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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

This was a wonderful, scenic, trail marathon. The trail is pretty resistant to rain, and was muddy/slick in only a few spots even though it had rained all night. We were very lucky, as the rain stopped as we got to the starting line and remained only a drizzle until we finished. The organizers did a good job getting us from the parking lots to the start, and from the finish line back to the parking lots.

The map on the website shows a constant 800-foot climb from miles 2-13, followed by a constant 1600-foot drop from 13-26. This was amazingly true, as there was almost no rolling hills except for a small but annoying uphill around mile 19-20.

If you can curb your enthusiasm during the uphill climb, you almost have a guaranteed negative split on the second half. Just make sure your knees and quads are trained for the downhill part. The trail has plenty of year round markers on it, so it's pretty hard to feel lost. The pack does get pretty spread out, so you should be prepared for that. However, there are only a few places where you could possibly get lost, and then you only have to look for the trail sign. Most of the spectators were volunteers at the fluid stations, runner entourages, or relay runners.

I'm a 50-stater, and I would recommend this marathon as the South Dakota Marathon because of my experience, and because its held in June - when there are only a few marathons scheduled in the U.S.

This is the fourth time I have run this race and was thinking it was time for a change in my marathon routine. But running it again is enough to inspire me to want to return.

There isn't a quarter-mile on the 26.2-mile route that doesn't have beauty, even on an overcast and misty morning like we had this year.

Using the Mickelson Trail also eliminates the need for crossing guards and isolates runners from the outside world. It's nothing but you, your fellow runners, and God's creation.

Spectator viewpoints are limited, but those trailheads and crossings do draw a good throng of well-wishers of participants.

The aid stations were well spaced, and the offering of fruit was appreciated. Signs designating which table offered water and which offered sports drink were appreciated.

At the finish line it was encouraging to be greeted by running legend and race director Jerry Dunn. The chocolate milk at the refreshment table tasted great.

My only suggestion for the race would be to have some type of shelter at the starting line. With buses taking runners to the start more than an hour before the start, there could be a real problem if it would rain, which almost happened this year. I would suggest a tent, or opening up the fire hall or chapel, if possible. Otherwise, there could be hundreds of soaked runners waiting around for the race to start.

Everything about this race is fantastic. Great scenery, nice tech shirt and a really cool medal. Jerry and all the volunteers are great and had a lot of enthusiasm. There is a trolley that picks runners up and drops you back off at your hotel.

The town of Deadwood is a lot of fun also. No one I met - including the runners - could have been any nicer. Thanks, Jerry!!

Good race, beautiful trail, and the 2008 USA Championships too! The complete package for any trail marathoner, beginner to elite. The organizers make everyone feel welcome. Racing is a great way to meet people, and this race is no exception. I talked to some interesting people before, during and after the race.