The point-to-point Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon course starts in Rochford at apprximately 5,600 feet. The first 1.5 miles are on paved road and the course turns onto the Mickelson Trail. The next 12 miles of the course are a mixture of gentle uphill and flat terrain. The course gains nearly 1,000 feet in elevation during this stretch.
After the midway point, the course consists of mostly downhill and flat sections with a hill at approximately mile 19 which will challenge runners. The finish is at the Engine House at the Deadwood Trailhead at just below 4,600 feet.
How does the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon Rank?
The Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon was the 229th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 215th largest in 2022.
This year 2.3% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 2.9% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon the 401st highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 351st highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 92.69 ranks it as the 423rd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 6th fastest course in South Dakota.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon a PR Score of 92.09. This PR Score ranks it as the 420th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 6th fastest in South Dakota.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 6225 feet (1897m) Min Elevation: 4544 feet (1385m)
Hotel & VRBO Accommodations for the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
View available accomodations around the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon Finish Line and Course. Book your Reservation now before the best places are sold out.
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Michael's review of 2014 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Race Day: June 1, 2014. I loved this marathon from beginning to end! The scenery is wonderful and the trail is easy on your knees. The only thing I would like changed is to have the buses drop off runners a later or so they don't have to wait an hour and half before the start. Besides that, I think this is an awesomely run event.
Race Tips
Bring a fanny pack that can hold your gel packs and a poncho. It rained for a couple of hours while I was on the trail, and a poncho would have been nice to use. The rained kept the temperatures down which made the run that more enjoyable.
If you want to save some money, look to get a hotel in Sturgis or Lead. The drive to Deadwood is less than 20 minutes to the rodeo where you have to meet the buses to take you to the start line. There is plenty of parking.
NGB's review of 2012 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
I liked the scenery.
This is a beautiful place to visit and the summer crowd had not hit yet.
I didn't like that the downhill caused my knee to be sore for days.
I didn't like that all refreshments were gone by time I came in-@6 hour mark.
You cannot fins a restaurant without walking through a casino-planned intentionally. Deadwood has a lot of history and interesting places but, they are becoming overrun by the "Las Vegas comes to Deadwood" theme.
Race Tips
Train for long hills-after talking with several friends we decided that using a treadmill workout with a gradual incline increase over a total of 1 1/2 to 2 hours would be a great training tool for the uphill part.
We were concerned about it being warm-so if you can, train for a warm race (70 to low or mid 80's).
I would NOT recommend the 1/2-it has too many runners for the course-my 3 friends that ran the half did not have the same experience I had even though we ran the same course-they were unable to enjoy the scenery because of the crowds.
Lots of campgrounds, cabins that run 1/2 or less then half the cost offered at the host hotel.
The pasta dinner was poorly planned-people were waiting 45-1 hour and longer for their meal. For some reason they grossly underestimated the # of people interested-probably should have had it set up to pay ahead of time-then they would have had some solid #'s to work
PS's review of 2012 Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
What a beautiful run it was. Ran it in 2012. I realized while running how blessed I was to get to run the historic rail line and see the Black Hills. It was a small run and no crowds cheering - it was just a wonderful relaxing marathon.
Race Tips
The first half is a slow grade climb - so make sure you are doing some hill work. Bring music!
We stayed at the Deadwood Mountain Grand and loved it. The staff was wonderful. My mom was with me and we didn't bring her scooter. They made sure we had a wheelchair at all times during our stay. And it was only a few blocks from the finish line. Highly recommend.
