⏵ Course guide · Black Hills, South Dakota
The Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon runs point-to-point from the old mining town of Rochford to the historic Deadwood Trailhead, on the George S. Mickelson Trail through the Black Hills. I will walk you through the course profile, the schedule, and the cutoff, then give you a pacing plan built for a marathon that climbs for 12 miles before it turns steeply downhill. There is a free calculator along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official race site. Check the current year details before you commit. Race logistics can change year to year.
This is a point-to-point marathon with a clear shape: a climb out of Rochford, a long downhill stretch, and one notably steep drop you will want to respect.
The marathon starts in Rochford with 1.5 miles on road before joining the George S. Mickelson Trail for the rest of the way. The first 12 miles are gentle uphill to flat, then the course turns downhill from mile 12 to mile 19. The half marathon joins this same course at the 13.1 mile mark, so half runners get the downhill back half without the earlier climb.
The race's own course description flags this section directly: "there is a serious downhill... it's runable, but you have to be careful not to become a runaway." From there to the finish at the Deadwood Trailhead, the course stays downhill or flat, so quad control through that one steep drop matters more than raw fitness for a strong final 6 miles.
Aid stations sit no more than 3 miles apart, usually closer to 2, so you are never carrying more than a short stretch of fluid on your own. Both the full and half marathon are USATF certified, and the course closes at 3:00 PM, roughly 7 hours after the 8:00 AM start, which the race describes as walker friendly.
The first 12 miles climb, so effort-based pacing beats a flat per-mile target early, and quad-saving discipline matters more than speed on the steep section that follows.
Twelve miles of gentle uphill to flat, above a mile high in the Black Hills, will not match your flat-road pace even on a good day. Hold a steady, sustainable effort through the climb and let the pace come to you rather than chasing a number that made sense on a track.
A fast early pace on tired legs turns the mile 19.6 to 20 drop into real quad damage, and the race is explicit that this section demands control, not just speed. Practice sustained downhill running before race day and hold something back through the climb so you can actually run that steep section instead of surviving it.
⏵ Free tool to plan your effort
Use the race-time calculator to turn a recent race result into a realistic finish-time target, then adjust for the climb and altitude here. The race-equivalent calculator can also translate a flatter marathon result into what to expect on this course.
For a marathon in the 3 to 6 hour range, keep it simple: aid stations every 2 to 3 miles mean you rarely need to carry much on your own.
Aim for roughly 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, more toward the higher end if you are racing for time, and take fluid at most of the aid stations given how close together they are. With most of the course above a mile high, drink to thirst and add a bit more sodium than you would at sea level, especially if June race day runs warm.
Browse the rest of the free running tools, including the ultra fueling calculator for a deeper build, at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a training plan built around YOUR fitness and the climb-then-drop profile this course demands. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the uphill strength and downhill legs this race asks for, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
It is a point-to-point race starting in the old mining town of Rochford and finishing at the historic Engine House at the Deadwood Trailhead. After the first 1.5 miles on road out of Rochford, the whole course follows the George S. Mickelson Trail: a gentle uphill-to-flat stretch for the first 12 miles, downhill from mile 12 to 19, a serious downhill drop from 19.6 to about mile 20 (runnable, but the race warns you not to become a "runaway"), then downhill or flat the rest of the way in. The half marathon joins the same course at the marathon's 13.1 mile mark, so half runners get the second-half downhill profile without the early climbing.
The official schedule closes the course at 3:00 PM, about 7 hours after the 8:00 AM SHARP start, and the race describes itself as walker friendly with the finish line open that full window. There is no separate published mid-course cutoff on the pages I checked, so pace your day against that 3:00 PM close.
The surface itself, a converted rail trail, is not technical, but the elevation profile is real: a steady climb for the first 12 miles followed by a long downhill, including one stretch from mile 19.6 to 20 the race specifically flags as steep enough to watch your legs on. Add that most of the course sits above a mile high in the Black Hills, and this is a genuinely tougher marathon than the flat rail-trail surface alone would suggest, especially on tired downhill legs late in the race.
Packet pickup runs Saturday, June 6 from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM at The Lodge at Deadwood, with no race-day pickup available. Saturday also hosts the Kids Wonderful 1K at 12:45 PM and the Mickelson Fast 5K around 1:30 PM, both starting at the Deadwood Trailhead/Sherman Street Lot. The marathon, relay, and half marathon all start Sunday, June 7 at 8:00 AM SHARP from Rochford, reached by bus transport from Deadwood, with the course closing at 3:00 PM.
The non-technical rail-trail surface and generous 7 hour window make the logistics forgiving, and aid stations every 2 to 3 miles mean you are never far from support. What makes it a step up from a typical road marathon is the elevation, above a mile high for most of the course, plus a real net-downhill second half that punishes anyone who has not trained their legs for sustained downhill running. Treat it as a scenic, point-to-point trail marathon with genuine terrain, not a flat rail-trail cruise.
Yes. The half marathon starts at the marathon's 13.1 mile mark and finishes at the same Deadwood Trailhead, so you get the downhill second half of the course on its own. The Saturday 5K and Kids 1K are separate, shorter events at the Deadwood Trailhead the day before the marathon and half, a good option if you are there to support a runner but want to be part of the weekend yourself.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/deadwood-mickelson-trail-marathon">The Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/deadwood-mickelson-trail-marathon" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course, cutoffs, and dates come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.
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