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Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.9 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 110 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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David Hoffman from Milwaukee Wis.
(6/10/2010)
 "A Destination Marathon" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is one of the best marathons I've eve run and I've done over 200. It's a very scenic course with soft footing. The spectator (my wife) was wonderful, so I'm rating fans a 5. Put it on your to-do list! | |
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B. F. from So. IL
(6/9/2010)
 "Over The Top" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 39th marathon and the most beautiful, yet. Organization was tops. Hydration and good nutrition every two miles. Pleasant trail. Even though the first half or the race featured a net climb, it was gentle and doable. Trout streams were adjacent to the trail the whole way. The race director cares for the runners. I recommend this race to anyone. | |
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J. N. from Chicago
(6/9/2010)
"Awesome beauty with long climb at high altitude" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I read the review of R.M. from New Jersey who ran this in 2009. R.M. saved me much typing because my experience of the race was virtually identical, even down to the same guy showing up about 5 times. Since you'll likely not be doing a PR here, take a small camera for picture-taking. The minute or two you lose will be worth the permanent memories. The altitude map on the website is incorrect. The course peaks about 13.6 miles and is all downhill from there, except for about a half-mile during mile 19-20. Access to Mt. Rushmore, Sturgis, Motorcycle Museum, Spearfish Scenic Trail, Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway Trail, Custer State Park Wildlife Trail, Crazy Horse, Wall Drug and Badlands make this TOTALLY worth the trek to South Dakota. Book early, as hotel rooms fill up fast. The "Lodge" is expensive but seems beautiful. | |
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C. J. from Eagle Mountain UT
(6/6/2010)
"Beautiful Trail, Well-Supported Race" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race did not disappoint. The Mickelson Trail is a great running venue and the logistical support of the race was excellent - from pre-race expo through post-race activities. The weather cooperated with cool, overcast skies, almost no wind and good humidity. The trail is an excellent running surface and with the start spread out and the number of runners capped, the width of the trail really wasn't an issue. (If I had one suggestion for the race it would be to have the busses leave for the start - especially for the half-marathon - about 30 minutes later. There really wasn't an urgent need to get all the runners into the start area a full hour or more before race start.) The trip from Utah was well worth it. Very satisfying race - and overall a fast, half-marathon course, despite the elevation. | |
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R. M. from New Jersey
(6/30/2009)
"Very fun race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed running the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon, even though it was the most difficult of my 11 marathons. This is by far the highest altitude that I've run at, although I didn't particularly notice it. My time was about 15-20 minutes off my usual marathon time, but I suspect that more due to the hills than to the altitude. Everybody knows that the first half goes uphill and the second half goes down. What I didn't know was that the first half hill was just one long continuous hill. I was expecting at least a little bit of a break where the terrain would even off for a minute or two so I could catch my breath. But no, it just kept on climbing and climbing. Wow. The second half downhill was very welcomed, but it was hard to enjoy it after working so hard in the first half. And the little uphill thrown in at Mile 19.5 was a bit of a jolt to the system as well. Still, the course was beautiful. I will agree with others that the hour and half wait in the cold at the start was unpleasant. (And this is what prevents me from giving 5 stars for Organization). Thank goodness the rain stayed away for the most part. A little shelter, plus some liquid (hot or cold) would have been nice. Spectators were sparse. I saw one guy about 5 times along the course. The person he was there to see must have been right behind me, and he kept driving up to the next suitable viewing spot. If it weren't for repeats like him, there'd be almost nobody out there. The spectators who were there cheered loudly. But don't do this race if you need a lot of crowd support. Personally, that doesn't matter too much to me; I do all my training runs without any crowd support, so I'm used to it. So in a nutshell: Beautiful but difficult course. Friendly people in a friendly town. Nice shirt and medal. Decent post-race food. Deadwood is a fun place to spend a couple days, and it's very close to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, so you can get your tourist fix. For anyone who needs a marathon in South Dakota, this is a great choice. | |
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Bill Gaghan from Glastonbury, CT
(6/30/2009)
"Worth the trip" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 My wife and I flew out from Connecticut to run this race. As a 50-stater, it has been on my wish-list for years and I am glad to report that it lived up to its reputation and then some. Jerry and his great team of volunteers do a terrific job in organization, and the course is simply beautiful. As others have cautioned, beware of the impact that the climb will have on you at 5,000-6,000-foot altitude. As a guy who loves oranges when I run, major kudos to DMTM for having them at every aid station! It kept me going.... The tech shirts and finisher's medals are first-rate. There is plenty to see and do, so plan a couple of extra days, and see some of the sights. We drove out to Devil's Tower the day before the race and down to Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore afterward. I highly recommend this race! | |
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A. L. from Washington State
(6/26/2009)
"Beautiful trail race with easy terrain" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race was definitely one of the most beautiful races I have completed. The trail was wide, and even after pouring down rain all night, the packed gravel was easy to run on without trail shoes. I would recommend this for a beginner looking to do a trail marathon. I don't usually need food support throughout a race but for some reason I did this time, and I was thankful that they had support every 2 miles, as promised, even early on. It was cold and the 1.5-hour wait after the buses dropped us off at the start line was quite difficult. My only thought would be that maybe we don't need to get there so early? I never quite warmed up, even though I had a drop bag to help. If I were to do it again, unless they offered later buses, I would have had my family drop me off closer to the start time. I know they like you to use the buses for a lot of trail races, but please consider the elements! | |
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Greg Terry from Tippcity Ohio
(6/19/2009)
"Great Times; Great Place" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 27th marathon, and second in South Dakota. Out of all of them, Mount Rushmore '07 and the Mickelson Trail are my favorites. The uphill is tough going, but I took it slow and enjoyed the scenery other runners and the aid stations. The Blackhills and Jerry Dunn are one of a kind. I will be back. | |
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R. J. from North Georgia
(6/16/2009)
 "26.2 Miles of Breathtaking Black Hills Beauty" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 It's billed as "26.2 Miles of Breathtaking Black Hills Beauty," and it is! It's a really well-run race, too. Aid stations are about every two miles. Spectators are virtually nonexistent, as only a few trailheads along the route are accessible to vehicles. Most of the route is along the Mickelson Trail, a sand/gravel rails-to-trails path through the beautiful Black Hills landscape past horse and cattle ranches, ghost towns, abandoned gold mines, over bridges, past creeks and beaver ponds, through one tunnel, past the gold mining town of Lead, and ending in Historic Deadwood, SD. As previous comments said, the climb is not too steep, but at altitude, it still takes some effort. The 13-mile descent gives the quads quite a pounding too, and after the long climb, legs are already tired. Great tech T-shirts and medals, and the RD personally greets each finisher. Nice. This year it was 38°F and raining, which is my only real complaint about the race. Marathoners were dropped off at the start in the tiny town of Rochford, SD, and the buses departed, leaving us shivering in the cold rain for 90 minutes before the start. Some sort of shelter would have been nice, but there was none! Half-marathoners were able to wait in the buses, which waited there until the start, and even had hot coffee. Why didn't the marathoner buses remain? Still, this is a great race, and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't need spectators, bands, huge crowds and a flat, easy course. While you're in the area, there are plenty of great things to see. | |
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J. M. from Illinois
(6/12/2009)
"Fantastic Race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The course is absolutely spectacular. This is one of the most enjoyable marathons I have done. Be prepared for a tough race if you are a flat-lander. I handled the gradual climb from 5,200 to 6,200 feet during the first half pretty well, but the continual downhill running in the second half absolutely killed my knees and legs. |
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