4 posts tagged “running”

It's been a crazy busy few days around here. The madness started on Halloween when we had 3 different parties to attend. The first was at a friend's house and was chaotic with toddlers everywhere, but very fun. The second was at a Retirement Community in our city. I was prepared for it to be depressing, but instead I was very pleasantly surprised. The community center was clean and new and there was an open bar for the residents! Anya trick-or-treated around the tables and then sat down to watch the belly dancers and listen to the Blues band. From there we headed out to another friend's house for delicious soup followed by trick-or-treating. Anya was so excited to trick-or-treat, and she was quite the task master making sure we got in and out with out any unnecessary stops. After each house she would say, "Next house!". She was scared by one person in a scary costume, but soldiered on, unlike some of her friends who were too frightened to keep going. It was a great success and after eating a few pieces of candy she left her bucket by the door for "Jack O' Lantern" who exchanged it  for a present.

Saturday was filled with rain and errands. Chris and I left Anya with my mom for the night so that we could stay in the city before my half marathon on Sunday. Luckily we arrived at the race expo just before they closed and I was able to pick up my bib and timing chip. Unlike other races that I have done the half required that runners pick up their stuff the day before and not on the day of the race. Unfortunately they did not make that very clear and one of my friends and closest training partners didn't pick up her number and therefore couldn't run. We were all quite sad about that.

The race on Sunday went ok. It was pretty poorly run with too few porta-potties, so I was stuck in line when the official start happened. Since timing was by chip I decided to stick it out (I had to pee during the entire 12K last time and didn't want to repeat that experience). So when I started I was essentially by myself, which was pretty anti-climatic. Because I started at the end of the pack, and am a slow runner, by the time I (and a bunch of others, I wasn't totally by myself) reached the third and fourth water stations they had run out of water. I was pretty bummed by that, especially by the fourth station since it was at the top of a large hill which had been preceded by hills and was followed by hills. So I was pretty thirsty by that point. There also weren't very many mileage markers, which wasn't really a problem for me since I had my Nike+, but was irritating to other runners.

But it wasn't all bad. I finished just 5 minutes slower than my goal, it only sprinkled a few times and there was an amazing rainbow over the Golden Gate Bridge as I was approaching the span. I was exhausted at the conclusion, but haven't been too sore since. I'm not sure I'm cut out for running that long of a distance, but I will keep running more moderate, for me, mileages (more like 10 miles/week instead of 20).

Today has been filled with work and election stuff. Anya and I took some time to stand on a corner with No on 8 signs. It was great to see how many people honked and waved to us. I wasn't sure what to expect from this community. I'm looking forward to putting the Anya the Grouch (no nap today) to bed early and watching the election returns!

We had a great day at the beach yesterday with some wonderful friends. Although it was a bit chilly at first the girls had a great time digging in the sand, collecting rocks, and channeling Devo.

When it was time for the adults to have some fun we traveled down the road to The Pelican Inn for food and beer on the lawn. Again the girls had a blast running up and down the grass and picking flowers. Anya made herself right at home eating off of the other family's plate while we waited for our own food to arrive. She also sported some mighty fine plumber's  crack. Classy!

Sunday was the 97th Dipsea (see previous post for more about the history of the race). As always the race was exciting and awe inspiring. Every year as I watch the runners sprint, stumble, plod, jog and run towards the finish line I get goose bumps. And I'm not the only one to be touched, I saw a number of people wiping away tears as they cheered on their family and friends.

This year there was a first time winner. Something that hadn't happened in a long while. The race was won by a 56 year old woman named Jamie Berns. She ran a great race and looked fantastic coming down the shoot to the finish line. She finished almost 2 full minutes ahead of Russ Kiernan a 69 year old male. Russ looked pretty good, too, but the next finisher Roy Rivers was a mess. He was barely stumbling forward as he approached the finish. It

was actually very scary to see. He was in bad shape. The day was hot and muggy which is not a good combination for running the race. The years that see the best times are when the mountain is completely socked in with fog and the runners are actually "rained" on coming through the rain forest before cardiac hill. On hot and sunny days there are often many medical emergencies. In fact we saw a number of runners who clearly were on the brink of collapsing.

The Dipsea is like a large family picnic. After the running everyone eats and

drinks on the grass while waiting for the ceremony. The awards ceremony is concluded by the awarding of the black t-shirts. The top 35 runners receive a black race shirt that has the number that they placed in sliver on the back. To be a recipient of a black shirt is a great honor and there are always some amazing runners in the pack like the first high school finisher, 15 year old Jacque Taylor.

The Marin IJ put together a little video slideshow of this year's race. It is a very moving tribute to an event that affects a number of people. You can find it here*. It may explain better than I can the allure and mystique that is the Dipsea.

UPDATED TO ADD: I didn't notice it the first few times I watched the slide show that I link to above, but in the first slide you can see my Uncle Rick getting ready to start. He is in all black near the center wearing #513.

