The Lean Horse 100 is in the Black Hills of SW South Dakota. It's run on the Michelson Trail, a rails-to-trails path consisting mostly of finely crushed gravel. There is also a 50K and a 50 mile. The start is approx 12 miles west of Hot Springs where a highway intersects the trail. Your handlers can drive you out or take the bus to the start. LH was advertised as an "easy" 100 miler, good for PRs or for first timers. While the trail surface lives up to this billing the topography doesn't. The reason is the hills. These are not gut-busting canyons of the Western States 100 type or the roller-coaster ups and down of the Heartland 100 or Ice Age 50, rather they are miles-long gradual climbs. The first 33 miles of the course gradually rises from a little under 4500 feet to close to 6000 feet. Doesn't seem like much and there are many flat sections and a few gradual downhills. The gradual uphills are mostly quite runnable if you are well-trained for gentle uphill running. However for most runners the extra energy required to consistently run the uphills will come back to haunt you later - the prudent runner will do a good amount of walking in these first 33 miles. It's an out-and-back course so you get the long gradual descent to the finish on the way back if you have conserved your energy - and your legs - to take advantage of it. There are lots of aid stations - average about 5 miles apart - and 4 drop bag locations so you're never far from food, liquids or clothes. Two things to consider if you go - lots of runners got gravel in their shoes and had to stop several times to empty them out - if you're prone to kicking up gravel gators might be helpful here - second thing is if its a sunny day put on the sun block - I had it on my arms and shoulders but I got sunburn on the back sides of my lower legs.

Eric Clifton shot out like it was a 5K race as is his custom and I caught a glimpse of him disappearing in the distance. For my part, I started at a 10-11 minute mile pace and got in some walking breaks early chatting with runners as we went. The first 10 miles or so of the course are quite open with hills way off in the distance but then you get in closer to the pine trees and rocky outcrops. There are some pictures of the trail on the lean horse website www.leanhorse.com. There was a water only station at 2.4 miles and full aid stations at 6.3 and 11.2 miles before the first drop bag spot at 16.2 miles. At the drop bag station I changed my shirt, got some sun block on, poured a RedBull over ice and drank it down along with a vanilla GU and was on my way.

Along here someplace one of the neatest things happened. I was running along a flat open section of the trail parallel to a road off to the right when I heard this low thundering sound kind of like a muffled motorcycle. Didn't know quite what it was and then this herd of a dozen or so horses came galloping along in the meadow off to my left. One horse was out in front seemingly leading the pack and the rest were bunched up just behind. They galloped past about 20 yards off to my left towards the end of the pasture, did a wide 180 and circled back directly towards me. Came right up to the fence and had a good look and then took off in their little pack back down the pasture. They looked like they were doing exactly what we were doing - running for the sheer pleasure of it.

The sun was getting up and you could start to feel the heat. We crossed underneath the highway a couple of time and did more uphills as we passed through aid stations at 19.5 and 22 miles. More uphills and then a fairly long downhill stretch into the second drop bag station in the town of Custer at 28.3 miles. I was feeling quite good and ran this downhill section at a good pace. With occasional walking I was doing about 5 miles an hour - a very comfortable 12 min mile pace on average ? I suppose I was running 10 minute miles when I was running. At the Custer aid station I had another RedBull over ice (its much better cold) and had another GU. I was drinking a lot of water - refilling my one water bottle at every aid station and adding Carbo-Pro to my water at every drop bag station. I had been eating a GU and taking an ECap salt pill every hour which I carried in my RaceReady shorts. I also ate an assortment of pretzels potatoes bananas or sandwiches at each aid station. I like to grab a few things and walk out of the aid station while eating rather than sitting around at the aid station and eating. I was beginning to feel a little chafing from the elastic liner of my shorts - something I had never had on my long training runs in these shorts - so I got some Vaseline and rubbed it on my crotch and along the top of my legs.

From the Harbach Park aid station in Custer we went uphill again for quite a while - most of the way to the next aid station at 38.7 miles if memory serves. Shortly thereafter however we peaked out at a highway overpass which leads off the main highway into the Chief Crazy Horse monument. We had a really good view of the monument off to the right. From here there was a very nice long downhill section through pine forests and then some fairly flat sections into the next aid stations at 44.3 miles in the town of Hill City. Coming along the sidewalk as I came into Hill city the two front runners were coming back out of town. Clifton was in second place a few 100 yards behind the guy who was in first place. Jokingly, Eric asked me why I didn't trip the guy in first place. Eric didn't look too good and he eventually dropped. During this section I was carrying 2 water bottles - it was getting warm and I felt I needed the extra water.

