So Jesse and I signed up for the Heart of the Hills run. It was advertised as the most beautiful run in the hills. Since I am trying to train for a marathon that is coming up very soon (eeekkkk!!!), we ran from our house to The Runner’s Shop so we could register for the run that evening. The race started at 6:30pm and we had all day to recover so we figured we would be all good. It was about a three mile run into downtown and we explored the music festival a little bit and the Native American arts and crafts festival. I was sad because we had missed the dancers. I thought that would have been cool to watch. After wandering and having some street tacos we ran back home to rest a bit, have a real lunch and maybe run to Scheel’s to do some shopping. That store is so awesome. It is like Dick’s Sporting Goods but way better prices and some really nice everyday clothes. I love that place!
After some shopping we headed home to get ready for the race. It started in Hill City at the 1880 Railroad Station. There was a pretty good crowd and we lined up at a fairly random location on the street and when the RD said GO, we started running. Now this was a locals run, put on by the Runner’s Shop and the Black Hills Runner’s Club and the flier didn’t have a whole lot of info other than that this was a 10.4 mile run and it was beautiful. And I must say it really was. The first three miles had some big hills but then it was all mostly downhill and you ran past beautiful farms and there were wonderful people out there supplying water for us. It was a great. I did make some stupid mistakes though. I did not eat enough during the day and I ate my few Gu Chomps at mile 4 and by mile 9 I was willing to pay the people at the campground we passed several dollars for a marshmallow. It was also about then that I realized we were nowhere near Hill City which happens to be where our car was parked. This was not a loop or an out and back. This was a point to point which point one being Hill City and point two being Keystone, a totally different town. I was not too worried because I was so damn hungry. I crossed this finish and Jesse was there. I could barely mumble more than “Please tell me there is food”. He made me a plate of sloppy joe and chips and I had never been so happy. Jesse also managed to find us a ride back to our car. They were very patient and waited for me to finish the run and my food before we headed back to the car. It was a beautiful race and I enjoyed it very much. We got a good laugh at the fact that we did not realize it was a point to point. Just another joy of being local-ish.
The next day we wanted to be good to my old dog Twicks and take her for a bit of a walk. She is almost 12 years old and cannot go very far anymore because her front leg is arthritic and shakes and her back legs are not as strong as they used to be due to her back problems. There is a small trail by Horsethief Lake in the Black Hills National Forest. We loaded up into the car and headed out. The dog does love riding in the Jeep with the windows off. Her nose really gets going sucking up the breeze. We walked a bit and the trail ended up having some very steep and rocky sections so we maybe went about a half mile when we had to turn back. Twicks was pretty done by then too. Jesse had to help her down some rocks and even carried her a bit. He really loves me, not the dog so it was very sweet of him to do that. Twicks and I waited at the trailhead while he went to get the Jeep so she would not have to walk anymore. Jesse drove us up to a place where we could sit, have some lunch and feed the dog. We ate at a picnic table shaded by pine trees and walked up to the Breezy Point. The views were amazing. I will never get tired of seeing the Black Hills and the crazy rock formations that poke out of them. We took some pictures then piled back into the Jeep to head to Miner Brewing. We love to end a hike with a great wine or beer from one of the many local places around here in the Black Hills. Miner makes some wonderful beers and they have a great outdoor patio where we could sit with the dog. The nice man behind the bar even filled her water bowl for me (with water of course).
We sat and enjoyed the view and remarked how awesome it is to live here and how everyone seemed so surprised we were going to South Dakota. It is truly an amazing place to be and we were so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience so much of what the Black Hills has to offer.
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