The Blood Run is 3, 6, 12, 24 or 36 hour race on a 1.5 mile loop around an organic vegetable farm just south of Lennox, SD. There isn’t much elevation gain or loss and the trail will be determined by how much rain we have gotten over the summer. The …
MORE
The Blood Run is 3, 6, 12, 24 or 36 hour race on a 1.5 mile loop around an organic vegetable farm just south of Lennox, SD. There isn’t much elevation gain or loss and the trail will be determined by how much rain we have gotten over the summer. The course follows a border around our acres of vegetable fields–so it is mainly well traveled dirt and some pasture where the miniature animals reside.
There are camping spots available for runners and crews. We have one fully stocked aid station that you will run by on each 1.5 mile loop (with FLUSH TOILETS). You can also crew from your campsite/car. You crew can hang out at the farm and enjoy the time in the country.
The Name
In 2011 we decided to purchase a farm with the intentions of growing vegetables for the masses. We named our farm The Good Earth after the Noble Prize winning novel by Pearl S Buck. We grew vegetables like crazy and worked our tails off. In the mean time, a local monument named Blood Run was turned into a state park. The powers that be thought that naming a state park Blood Run wouldn’t elicit a positive image, so they named the park The Good Earth at Blood Run.
We have a sense of humor and we love endurance running, so we came up with a timed run that would mimic what it is like to be an organic vegetable farmer. You never know what is going to happen at the farm, but we know it’s going to be memorable.
LESS
Another great year at the Blood Run
This year, the weather was about perfect for the 24 hour runners at the Blood Run. The race directors moved the timing and lap counting table to a more permanent … MORE
This year, the weather was about perfect for the 24 hour runners at the Blood Run. The race directors moved the timing and lap counting table to a more permanent location next to a shed, and the lap counters were flawless. The course was in good shape, and a very nice bridge was built over the creek after some major flooding from earlier in the year. You could still see some debris piled up in one corner of a fence outside of the course. It didn’t interfere with the course though. This year was kind of sad without Pearl, the tame deer that used to live on the farm. It died the previous fall from EHD disease that is fairly common in white-tailed deer in that area. There were still the other friendly animals, which included chickens, geese, pigs, donkeys, and T-bone, the miniature bull. I disposed of the watermelon rind that was left over after I ate a piece by throwing it over the fence to the chickens and the pigs. Swag included a well-designed short-sleeve cotton shirt and we were given the jar of marbles that they used to keep track of the number of laps that we ran.
It keeps getting better every year
This is a small, low-key race on a couple's organic vegetable farm. I have ran it four times, and it seems like it keeps getting better year after year. This … MORE
This is a small, low-key race on a couple’s organic vegetable farm. I have ran it four times, and it seems like it keeps getting better year after year. This year, a wooden bridge over the creek washed out earlier in the year, and they just built a bridge out of dirt to cross the creek. I actually liked this arrangement better as you didn’t have to step up onto the bridge. Instead, you could just run across. Grass has also grown on the trail, so instead of soft dirt that can turn to mud when it rains, there is a layer of short grass to run on. There is still one part of the trail that runs along a slope, so the trail is slanted to the left, but it is only a short stretch that doesn’t take long to cross. Basically though, the whole trail is runnable, even for slower runners like me. The farm has a lot of fun animals to watch, including T-bone the miniature steer, Wierd Harold the pig, donkeys, chickens, ducks, and Pearl, the tame whitetail doe who sometimes runs with the runners. The race directors are really nice and accommodating as are all of the runners. They have a really nice aid station with “real food” and a variety of beverages to drink including beer. All in all, it makes for a fun weekend.
Running with the Animals
This was the third time that I've run this race, and it keeps getting better and better. This year the course seemed to be much smoother with less holes than … MORE
This was the third time that I’ve run this race, and it keeps getting better and better. This year the course seemed to be much smoother with less holes than in year’s past. I could see where holes had been filled with fine gravel and the parts of the course that went through grass were nicely mowed and manicured. One highlight of the race this year was Pearl. Pearl is a yearling white-tailed doe that the race directors took in after it’s mother was hit by a car. They brought it inside and bottle fed it over the winter, and now runs loose outside on their farm. It has seemed to imprint on humans, so it is friendly as a Labrador Retriever. It ran alongside some of the runners on the course and even started with the 12 hour runners. Besides Pearl, there are also ducks, chickens, pigs, donkeys, and T-bone, a miniature heirloom bull. Part of the course runs along a small creek, and the banks were covered with wild sunflowers. To me, it seemed much more of a magical place than it did in previous years.
Another new addition to the race was a 36-hour division, along with belt buckles for anyone finishing over 100 miles in any of the race lengths. The race directors and volunteers are very nice people, and will give you the shirt off their back if you ask them. This year, instead of cotton shirts, finishers were given a custom hat. I foresee this race getting bigger and better in future years, and should become a must-do race for midwestern ultrarunners,
Down on the farm
This was a small race on the Good Earth Farm, near Lennox SD. The trail that we were supposed to run on was a dirt track that was soaked the … MORE
This was a small race on the Good Earth Farm, near Lennox SD. The trail that we were supposed to run on was a dirt track that was soaked the day before with heavy rain, so we ran on a shorter loop that was mostly grass for the first few hours of the run. The race organizers managed to get the dirt path packed down enough that we were able to run the longer loop which was only about 1.35 miles. It was a soft path that was easy on the feet. The aid stations were stocked with the usual ultra fare, including vegan items, and there were plenty of things for families to do and explore on the farm. The owners had miniature donkeys, a miniature Dexter bull, chickens, and a couple of pigs.