Ultra Tales
2006 Lean Horse Wrap-up
by Mike Samuelson

In 1874, General Custer led an Army expedition into the Black Hills area of the present state of South Dakota and discovered gold. A gold rush thus ensued and the Black Hills region became the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory. One of the Black Hills railroad lines subsequently built (between 1890 and 1891) was a 112 mile line from Edgemont in the South to Deadwood in the North. Following the abandonment of this rail line in 1983, the Mickelson Rail Trail became a reality.

Ultrarunning gold returned to the Black Hills region in 2005 with the inaugural Lean Horse ultras. The second annual Lean Horse Hundred, Half Hundred, and 50K runs took place August 26 and 27 once again utilizing the Mickelson Trail. Although the trail is not lined with gold, the crushed limestone surface is a good one on which to run. The scenery along the trail is simply magnificent. From the Crazy Horse Memorial (the world’s largest sculpture) to the historic railroad bridges, from the 1880 Train to all the beautiful ranch homes, from the deer at night to the two completely rusted antique cars seen from the trail, there is always something to keep the runners’ minds occupied with the views.

All the runners started at the Minnekahta Trailhead near trail milepost 16 and ran north. The 50K runners ended their race in the town of Custer just south of the massive mountain memorial of Crazy Horse. The 50 Mile runners continued past Custer, Crazy Horse, and Hill City before ending their runs at the High Country Guest Ranch. The 100 Mile runners reversed course north of the Guest Ranch and ended their runs back at the Minnekahta Trailhead.
In the Hundred, the first male finisher was 34 year old Ryan Loehding from Carrollton, TX who finished in 17:38:30 to set a new course record by 4 seconds. Shane Sampson, last year's fourth place finisher, improved his time by 92 minutes to finish second overall this year in 18:33:55. Andrew Davis from Minnesota edged out Ben Gilbert for third male finisher by 11 seconds finishing in 19:52:40. The fastest woman this year was once again Cathy Tibbetts who followed up her 2005 Lean Horse victory with a run of 22:36:10. Can she pull off the three-peat in 2007!? June Kessner from Laguna Niguel, CA finished 18 minutes after Cathy to finish second female at 22:54:20. In third was Barb Klessner from Wausau, WI who finished in 24:11:40. Also noteworthy is the finishes of 67 year olds Walt Esser and Jean-Jacques d'Aquin who finished 24:34:40 and 26:23:30 respectively for first and second finishers in the Super Senior age group. In the hundred, five of the 51 finishers were Super Seniors.That makes this hopeful life-long runner smile. May we all run as well as those five gentlemen when we are in the seventh decade of life.

In the Half Hundred, the first female finisher, who finished third overall, was 28 year old Heather Burcar from Lafayette, CO. Heather lowered the women's course record three minutes to 8:29:13. Not too far behind was Stanette Way from Bozeman, MT who finished fifth overall and second female in 8:41:15. Teresa Brobeck from Las Cruces, NM was third in 9:36:37. For the men, John Bernheisel of Cowley, WY ran a 7:59:20 to finish first overall. J. Russell Gill III from Virginia finished second overall in 8:24:55 while 60 year old Thomas Burr from Minneapolis finished third male and fourth overall in 8:40:26 improving his time by more than 46 minutes from 2005.

In the 50K, 34 year old Francesca Conte also traveled from Virginia to enjoy the Lean Horse course scenery. Setting a new course record of 4:19:20 hopefully left Francesca plenty of time to sight see before heading back east. Tracy Holland from Austin, TX also ran a fine race earning a second place finish for her efforts. Third overall, Tracy finished in 4:46:05. Kelly Johnson, visiting from Kansas City, was third female finisher in 5:11:11. On the men's side, first male finisher 50 year old James McNamara from Fanwood, NJ finished second overall and lowered the mens course record to 4:35:11. John Peppiatt from Kansas was the second male finisher, running 4:52:30. Third male was Keith Panzer from Colorado who squeeked under the 5 hour mark in 4:59:12.
From Mount Rushmore and the Wind Cave National Park to the golf courses and challenging miniature golf courses in the Black Hills area, there is plenty for all to enjoy and experience while traveling to South Dakota to claim ultrarunning gold. And travel the running prospectors did, as the 163 entrants, a slight inrease from 2005, represented an amazing 42 states, Canada, and New Zealand. Very few marathons or ultras can claim entrants from 42 states, a tribute to all the Black Hills residents who make travel to Southwestern South Dakota appealing.

Thanks to race director Jerry Dunn and his right hand man "webmaster and more" Waylen Bray for all they do to put on an outstanding race. Additionally, KUDOS and GREAT THANKS to the super volunteers who endured hours of rain and drizzle to make the Lean Horse runs a success. It takes many volunteers to get runners to the finish line, and the large number of appropriate Thank Yous from the runners will hopefully keep the volunteers returning year after year just as many of the Lean Horse runners will continue to make the trek to one of the most beautiful areas of the country, the Black Hills region of South Dakota, both to strike it rich at Lean Horse and to enjoy the stunning attractions in the Mount Rushmore area.

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