I decided to do this run 3 weeks prior to doing it. I had ran a lot of miles in January due to the burrito 🌯 league in Sioux Falls. I felt I should try to see what I could do with the fitness.
I had 5 pacers. John Brantsen, Barry Sackett, Mike Bendt, Jack Errea, and Chris Riley. Each ran different miles. John drove the support rig until the last 16 miles when he then finished with me. Barry drove across the state to be with me. Chris is a local Rapid City runner who was supportive and knew the beginning of the trail where there is a cut off I didn’t want to take. Jack runs at SD School of Mines and this was his longest run of 17 miles.
I started in Deadwood and ended in Edgemont. This is a net decline. The “Mick” isn’t flat and the up hill is long and difficult. I maintained a 13:27 pace.
I stopped may times. I had 17 hours of running, 5 hr 40 min walking and about 2 hours of stops.
*My route is the route that should be used. I noticed that all of the routes on the website were different. Jess Walhof and I know each other and discussed that the cut off segment at the Kirk TH should not be taken and the route should go to the Sugarloaf TH. The route is 109-110 miles long. My route also shows the way to get to the Edgemont TH correctly.
I give credit to my friends for my success. I wouldn’t have made it without them.