Close encounters of the Black Hills ultramarathon kind - Sturgis, North Dakota
An image of Devils Tower has been imprinted on my brain since seeing Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a young kid. However, I didn’t visit Devils Tower until my recent trip to Sturgis, South Dakota for the Black Hills 100 Ultramarathon (I only ran the 50k) with a friend of mine. As with most of nature, it is definitely something you need to see in person to appreciate how grand it is rising alone in the countryside.
The trip began with a flight into the Rapid City Airport and an hour's drive up to Sturgis. We stayed in Sturgis because that is where the pickup point for the buses is, as well as the finish line of the race. I expected Sturgis to be more lively given that it holds the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, but the opposite is true because the town has specialized itself just for the event. While the hotel I stayed in was excellent, The Hotel Sturgis, I’d recommend looking at staying in Lead or Deadwood, South Dakota as these towns have much more to do and are closer to other trails and attractions in the area.
We flew in on Thursday evening so that we’d have a chance to tour on Friday and also to give ourselves a buffer in case of flight delays. The Thursday flights turned out to be a good decision as thunderstorms in Denver massively delayed the flights and we didn’t get into South Dakota until very late into the night. We started our day Friday morning at Uncle Louie’s Diner with a big breakfast. The breakfast crowd included a few locals, the motorcyclists getting an early start, and us. We then headed to Devils Tower via the main highway and got there right when it opened. The approach to the park was already backing up, so it’s definitely a good idea to get there early to avoid having to wait. An early start also meant we avoided the crowds and got to see the tower without many people on the paths.
After the tower, we headed back to Sturgis, but took a scenic route to drive through the Black Hills. On the drive we got a sense for the rolling hills, forests, and steep rock faces. We were not in any rush, and it also took us through Lead and Deadwood, where we stopped for lunch. One surprise is that in Lead is the location of the deepest goldmine in the western hemisphere, the Homestake Mine. The mine offers tours since it is now used to research neutrinos and has an overlook of the original open pit mine. We headed back to Sturgis to check in for the race and had a quiet evening since we’d be waking up at 4am the next day.
The race starts with a bus ride from the local football field to the 50k start line. The 100 milers started the night before, so when we got to the start, which also is the 70 mile aid station for the 100 miler, we got to see a few of the runners come through. We decided to start near the front of the pack because it looked like narrow single track to start, which turned out to be true, and we didn’t want to get stuck for a long time. However, we ran faster at the start than we’d normally plan on, so that might have caught up with us later in the race.
The rolling trails are mainly through forests, but with many vista points over the forest and some deep gorges. The downhills are a lot of fun to bomb since the trails are not technical. There is one stretch with many stream crossings, but we were fortunate the water was very low. They look like they could be difficult if the water is higher. The course has a lot of variety so it didn’t ever feel like a grind.
The race is exceptionally well run and has a nice finish shoot. Beer was available, so we crossed the line and chilled in the shade, just taking it in. We were exceptionally lucky for the weather we had, as past years either looked insanely hot or cold and rainy.
The Black Hills region of South Dakota makes for an excellent ultrarunning destination. Whether you are there to run an ultramarathon like us, or just to explore the trails on your own, you will have a great time.
