Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon: Colford shatters men's marathon record

By Sean Welsh, Journal Sports Writer | Monday, June 05, 2006

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Scott Colford smoked the field at the fifth annual Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon in a course-record time of 2 hours, 40 minutes, 59 seconds on a pleasant Sunday morning in the Black Hills.

The Logansport, Ind., runner finished nearly 26 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor in breaking the old record of 2:48:19, held by Brian Bergt, last year's champion.

"Yeah, I saw coming in that (2:48:19 was the record) and I really thought I could run 2:40:00," said Colford, who, at the age of 35, has run in 27 marathons. "That was my goal and I got right at that, so I was very pleased."

The rest of the times were considerably slower this year, as Fred Gaston of Wilton, Conn., ended up in second place with a time of 3:06:55, while Bozeman, Mont., runner Jason Bruggeman was third with a 3:07:46.

Colford got off to a great start and opened up a large gap early in the race. However, despite coming out of the pack early, Colford said he was running at a comfortable pace.

"I felt as though I could hold that pace and it was a pace that I felt was conservative enough so I could hold that through halfway and then be able to pick it up through the second half," he commented. "At least I was hoping that would be the case, and it was. I think I ran about three or four minutes faster on the second half than I did the first half, so it worked out the way I'd hoped it would."

Colford, like many of the competitors in the 26.2-mile race, said the first 13.1 miles were a grind.

"The uphill for the first half was pretty interesting," noted Colford, who had an average mile time of 6:09. "Mile after mile after mile, you're going uphill and it really starts to wear on you after a while. I mean, you start getting really tired, but I just kind of tried to keep in mind that once I got a little over 13 (miles), then it was downhill. I just kept trying to plug away, hoping I could make up the time I was losing on the second half. And I was able to do that."

Colford was among 35 to 40 participants from the Kokomo, Ind., Roadrunners.

Rounding out the top-5 in the full marathon were Martin Gurthrie of Houston, Texas, who had a time of 3:11:27, and Brad Rhoden of Topeka, Kan. (3:16:40).

John Rodman of Sioux Falls was the best South Dakota finisher, taking sixth in a time of 3:17:29. Jeremiah Nelson, who lives on Ellsworth Air Force Base, was the top finisher in the Black Hills region. He took eighth after a 3:20:08.

Sara Burnet was the top female finisher after taking 26th overall. The Sidney, Mont., runner had a time of 3:31:56.

Dane "Fiddy2" Rauschenberg made an appearance Sunday and posted a time of 3:26:59, putting him in 17th place. He said he was satisfied with the finish.

"Yeah, this was a tougher course," Rauschenberg said. "I haven't run in elevation this high yet this year, and 13 miles uphill and then 13 miles downhill wears on you."

Rauschenberg has now run in 22 marathons in 2006 as he tries to achieve his goal of 52 marathons in a calendar year. The Arlington, Va., resident donates all his proceeds from the marathons to the Mobile, Ala., chapter of L'Arche International, a federation of communities where people with a mental handicap share their lives with those who can help.

"I have a great interest in that, so I wanted to raise money and the money goes directly to them," added the 30-year-old Rauschenberg, who is heading to West Virginia on Saturday for his next run.

Greg Mousel of Juniata, Neb., posted a 3:19:54-clocking to take seventh. Dave Braley of Sioux Falls (3:21:55) and Colorado Springs' John Cregan (3:22:22) took ninth and 10th, respectively.

In a time of 3:27:44, Jonathan Nelson took 20th place and was the top finisher from Rapid City.

In other action Sunday, Pierre runners swept the top three spots in the half marathon. Brian Clark, age 42, won the event in a time of 1:12:33. Travis Fitzke (1:20:27) and Matt Bump (1:21:44) followed.

Kari Cornwell of Fort Collins, Colo., won the women's event in a time of 1:23:30. She was eighth overall.