The best the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota have to offer, the Sundance to Spearfish Marathon course is rated as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Almost entirely downhill except for one tough hill from mile 2.00 to 2.56 miles with 169 ft gain. First …
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The best the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota have to offer, the Sundance to Spearfish Marathon course is rated as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Almost entirely downhill except for one tough hill from mile 2.00 to 2.56 miles with 169 ft gain. First 12 miles from Cement Ridge to Spearfish Canyon Falls are on very runnable improved gravel roads, covers scenic mountain meadows, valleys and canyons, and drops 1,606 ft. You will pass the winter film site for “Dances with Wolves” at mile 9.35! The remaining 14 miles is hardtop and descends Spearfish Canyon Hwy (Rt 14A, a National Scenic Byway) to Spearfish, a route shared by the Leading Ladies Marathon and a drop of another 1,364 ft. This extremely fast course counts for either Wyoming or South Dakota – Your Choice!
Field size limited to 100 participants.
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Breathtaking Scenery, Relative Solitude
AWESOME COURSE through the breathtaking Black Hills. Downhill nearly the whole way, and well-tended: ample water stops. But you'll be running mostly alone: better prepare! Awesome amenities at finish, and … MORE
AWESOME COURSE through the breathtaking Black Hills. Downhill nearly the whole way, and well-tended: ample water stops. But you’ll be running mostly alone: better prepare! Awesome amenities at finish, and buses to start. They take care of you.
Alone in Nature
Came from PA to run this as a 50 state hopeful - this is state #25, and a great way to hit the halfway point. The race starts in Wyoming … MORE
Came from PA to run this as a 50 state hopeful – this is state #25, and a great way to hit the halfway point. The race starts in Wyoming and ends in South Dakota so 50 staters can choose the state they want to ‘count’ this as.
This is a small race with a limit of 100 runners. I was late to register, but the race director does a nice job of managing the entries and I got a spot off the waitlist.
Packet pickup is just that – I got mine at the running store in Rapid City and I was able to pick up a few provisions as well. Swag is a nice cotton shirt, a race branded cloth drop bag. The medal was nice size and quality. Just enough for my taste.
The race itself is a scenic trip through the beauty of spearfish canyon. Starts at the top of a ridge (saw a beautiful sunrise) and runs almost half on a gravel road before running the last half on paved road. It’s a nice downhill, and my quads reminded me of that for a solid week after. The gravel road is rocky for the first couple of miles and I obsessed about what shoes to wear – I ultimately went with a road racing shoe and that was fine. I LOVED the course and the natural beauty. It’s isolated, so expect that. Aid station volunteers had great energy and were a welcome sight.
The finish is in a local park and post race food was grilled cheese and watermelon – another win (all races should have watermelon).
I had a great time. Was able to see Mount Rushmore the Friday before the race and enjoyed Rapid City the day before –
Presidential statues were fun! I’d highly recommend the race and may just do it again to click off Wyoming!
Beautiful scenic marathon
Great marathon that was very well run. Race director Mike was extremely responsive and on-top of things. This was my first marathon, and the whole crew made it an simple … MORE
Great marathon that was very well run. Race director Mike was extremely responsive and on-top of things. This was my first marathon, and the whole crew made it an simple and easy to navigate the whole process. The first 12 miles is on gravel that has some rocky sections that can be tough for footing, but overall is very runable. The downhill is mostly a consistent easy grade making it manageable. There were a couple of steeper sections, namely mile 2, but otherwise mostly gradual. The single hill from 2.00 to 2.56 was very runable also. The views are incredible, and the weather could not have been better. Started at about 40 degrees at the top and finished at about 60-65 at the bottom. Definitely glad I ran this for my first marathon, but is going to be difficult to beat.
Breath taking beauty of Spearfish Canyon
Out of 41 Marathons, probably the most gorgeous course I've run. RD Mike, does a fantastic job of communicating prior and during the event. Starts at 6600 ft in Wyoming … MORE
Out of 41 Marathons, probably the most gorgeous course I’ve run. RD Mike, does a fantastic job of communicating prior and during the event. Starts at 6600 ft in Wyoming and finishes about 3600 ft for a net drop of about 3000 ft. Makes for an obvious fast course as long as you’ve done the requisite training and your quads are able to survive all of the descending! A cool feature is that it can count as either WY or SD if you’re after the 50 states.
Now my favorite!!!
Although this course was to be downhill and fast and for most of the runners that was the case. I’m a slower runner to begin with and the downhill on … MORE
Although this course was to be downhill and fast and for most of the runners that was the case. I’m a slower runner to begin with and the downhill on the 2nd half caught up to me. But it was absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed the support of the Race director, and his volunteers were wonderful! Well organized small town race!!! We had perfect weather and even the post race chocolate milk and grilled cheese sandwiches!! (And a lot more!) you’ll love this race and it can count as either Wyoming or South Dakota if you are a 50 state hopeful!
Beautiful and fast race
The course is stunning. The hill at mile 2 is tough but very runnable. I suggest gaiters as there are loose pebbles. Wear a pullover to start as it is … MORE
The course is stunning. The hill at mile 2 is tough but very runnable. I suggest gaiters as there are loose pebbles. Wear a pullover to start as it is cold at the top. Also be aware there are only a couple bathrooms on the course and you have to detour to get to them. The race director was great and the volunteers were so helpful. They tracked every singe runner the whole tune over radio. The ride to the start is fun too because you meet people from all over. The course is on but the road part is in a very wide shoulder and people drive slow because it is a scenic byway. I wouldn’t change a thing about this race.