Dipsea Race- A Mill Valley Tradition

It was a lot of fun watching the start of the Dipsea Race yesterday morning from downtown Mill Valley. Jovana and I helped keep people off the beginning of the race course while our dog Clyde seemed to encourage the dogs who were running up and down the starting stretch out of control! The race is the second oldest footrace in the United States, and follows the Dipsea trail from downtonw Mill Valley, over the hills, through Muir Woods, and down into Stinson beach- a 7.5 mile trail full of steep uphills on stairs and trails and some very steep downhills as well. We have done the trail and it is hard to imagine that some people even participate in the upcoming "Double Dipsea" which does it from Stinson Beach to Mill Valley and back! The fun part is to watch the staggered start where 7 year old girls and 81 year-old men start before the pack. The Marin Independent Journal article about the race says that the seven year old girl we watched start first held her lead all the way to Muir Woods! Pretty exciting.