This trip was intended as much for a vacation as it was to run a destination race. As a result I arrived in Custer, SD, on Tuesday for my Saturday race. I had planned on arriving Monday but severe weather in Chicago resulted in a cancelled flight and a day's delay. I was hoping that spending a several days in the area with some hiking above 5,000 ft might help me cope with the higher elevation, since that had seemed to affect me adversely at the Whiskey Basin 33K race in April. I'm not really sure if it made any difference, because I had no problems hiking up Black Elk Peak, the highest point east of the Rockies at 7,242 feet on Thursday. So basically I spent the three days before my race sightseeing and hiking along with some short runs of 2.5 to 3 miles.

Packet pick up was a block up the street from my hotel. I was able to speak with the race director about the course. My biggest concern on the course was how long, gradual slopes would affect me. He didn't see it as a big issue since I would be using a run-walk method anyway and none of the slopes would exceed a 3-4% grade on the rails to trails course. The course is point to point beginning at the Mystic aid station at mile 70 of the 100 mile race. The surface is crushed stone and grit so easy on the legs, but a good candidate for wearing gaiters. I've never bothered to use them and had no issues this time, but a lot of the runners did. The course also goes through a couple old tunnels and over a number of bridges. There was one section approaching the 15 mile aid station in Hill City where we were on concrete for about three quarters of a mile, but otherwise we ran through picturesque forests and fields with mountains occasionally coming into view.

Saturday morning started early for me at 5:00 a.m. making coffee in my room with a blueberry and cream cheese pastry I bought the day before. After packing my knapsack, filling my water bottles with ice and water, then double checking that I had everything I needed, I drove to the high school to catch the bus to the start. Just as I was turning off the road onto the drive to the parking lot, I saw a buck grazing at the corner. He looked up briefly than ignored me and went back to his grazing. While waiting for the bus, Tammy, a friend from Maryland walked down the drive. It seemed strange to meet her this far away, but that type of encounter is becoming a common occurrence as I meet more ultra runners. After leaving my keys with the finish line volunteers so I didn't have to carry them in the race, I rode up to the start with Tammy. The bus got us there a full hour before the 8:00 a.m. start, so I had plenty of time to chat with some of the other runners.

The race started on time and the first few miles felt really slow and sluggish. I had visions of this being a really long day slogging to the finish. At least I had no worries about a cutoff time since I had until 8:00 p.m. (12 hours) to finish. I was also trying to take a few pictures along the way. I preferred taking pictures during my walk breaks to minimize time lost, but once in a while the view demanded I stop and take a picture during a running segment. Somewhere around 3 to 3.5 miles I started to finally feel looser and running better. After the first aid station at mile 5.1, I notice this reflected in my pace as well when my mile splits dropped from high 13s and low 14s to low 13s and even sub-13:00. My 5 mile split was 1:10:06, just over 14:00 pace. I was able to maintain that through the 15 mile aid station at Hill City where I took a slightly longer break to be sure I had enough to eat and drink. It also helped that there were a half dozen other runners in sight so I felt like I had company and was in a race. Coming through 10 miles in 2:16:09 my average pace had dropped to 13:36. I passed the 15 mile mark just after Hilly City in 3:23:29, an overall average of 13:33. The last two 5 mile splits averaged 13:12 and 13:28. At this point I was feeling good, but the sun was also trying to come out, and that could be a problem.

Despite some cloud cover, the Sun was breaking through and it started to warm up. Combined with the distance I had already run, I first switched to a 1:00 run, 1:00 walk pattern from my original run 2:00, walk 1:00, then eventually to all walking to avoid any overheating. That was the situation when I arrived at the Orville 20 mile aid station. I took a little longer here to eat and drink more before topping off my water bottles and continuing. Shortly after that the trail started climbing, albeit at a gradual slope of 3-4%, but this continued for four miles or more. It didn't level off until about 25 miles shortly before the last aid station designated appropriately as the Mountain Aid Station. I was able to switch back to run-walk as I neared the aid station, so I tried to minimize my time there and get moving as quickly as possible. I was moving steadily and comfortably when I bgan hearing thunder in the distance. The last thing I wanted to experience was a thunder storm on the trail, so I started to pick up the pace. It sounded like the thunder was getting nearer. I'm not sure if it was real or my imagination, but I thought I felt a drop or two of rain as well and I was not looking forward to getting drenched, even though I had my rain jacket with me. I knocked out the last four miles in 13:01, 12:52, 12:24, and 11:54 in my rush to finish before the rain arrived. While that certainly helped with my final time, it turned out to be unnecessary as far as avoiding the rain. The storm bypassed us and it never did rain while I was at the finish at the high school track. That also meant my last 5 mile split was 1:04:27, an average of 12:49.4 per mile.

Here's the numbers summary:
Official time: 07:07:41:
Garmin time: 07:07:57 (no idea why the discrepancy)
38rd overall of 53 runners
26th of 31 men
1st in the 70+ AG since I was the only one in that age group
The WMA Age Grading calculator (2015) 50K equivalent: 7:25:04
Extrapolating to 50K at average pace for the race: 7:22:55
Extrapolating to 50K at average pace over last 5 miles: 7:21:24

I'm very pleased with the way this race unfolded. I'm not sure whether I could have gone faster had I not walked the long hill. That break from running obviously rejuvenated me because my last 5 miles was my fastest split of the race. I don't know whether I could have done that without the respite from walking. Overall the race was very encouraging and indicative that my training is going well. The numbers above show significant improvement, since I'm still keeping my effort under control and not running myself to exhaustion like I did at D3. While I'm still considering the possibility of a race Labor Day weekend, I may skip that and plan back to back long runs instead for my final big effort before North Coast 24. I'm optimistic that not only will I finally get my 100K there, but possibly a lot farther.

I was going to add photos, but I can't figure out how to get the photo url from FB where I posted them.

I'll try posting the link to the FB album.

Sounds like you ran a smart race, George!  Definitely bodes well for future ultras.  How did you like the Black Elk Peak hike?

Loved Black Elk Peak even with the rain. And Sylvan Lake was beautiful.  If you're still on FB, I posted photos in an album.

Again, nice job on the run. Bodes well for the 100k.  Thanks for the RR and nice photos.

I think hiking up high (well, a little higher than the planned run elevation) when first arriving helps. It makes the lower race elevation seem sort of normal.  But it could all be psychological.

Sounds like the race went perfectly, the tunnels look fun, not long enough to need a headlamp? Switching to walking on the climb sounds smart with the warmer temps, even at 3-4% that's more difficult. I haven't noticed elevation much at 7-8000', above that it makes a big difference for me, being used to sea level

The tunnels weren't more than 100m long, just long enough that I temporarily lost my GPS signal.  The elevation ranged from about 5080 ft to 5820 ft.  I was concerned after I had issues at Whiskey Basin which is about the same altitude, but no problems at all this time.

It sounds like a great event to do..except for the gravel part. Nicely run!  Grat that you could finish so strongly.

I'm very happy for you George. This year your races have gone off much better.

I'm always happy to read one of your RR's that doesn't include a trip to the medical tent or ER.

I tend to get a lot of grit in my shoes (I like loose shoes) so I would need gaiters for that surface. I like the tunnels.

I'll lnk some pics for you so the non-FB people can see.

Did you wear road or trail shoes?  I'm debating on road or trail for the KS Rail Trail in Oct.  I like my Peregrines for those as it helps "grip" the gravel but the Ascis Gel Venture has some grip that isn't too aggressive and it might work.  I have a gravel drive and road and I've practiced there.

Very nice.  So happy for you.