THE Dipsea Race Report!

Hi! Finally, a bit of time to put into words The Dipsea experience. Before I begin my tale, I need to confess my complete post-race leg deterioration. I can NOT believe how sore my legs are/were. Well, okay, yes I can...but I was grimacing chuckling all week at the state of my legs. 


Now, go grab your drink of choice as this race report is probably one of the longer ones I've written to date, but it warrants charting it's unique factors, route, and history. I mean, it is the oldest trail race in America beginning in 1905. 


First Three Reasons this Race is Unique: 


1. This race is pretty hard to get into. Well, let me rephrase that: it's incredibly hard to get into, especially if you're not from the Bay Area. There are 1500 slots total. The first 750 total slots are designated for previous Dipsea Runners who either finish Overall 450th or better as an Invitational (that's my bib), or 750th or better as a General Runner (a white bib). Next, they accept the first 500 applications on a first come, first serve basis from the mail service. This is where it helps to live close by. The last ~300 slots are on a complete lottery situation-or you can also send in a great sob story (no joke) and they may consider it worthy enough to race. So there's a sense of bragging rights just for getting into the Dipsea- whether you qualified or got the lottery slot.


2. The Race has a handicap Headstart policy. This allows runners of all ages to compete in this race on a more or less equitable basis and have a shot at winning. The race 'started' at 8:30, my heat started at 8:47, my husband's started 8 minutes later. So I had a 9 minute advantage over the official scratch time. 


3. The race course itself is beepin' beepin' insanely hard.  Let me just say that again: The race trail course was really expletive, expletive hard and had me swearing off trails forever for the first 50 plus minutes. It was as if I was with a pack of panting sweaty dogs- all of us heaving our arses off up steep stairs and hills. That's how it felt, and that was just the uphill. The downhill koo koo crazy as well, but not nearly as overwhelming as the uphill.


The Route:
Here's an elevation pic to give you the gist of the trail:

  
Um, yah...I was told by a volunteer it was 2200 total feel of elevation. And I felt it. Now, the breakdown:


Start: Flat pavement out to the trail head- Dipsea Steps


Dipsea Steps: The first set...not so bad. Second set of stairs, okay this is starting to feel a bit taxing. The third set...okay...I am now totally shaking my head at the complete LACK of training I did for this race. I did some hill trail runs for prep- but they were GENTLE compared to this. Here's a picture of one of the sets of stairs:

The stairs look so sweet and innocent here, but when you're in a flurry of panting fools all heaving upwards..it's a bit insane.


Windy Gap: Relief comes here. It's at the ~ 1 mile is my first taste downhill running. Now this part of the trail I can handle.

 Suicide: Another cool factor with this race is the short cuts all over the place. Many of these 'short cuts' have become the main route on race day, such as the Suicide above, but there are still 'secret' lil' gems I've seen utilized from more senior runners first hand, who know a thing or two about the Dipsea trail-and makes this race that much cooler. And for this part of the race, it's a steep, narrow down hill where you find yourself clinging to brush to balance your way down. Luckily this year I didn't have to contend with any suicidal thirty-something year old male kamikaze's free wheelin' down- which I've been exposed to in the past as it's generally this point of the trail where they begin to catch up to me.


From Diamond Back UP to Cardiac: This entire stretch of uphill trail can be best described as though you're experiencing a slow death. The trail just keeps going up, and up, and on, and up. And it's just uphill enough where you can sludge your body to trot/run- but there are still parts where you just have to throw your hands up and walk. You just do. There's (virtually) no way to run this entire part unless you've been UBER training specifically for this race. And then you come to Cardiac and while this is where the fifteenth round of panting begins, and you have to heave your way up, you also know at the top of this is the beginning of the descent. The magnificent descent!

High Point DOWN to the Finish at Stinson Beach (the beach way in the back is the finish): Now...this is the part of the race I absolutely loved. This is where I found my legs, my breath, my body and mind, and was able to shake off the first ~4 miles of uphill hell. This is where I found my Inner Athlete- the one that loves to run...fast, swooping through the underbrush, tree limbs, and springing off damp pine needles- I felt like I was in a game for the hunt. This made the first half of the run almost worth it;-)


The Finish: With a 1/2 mile of flat or downhill race left I checked my time and saw it was most likely within the timeframe to automatically qualify for next year. That feeling right there was pretty priceless (note: I have raced this 2 other times but have never automatically re-qualified).  I surprisingly still had gas left in the tank and at least felt like I sprinted to the finish. Finish time clock time was 1:05:41, actual time 1:13:41. I was finisher #344...and I'll take it!


My DH raced as well and the kids were there at the finish for the post race Dipsea revelry at Stinson Beach:

And that's my present day story of the Dipsea Race 2011...

But my experience pales a bit in comparison to all of the other stories from years and years past. And that's what makes the Dipsea so special. The fact it began in 1905 and people have been panting and running this same course every year-there's a lot of history  with that. At the post race party, they had a card table displaying the Winner's plaques- Here's a shot of the very first Dipsea winner John Hassard in 1905 and 1906:

Here's a plaque of the first female Dipsea winner-and her time in 1922 was 1:12:06. 

I was surprised how touched I was with the history behind this race. Maybe it was because I had my five year olds with me and could feel the simple sense of our own mortality and how we choose to leave our mark in the world. 


Maybe it was because someday, if they choose, my own grandkids will race the Dipsea, and tell their kids 'Your great grandma raced this a long time ago, and lemme tell ya...


she was fast.'


:)