From here it was another long gradual uphill to the final aid station which was a drop bag station at mile 49 or so. I got a quick drink and then went on to the 50 mile turn around which I got to in 10:15. On the way back I sat for a few minutes at the station. The 50 milers were finishing here and they seemed quite happy about that. But we 100 milers had to get up and get going.

I was feeling quite tired from the uphill section and it was a while before I could really get going again on the downhill back to the Hill city aid station at 55.7 miles. I was in and out of that aid station at quickly. As I was leaving Hill city I saw two snakes on the trail - a short green snake and a much longer snake perhaps a garter snake. Then I was off on a long gradual uphill climb and then downhill and along some flats into the 61.3 mile aid station. The chafing along the creases at the inside tops of my legs was getting worse and I got more vaseline. It was still quite light out and I knew a full moon was coming so I hesitated about getting my flashlight from my drop bag at this aid station. However I'm glad I did because I only had the one light and I would need it before long. I carried it along a long uphill section and then down into the 66.7 Mountain Trailhead aid station. All the aid stations were good and much appreciated but this one - the Chief Crazy Horse aid station as I thought of it - was definitely the most active and the best one at least when I came through. Lots of great volunteers asking what they could do for you and encouraging you and lots of great food offerings.

As I was leaving this station I discovered I needed my light as the moon was an hour or so from being high enough to provide light to see the trail. There were fairly dense pine woods and granite outcrops close in along the trail in this section so without moonlight and without a flashlight on it was absolutely pitch black. You really need a light through this section. Once you get close to the next aid station in the town of Custer there are homes and lights not far from the trail and the moon was climbing higher and you really didn't need a light any longer. There is a large hospital complex close to the trail as you come into Custer and I thought to myself I hope no one needs to use it. The aid station in Custer was pretty quiet. I got some GUs from my drop bag, changed into a light weight long-sleeved shirt and tied my light rain jacket around my waist just in case the wind picked up and headed out. As I left the short section of road and got back on the trail I saw a skunk scurry off into the darkness beside the trail and then heard a noisier commotion as a deer ran across the trail just in front of me and gracefully jumped over a 5 foot high fence. Deer must see very well at night because until I turned my flashlight on it I couldn't even see the fence - barbed wire at the top too - no problem for the deer.

It was a long stretch to the next aid station at 78 miles - under a marathon to go now. Here the country-side begins to open up again and some of this running is alongside and occasionally under the highway. The chafing was getting worse - never experienced this before. The night was cool- a pleasant change from the heat of the day and a flashlight was no longer necessary with the full moon up so high in the clear sky. On through the 80.5 mile aid station - run a ways then walk a bit, then repeat - on into the last drop bag station at 83.6 miles. I drank another RedBull and gulped down a GU and got a sandwich and headed out. Somewhere along in this section I passed the meadow where I had seen the horses - now they were just silent dark shapes off in the middle of the meadow. There were 2 more "manned" aid stations at 88.8 and 94.6 miles. The chafing was getting so bad it was interfering with my running so finally at the 94.6 mile station I borrowed a scissors and cut out the liner in my shorts and added more vaseline - still hurt but was much better than before. The last few miles in a 100 always seem to take an inordinately long time. They had mile markers every 5 miles (very good for checking your 5 mile splits- especially early on). At this stage however I kept thinking someone must have stolen or moved the mile markers. But then, just when you thought you'd gone way past 5 miles without seeing a marker there it was. Then you headed out for another 5 mile treck.

Finally I got to the last (water-only) station at 97.6 miles. Only 2.4 miles to go. It was starting to get light in the eastern sky. I was doing a lot more running now, and the slight downhill made it easier. Then, after coming through a cut I could see the lights of the finish line off in the distance and cranked it in. Two volunteers were working the finish line and they called out my time 23 hours 26 minutes and 7 seconds - 19th place of 59 starters. It was very quiet at the finish as finishers were regularly being bused back into town or picked up by their crew for the drive back to town. There were a few people snoozing in cars or sitting in chairs under blankets awaiting their runners. Dick Canterbury from Indiana who had come in just behind me and I were offered a ride back into town by the RD's wife. Much appreciated as that got us back to our motels soon. It was good to be finished but with the smooth trail ? no roots or rocks or mud or stream crossings - it was pretty easy going and I could easily have continued on. But this one was in the books - a very satisfying 100 miler - great way to see the Black Hills of South Dakota.

They have a little work to do on fine-tuning the awards ceremony - particularly with respect to the 100 mile finishers but that will come with time I suspect. The 100 mile finishers buckles are very very nice. Jerry Dunn is to be congratulated for taking on the responsibility of RDing a 100 mile ultra and he seems very receptive to suggestions to make the race bigger and better. I would definitely go back and run it again and I guess that's praise enough for the organization and venue of a 100 mile footrace.