CSC’s Perlinski says third 100-mile race was easiest  

Since there were no rules or regulations preventing him from running outdoors, that’s what he started doing.   

“I wanted to exercise and began running a few miles about every day,” he said. “I had never been much of a track athlete, but after I starting running, I really enjoyed it, both physically and mentally. I do a lot of thinking when I’m running.” 

Fast forward to the present, and Perlinski has become a l-o-n-g distance runner. On Aug. 1, he finished seventh among the 70 entries during the Lean Horse 100-Mile Race in the Black Hills. Better yet, he was second in his 40-and-over age group and received a special award by finishing the event in under 24 hours. 

The jaunt, which begins at Custer and goes 50 miles north to Deadwood, and then returns to Custer, all on the Mickelson Trail, is not an easy jog. Just 46 of the 70 contestants finished it. Perlinski’s time was 21 hours, 34.14 seconds, which is 10.5 hours faster than the 32-hour time limit that “finishers” must meet. 

Perlinski said it was the easiest of the three 100-mile races he’s completed. That’s because the temperatures were warm, but not hot, and the skies were clear so the moon kept the trail lit while he ran most of the last half of the race after the sun had gone down.  

Still, running 100 miles without a break takes its toll. The following Thursday he thought he’d recovered enough to resume running; planned to go about five miles, but decided three were enough.   

All three of Perlinski’s100-mile jaunts have been since 2023. The year before that he entered a 50-mile race between Silver City and Sturgis in the Black Hills.   

In 2023, he returned to the Silver City-Sturgis area after deciding he’d double his fun by running the trail both directions, making it a 100-mile event.  It was not fun, largely because it rained much of the time.   

“I learned that I hate running in the rain,” he said. “I was soaking wet nearly all the way, but somehow I still finished it in the allotted time limit, finishing in 27 hours and 35 minutes.”   

Perlinski’s second 100-mile race was last September between Atkinson and Valentine on the Cowboy Trail, where the Chicago and North Western Railroad had its rails. He said the terrain was mostly level and he was cruising along with no problems until things got spooky as he approached Valentine.   

That’s primarily because it was in the middle of the night, there was no moon and he had to cross the bridge high above the Niobrara River while having only the small light on his helmet to see where he was going. He also developed a large bruise on one of his legs. He kept running, but remembers the last five miles as being “pure misery.”  

Even so, time-wise it was an excellent race. Perlinski completed the trek in less than 20 hours, was fourth overall and third in his age group. He gives considerable credit for that success to Dr. Jamie Wada, chairman of Justice Studies at Chadron State, who served as his crew during the race. 

Crew members also are afoot and can’t provide much physical support except have food and water available, but can offer encouragement.

Perlinski, who said he normally runs about 50 miles a week, also got help near the end of last week’s Lean Horse 100 from his sister Allison, and her husband, Andre Graesser. 

“They kept me sane during the final eight miles,” he said.   

He also was aware that his wife, Paula, who is the office assistant for the vice president of academic affairs at CSC, and their two children would be waiting for him at the finish line. They were proud, especially when they saw the hardware that he had earned and is now hanging on the wall of his office.   

A native of Kimball and a 2005 graduate of Chadron State with a major in biology, Perlinski also has a master’s degree from North Dakota State University and a doctorate from the University of Wyoming.   

Speaking of being proud, Perlinski is proud of the range management program he leads. He said it has about 90 majors and turns out about 20 graduates each year.  He’s one of the three faculty members.  

Perlinski received an extra special honor this past February, when he was the recipient of the $6,000 Nebraska Range and Conservation Endowment from the Nebraska Cattlemen Research and Education Foundation. The award’s description says it is presented to professors or instructors who are providing cutting edge research and/or instruction in a range management and conservation-related area.

Going back to the Lean Horse 100, this year’s overall winner was Zane Musgrave, a native of Hyannis, and a 2023 Chadron State graduate who now lives in Rapid City. His time was 17:34.11.