Crew Driving Instructions
The 2011 Lean Horse 100 mile course includes eleven separate aid stations. Four of these will be visited once, the remaining seven will be visited twice, for a grand total of 18 aid stations for 100 mile runners. 50 mile runners will have a grand total of 9 aid stations and 50K runners will have 5. In addition, the 50 mile course will have a water only station at the turnaround point between Pringle and Carroll Creek and the 100 mile course will have a water only station at the junction of the Mickelson Trail and the Custer Park Spur Trail. These water only stations are not included in these directions because they are not as easily accessible by vehicle as the fully stocked aid stations.
The four aid stations on the 100 mile course that are only visited once are Cottonwood (mile 4.2 outbound), Hill City (mile 47.9, the turnaround point), Morph (mile 89.4 inbound) and Coldbrook (mile 95.9 inbound).
The following directions assume you are traveling from aid station to aid station in the same order the runners will. The mileages for each aid station in these directions is specific to the 100 mile race, but the directions are applicable to the 50M and 50K as well. For those with a runner in the 50M or 50K, note that the northernmost aid station for the 50M is Pringle and the northernmost aid station for the 50K is Argyle Loop.
MINNEKAHTA Trailhead (Start): Leave the Mueller Center and turn LEFT (SOUTH) on 6th Street. Go 2 blocks to INDIANAPOLIS Ave and turn RIGHT (WEST). This is HWY 18. Take HWY 18 west, approximately 11.9 miles to the trailhead, which is located along the highway
COTTONWOOD Aid Station at Mile 4.2): From Minnekahta, turn RIGHT (WEST) onto HWY 18 and travel approximately 0.4 mile to the intersection of HWY 18 and HWY 89. Turn RIGHT (NORTH) on HWY 89. Follow HWY 89 approximately 4.3 miles. The Cottonwood Aid Station will be located on your right side, near a two-track dirt access road. This aid station is not at an established trailhead and, as such, parking may be limited. If it is not absolutely critical that you meet your runner this early in the race, you are strongly encourage to continue down the road to Argyle Loop.
ARGYLE LOOP Aid Station at Miles 8.9 & 83.4: From Cottonwood, continue NORTH (RIGHT) on HWY 89 for approximately 2.7 miles to the ARGYLE LOOP RD. Make a RIGHT turn. Follow ARGYLE LOOP RD. for 1.3 miles until you intersect the ARGYLE ROAD. This is the Aid station location.
LIME KILN Aid Station at Miles 12.6 & 79.7: Continue NORTH on the Argyle Loop Road for a little less that 2 Miles where you will come back out on HWY 89. Turn right. Go approx. 2 miles to LIME KILN ROAD, on your left. Turn left, go down a short distance to where the road intersects the Mickelson Trail. You are there.
PRINGLE Aid Station at Miles 16.3 & 76: Come back up LIME KILN Rd. and take a LEFT (NORTH) on HWY 89. Go approx. 2.5 miles north. You will come to a stop sign that is the Intersection of HWY 89 and HWY 385. At this intersection, turn LEFT onto MAIN ST. (not out onto HYW 385). Go about 300 yds to RAILWAY ST. Turn Right …go a few hundred yards….Look to your left and you will see the PRINGLE Aid Station.
CARROLL CREEK Aid Station at Miles 22.9 and 69.4: Continue North on Railway Street for a short distance and it will dump you out on HWY 385 NORTH. Go approx. 5.5 miles and on your left you’ll see CARROLL CREEK ROAD. You are there.
HARBACH PARK Aid Station at Miles 28.7 & 63.6 miles: Continue NORTH on HWY 385 for approx. 4 miles to the intersection of HWY 385 and HWY 16 (Rushmore Rd.) Turn Right. Go 4 blocks to 5th ST. Turn Right. Go 1 Block to WASHINGTON St. Turn LEFT…..You are there…on your right at the picnic shelter.
