The Legendary Annual
102nd DQ-ipsea Race
Slipped away this past weekend to the Marin area for the
Dipsea race, a legendary 7.8 mile mountain trail race which goes from Mill Valley to
Stinson Beach over a couple of significant climbs. (A must read.. Barry Spitz’s
“Dipsea: The Greatest Race”..
http://www.dipseabook.com/.
Barry signed my copy this past weekend, dedicated to my kids in hopes they
experience the run someday) Over a
thousand people run this handicapped race, meaning that the starts are staged
so that, in theory, everyone crosses the finish at the same time. Well the
system is flawed and favors the old and the very young, with a one 25 year-old
who gets 4
th or 5
th each year, but almost without
exception these days an older folk or young girl wins the race with their
significant head start. I love this format, as it reinforces in all who love
trail running that it truly should be a life-long sport, and even the extremes
of the spectrum should have a taste of competition and chance at the W.
I had never even witnessed the Dipsea, but all my Marin
trail running friends raved about the race. I picked up my bib Saturday
afternoon, had a burrito with Rickey Gates and Galen and Kristin Burrell (and
baby Autumn), and spent the evening with the Fitzpatrick family. Tim
Fitzpatrick noticed I’d been given the wrong bib number, and the small print
name at the bottom of some other guy indicated indeed he was correct. No
worries though, the next morning at the race start I went to check in and got
my “correct” bib number. Noting my wave start on my bib as the U wave, Tim
mentioned that he’d missed his start in the past times he’d run Dipsea.. me, I
would never do that, I told myself.
The starts went off, with Barry Spitz announcing runners
from each wave. The 75 year olds with 6 year olds went first with their
handicapped 30 or so roughly minute head start, then each minute another wave
would go off.. 65 year olds with 10 year olds, 55 year olds with 15 year olds,
etc etc until the last wave of “scratch” wave, meaning 25 year old men. It was
real cool and inspiring to see the older folks and an 8 year old girl being
recognized as past champions, yet intimidating in the gap that would have to be
made up to catch them. The crowd of hundreds in downtown Mill Vally roared with
each announcement in this race which has defined Northern
California short distance mountain running.
My wave was to start 2 minutes before the scratch wave.. not
really much of a head-start.. and as
Barry called the U wave into the start corral, I misheard this as the U runners
should be behind the current start wave.. I climbed the orange fence into the
guys my age, and looked at the bibs next to me.. W! The gun had gone off with
the U’s about 30 seconds before, and I quickly scurried off to start my race
alone in front of the crowds.
Up the 700 or so steps of the first climb, I had never
called out “on your left” as many times in that race as I tried to make up my
lost time. Passing is really har in this race as runners are three abreast on
the 700 or so stairs, and all single track after that through thick forest of
brush and poison oak. The race is an open race, so you can short cut in
designated places, if you know where to go, so the locals are favored for sure
in the dozens of ways they can cut minutes from your total time. I knew most of
the good short cuts, and used them as needed, and I was always feeling in
control of my own private pain cave, pushing hard as an ultrarunner can but always feeling like I could do it all day.
Over into Muir Woods, the effort increased for the 1200 foot climb to the hill
they call Cardiac, passing always but never being passed, all classes of age
groups and sexes who’d started before me finally coming in sight of legendary Colorado runner, Andy
Ames at the top of the climb Cardiac. Kim Gaylord handed me my
Vitargo gel
flask at the top, refueled quickly, and
passed Andy on the Swoop shortcut, until I saw
Gary Wang taking photos. Gary said I was 15
th,
and with only 2 miles left in the race with no one in sign on this super techy
downhill through the Ewok forest I thought there was no way I’d catch them all.
The next bridge in the woods had crowds cheering who said I was 8
th,
so being corrected in my placing I pushed hard up the “Insult” hill and passed
three runners in succession.
The dreaded Dipsea downhills..Gary Wang photos
The last section, if you use the short cuts, which almost
everyone does, puts you on the Panoramic highway for a 100 meter bit, hearing
footsteps behind me, I saw the super fast 55 year old local just ahead of me,
and both were motoring. Jumping off the hwy to another shortcut in the brush,
heard more Ewoks laughing, and I crashed down it and passed him too
aggressively.. I think he cursed me as I bumped him, then took as super sharp
right turn back onto the Dipsea and one of the Ewoks tripped me on the trail,
obviously pissed at me. Getting up, I
saw the 55 year old Marin legend Brian Pilcher had found a short cut and as now 30 feet in front of
me with the 25 year old who had joined him just ahead. I motored, passed Brian,
and gunned to try to make up 17 year age gap just ahead of me. It was not to
be.
Into Stinson
Beach finish of
thousands, I held me head high as I came in 5th place is just over
52 minutes, high enough in the standings to place and score a big silver Dipsea
cup at the awards. I was really happy, as the 72 year old winner had come in a
few minutes earlier and there was no way anyone was going to catch that mutant.
Diana Fitzpatrick was third, and with my placing the Tamalpans would take the
team title… or so I thought.
After two hours of watching finishers come in and chatting
and having fun, Lisa Jhung, walked to the beach, cooled down run in the sand,
swam , etc. Life was good.
I had a flight that I needed to catch though and headed back
to the finish and wards area. Seeing Victor Ballesteros, I said hi and he asked
why I’d started my race early, as he and I are the same age, and he’d started
three minutes behind me. Huh? I pulled my bib out and showed him the U
wave.. his wave was W though. On this I saw Tim Fitzpatrick walk up, who
proceeded to push me straight off my cloud. He pointed to the fine print name
on my bib number (my second bib
number given to me).. the name was not mine.
Doh! Not only had I FUBAR’ed the starting gun once, I’d twice gotten the wrong bib handed to
me.. and I’d failed to check the name on the bib twice.. What’s the saying.. Fool me once.. but fool Dave five times and he will still be standing
there like a jackass.
I really had to get to Mill Valley
to get to the airport, so left it in Tim’s kind hands to deal with the race
director to decipher this mess.
