Mother, son finish top 20 at Mickelson Trail half marathon
Last minute race entries prove to be a good luck charm in Deadwood
DEADWOOD, S.D. (KEVN) - Thousands of runners were on the Mickelson Trail Sunday morning participating in this year’s marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay, with racers finishing through the heart of historic Deadwood.
Two weeks ago, 16-year-old Sully Wilson and his mother Annmarie, had nothing booked on their calendars for the first weekend of June.
“Chose to run this race because my son wanted to do it,” Annmarie Wilson said. “We kind of had a last minute sign up. We signed up a week ago.”
Both of the mother and son are runners in their respective rights, but never ran a race together until Sunday’s half-marathon.
“Mom and dad ran, and I just ran in middle school and then got a little better, got into high school and then I thought a half (marathon) would be fun,” Sully said.
“I can’t say that we’ve really run together, like a race before,” Annmarie continued. “This was the first time. It was a really fun weekend with him.”
Sully is still a “rookie runner” compared to his mom who has ran nearly 20 full marathons in the last 20 years. This race on the Mickelson Trail is different than others. Runners face various obstacles given the difference in terrain versus your typical “city” run.
“It’s the second farthest I’ve ever ran, so I didn’t really know what I was going to run going into it,” Sully explained.
“(I) was a little bit worried because of the gravel,” Annmarie said of the conditions. “Your footing is just a little bit different. You kind of have to be careful on that, but it’s so much more beautiful, for sure.”
Where the half-marathon runners start, near Dumont, to where they finish in downtown Deadwood, participants experience the full beauty of the Mount Rushmore State. It’s night-and-day to the Wilson’s hometown of Lingle, Wyoming.
“The trail was super nice, and it was pretty and it’s not like you’re in the middle of nowhere like at my house,” Sully said.
Sunday was a great day for the Wilson family. Annmarie tallied a personal best, taking 1st place overall in the female division of the half-marathon. Sully on the other hand placed 6th overall.
“It feels good cause everybody’s trying to make everybody better,” Sully said. “So, like they’re helping you and there’s people on the course to run with and they’re helping me, so it’s nice.”
To learn more about Deadwood’s Mickelson Trail Marathon, click here.
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