all of the surrounding National Parks like Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devils Tower, Badlands and the Black Hills. There is a TON of stuff to do up there for those looking, and I highly recommend making the trip.