MOUNTAIN Aid Station at Miles 37.2 & 58.6: Make a U-turn, go back 1 block on WASHINGTON St. and turn Right onto 5th Street. Go to traffic signal and go STRAIGHT. You are now back on HWY 385 North. Go just over 4 miles and you’ll see a brown sign that reads: George S. Mickelson Trail MOUNTAIN TRAILHEAD. Angle off to the right and over to the trailhead. You are there.
OREVILLE Aid Station at Miles 42.9 & 52.9: This one’s a little hard to spot. It’s on the left side of the road approximately 4 miles further down HWY 385. On your left, you’ll see a small pull off area. Pull in and walk North on the Trail less than a 1/10th of a mile, and you are there.
HILL CITY Aid Station at Mile 47.9: From Oreville, return to HWY 385 and turn LEFT (NORTH). Continue along HWY 385 for approximately 4.8 miles to Hill City. Just as you enter Hill City, you will pass a Comfort Inn on your right. In front of the Comfort Inn, there is a Y in the road. Turn RIGHT at this Y onto RAILROAD AVE. Follow this street for approximately 0.2 mile before taking another RIGHT (EAST) onto Poplar St. (this should be the first street on your right after turning onto Railroad). Poplar travels east for a short way before turning sharply south (you have no choice but to follow it around) and becoming Newton Ave. The Hill City trailhead will be located on your left immediately after the turn onto Newton. This is the turnaround point for the 100 mile runners and the northernmost point of the course.
THE RETURN TRIP: After your runner has made the turn at Hill City, reverse all of the directions above and follow them back south until you reach the Argyle Loop Aid Station again. This is where the course departs the Mickelson Trail. Runners WILL NOT return to Cottonwood after leaving Argyle Loop on the return trip. Instead, they will follow Arygle Road into Hot Springs.
MORPH Aid Station at Mile 89.4: From Argyle Loop, follow ARGYLE ROAD to the EAST. Be extremely cautious on this road, especially at night, as runners will be on the road. Travel slowly and try as much as possible not to kick up a bunch of dust as you pass runners. The Morph aid station is located on the right side of the road, approximately 6 miles from Argyle Loop.
COLDBROOK Aid Station at Mile 95.9: In order to reach Coldbrook by vehicle, you must follow a slightly more circuitous route than the runners, since the two-track road they follow is not open to traffic. If you want to meet your runner at the Coldbrook Aid Station, leave the MORPH aid station and continue in the same direction you were going (EAST) for approximately 6 more miles. You’ll come to HWY 385, turn RIGHT (SOUTH), and follow the highway into Hot Springs. After entering town, the road will turn to the right and become BATTLE MOUNTAIN AVE. Follow the road around the turn and take the first RIGHT you see, which will be COLDBROOK ST. Coldbrook will travel north for a short ways before turning to the left (WEST). After the turn, look for the 2nd street on your right, which will be EVANS ST. Turn RIGHT onto Evans. Stay on this road, which turns to gravel, for about 3 miles. You’re going to end up down by a lake on your left and a campground on your right. Go RIGHT. Park your car in the parking lot near the campground and walk less than a 1/10 of a mile just beyond the campground to the aid station.
MUELLER CENTER (Finish Line): From Coldbrook, reverse direction until you get back to BATTLE MOUNTAIN AVE. Take a RIGHT (WEST) on Battle Mtn. and follow it a short way to the T intersection, which is RIVER ST. Take a LEFT (SOUTH) on River St. Follow River St. through downtown Hot Springs until you reach the intersection with JENNINGS AVE. Turn LEFT (EAST) onto Jennings and follow it for one block before turning right onto CHICAGO ST. Follow Chicago to the intersection with SOUTH 6th ST, which veers off to the right just before the DAIRY QUEEN. Follow 6th St. to the Mueller Center, which is on the left just past the Dairy Queen and Best Western.
