I flew into Rapid City and rented a car to drive myself to Spearfish. The car rental costed approx. $500 (ugh), but it was a nice drive.
I drove to Mt. Rushmore just to say I saw the monument. I didn't bother to get out of my car because you can see the faces from afar, so I took some pictures.
The expo was very tiny because it was in the hotel room conference room.
There was only one table that had things related to the marathon (ex. t-shirt, bib, goodiebag). The other tables were several small vendors of Spearfish.
One of the gifts runners received was a $5.00 chip to a local bar for the pre-race party! I went to the bar and had a beer called the "Central Waters Bourbon Pecan Kringle Stout". It is an Imperial Pastry Stout, it's ABV= 12.3, and IBU=27. This was VERY good and I had a second one!
The weather was absolutely perfect, especially coming from the heat in West Virginia!
The race started at 6:00 for the women (Leading Ladies Marathon), and the men started at 6:15 (Dakota Spirit Marathon).
We started at the Lead Country Club
The first 0.25 miles was an out-and-back within the country club
The first 5-6 miles were on gravel and downhill
Miles 6 and the rest of the race were on asphalt and mainly on HWY 14A (one out and back on Savory road, then back on the highway)
There were not any spectators unfornuately. The only people along the course were volunteers and people driving along the highway
I wish there were spectators because they would've uplifted my spirits and cheered me on. I'm used to city runs, so I'm used to crowds
The end of the course, approx mile 25.2, we turn onto a bike path in a park.
Highlights
There were PTs at the end of the race, so I had a nice massage
I met with tons of runners in the 50 State Marathon Club and/or Marathon Maniacs. One runner was from my hometown!
The views along the course were GORGEOUS! This was definitely something I don't get when I run marathons in the city.
The drivers would occassionally honk and cheer us on, so I felt like a bit of a celebrity!
No corrals, so we all started at 6:00
Pacers? No
No challenge options, so all the runs were on the same day, and no one could do anything crazy sadly.
Finishers received chips, candy, chocolate milk, water, etc (typically post-marathon foods)
I recommend this marathon if you want to PR and run in a race that's very small.
Race Website: Leading Ladies Marathon