Marathon: McDaniel 1st woman across at Rushmore run

By Sean Welsh, Journal Sports Writer | Monday, October 09, 2006

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HILL CITY - Rapid City's Nikki Underwood-McDaniel was the fastest female to finish the Mount Rushmore Marathon on a chilly Sunday in the Black Hills.

The former NAIA All-American distance runner at Black Hills State made it to the finish-line in downtown Hill City in 3 hours, 10 minutes, 59 seconds en route to a fourth-place finish overall.

"Yeah, I was really happy with it," said Underwood-McDaniel, the national marathon champion at the 2003 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. "I haven't run a marathon for a few years, so I was really excited."

Underwood-McDaniel averaged 7:18 per mile during the 26.2-mile trek on Sunday.

"Those hills were tough," she added. "From 13-20 (miles) was all uphill, so I just tried to stay relaxed because I knew the last six (miles) were downhill. But, yeah, I was really happy; it was the first time I'd ever run it (and) it was really pretty.

"It was tough, but I enjoyed it; I had fun. I had my family cheering out there."

Underwood-McDaniel is originally from Brookings and was a nine-time All-American - both indoor and outdoor - at BHSU.

Gannon White of Greeley, Colo., won the Mount Rushmore Marathon in a time of 2:44:20.

Michael Bergquist, from Medical Lake, Wash., tallied a second-place finish after a 2:52:58 clocking. Minneapolis' Micah Grafenstein-Kinzel was third, just missing the three-hour mark with a time of 3:00:54. Gering, Neb., runner Sam Malmberg rounded out the top 5 at 3:14:02.

A different format at this year's race gave the runners some options. Event organizers made some changes, and the runners had the opportunity to start the full or half marathons at either Mount Rushmore National Memorial or Crazy Horse Memorial.

In the Crazy Horse Marathon, Bryan Vanmeveren of Fort Collins, Colo., won in a time of 3 hours, 2 minutes, 56 seconds. Rapid City's Mike Loos recorded a second-place finish in 3:11:32.

Dane "Fiddy2" Rauschenberg made another appearance in South Dakota on Sunday, taking third in the CHM with a time of 3:13:32.

The Arlington, Va., resident is running one marathon per week during 2006, and the CHM marked his 39th of the year. Rauschenberg, who also ran in the Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon on June 4, 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.

Rapid City's Mike McGuigan was fourth with a time of 3:33:50. Davenport, Iowa, runner Dianne Nelson-Taylor was the best female finisher in the CHM and took fifth overall at 3:35:17.

In the Crazy Horse Half Marathon, Denver's Moses Waweru won in 1 hour, 6 minutes, 55 seconds. Pierre's Brandon Moen (1:09:23) was second, while Nikole Johns of Fort Collins won the female battle and took third overall in 1:16:56.

Eric Davis of Chadron, Neb., won the Mount Rushmore Half Marathon in a time of 1:33:40. Gering, Neb., runner Jennifer Malmberg was the top female finisher after clocking 1:42:08 and taking fourth overall.

In other action, Bend, Ore., athlete Tate Metcalf won the 5K Run/Walk with a time of 22 minutes, 13 seconds.

A few relays were also going on on Sunday - Pierre Area Running Club (2:44:43) won the men's relay; the Rapid City team Survivor (3:33:14) took the women's relay; and Team Services (3:38:26), of Black Hawk, won the co-ed relay.

Contact Welsh at 394-8440 or at sean.welsh@rapidcityjournal.com