*The video also highlights a very special competitor, Sam Hirabayashi, who at 80 years old finished the race in 194th place after leading for quite sometime (he had the largest headstart). His actual running time was 1:28:30 which beats my fastest time by 20 minutes (I'm very slow, but he's not too bad especially when you remember that he is 80!)

This past weekend w as Dipsea weekend. This is a big deal in my family.Our relationship with the Dipsea began when my dad became a ranger at Mt. Tamalpais State Park. The Dipsea became a part of our lives from the very first year that we lived (and he worked) on Mt. Tam. My dad ran the race almost every single year until his death and then the tradition was taken over by one of his younger brothers, Rick. Rick has more than embraced the race and is almost fanatical in his devotion to it. Every year but one in the 11 years since my dad died, Rick has come down from Oregon, where he lives, to haul his body from Mill Valley over Mt. Tam to Stinson Beach as fast as he possibly can.

The Dipsea is no ordinary race. In fact it is so extraordinary that fans of the race are almost crazy in their love and dedication to it. Let me try to explain as best as I can what makes the Dipsea so special.

• It is the second oldest foot race in America after the Boston Marathon.
• It is a trail race, meaning that runners spend the majority of the race on a very narrow, very slippery, sometimes muddy, rocky, root covered, poison oak lined, single track trail.
• There is no set cou rse. While there are a few off limits trails (due to environmental concerns) the route that one takes to the finish can be variable. Of course, the fastest route is well established and is the one that most people take.
  
• The race is limited to 1500 runners. 750 invitational runners and 750 non-invitational runners. The invitational runners get to start ahead of every single non-invitational runner. To get an invitation one can either earn it by running fast enough to finish in the top 450 overall (very difficult to do if you are at the back of the pack of non-invitational runners), or convince the committee, by what ever means necessary, that you are worthy (bribery and sob stories always work well). The competition for non-invitational numbers is almost as fierce. There are many more people who wish to torture them selves by running than numbers to accommodate them all
  

  Dipsea elevation
• The race is crazy difficult. It begins with 671 steps within the first mile. These are not ordinary stairs but ones put in many decades ago. They can be wooden, concrete or even rough stone and there is no standard rise. Small steps often precede huge steps. After going up the stairs (and feeling like you are going to puke, if you're me) you continue an upward climb to the top of the first ridge in the race. The next part is fun, you race down the back of the ridge into Muir Woods. It takes me at least twice as long to run (when I say run I really mean walk...slowly) that first 1.5 miles up the ridge as it does (back when I was in pre-baby shape) to run (I do run the downhills) back down the other side. You run across the creek in Muir Woods and start up the mountain again. Up dynamite, along hogs back and finally pushing through up cardiac (this nickname is not in jest, I swear I have almost had a number of cardiac arrests on this extremely steep climb). After cardiac, if it is a clear day, you can see all the way down to Stinson Beach where the finish is, but you're not done yet. While much of this part of the race is downhill or level, it is still difficult going. The footing is uneven and there are more stairs (going down this time) in steep ravine. And, of course, there is insult. The one last hill before the downhill to the finish at the beach. Although the course is only 7.1 miles it hits the body more like a marathon. In fact the Quad Dipsea (back and forth twice 28.4 miles) is considered an ultramarathon even though it is a good 25 - 72 miles shorter than other traditional ultras.
  

  Dipsea stairs
• The Dipsea is handicapped. This does not mean that it gets prime parking spaces, but that it has a staggered start. Therefore some people get a head start and the head start is determined by age and gender. Remember how I mentioned invitational and non-invitational runners? Well, the head starts apply to both groups. Therefore if you are a young man in the non-invitational group you are going to start a full 50 minutes behind the first starters in the invitational group. So if you want to earn an invitation you are going to have to make up lots of time and pass 1499 people to do it, all on a single track trail. The good news is if you are an older woman or man or a very young child, you get a big head start on everyone else. The handicap system truly does level the playing field (or running course) for elite runners. In all of the years I have watched the Dipsea I have never seen a man in his 20's win. I have seen a 9 year old girl (and then again when she was 10), 56, 63, and 61 year old women, and a 67 year old man win in recent years. Don't be fooled by the handicap system into thinking that these runners got an unfair advantage and are not deserving. They all run real times that blow most out of the water. It is such an amazing sight to see these amazing athletes crossing the finish line!
• Some runners are suicidal. Because scratch runners (those with no head start minutes) have to pass a lot of people to place well they can be crazy in their running. Often times they will run next to the trail to pass people or will push or shove to get by. They often fall and will come across the finish dirty and bloody. When I ran for the first time approaching a hairpin turn above a shallow ravine I watched a runner ahead of me fall and roll down into the ravine. By the time I had run around the turn he had run back up the other side and ended up right ahead of me again. Crazy, but sometimes fun to watch.
  

  Jack Kirk Dipsea Demon
• And last of all, there are always great stories. Like Jack Kirk the Dipsea Demon. Jack ran 68 consecutive races. His last at the age of 97. He died this year at the age of 100 and was a true inspiration to many.
  

See my next post for a wrap up of this year's amazing race.