Dipsea Race

The Dipsea Race is a trail running event in California, United States. It is the oldest cross-country trail running event and one of the oldest foot races of any kind in the United States. The 7.5 mile (12 km) long Dipsea Race has been held annually almost every year since November 19, 1905, starting in Mill Valley, and finishing at Stinson Beach, in Marin County. Since 1983, the race has been held on the second Sunday in June. The Dipsea celebrated its 111th running on Sunday, June 12, 2022. History In 1904, the Dipsea Inn opened on a sandspit north of Willow Camp (later Stinson Beach), built in anticipation of tourists arriving on proposed rail extensions. After opening, it was visited by a group of Olympic Club members, including, Charles Boas, and Alfons Coney, who had a cabin near Muir Woods. Someone proposed racing from Mill Valley to the Inn. Coney and Boas, took up the challenge, setting off on a day in 1904, with bets placed by Club members (Fastest from the train depot at Lyton Square in Mill Valley, to the newly opened Dipsea Inn). Boas won. On a rainy November 19, 1905, the first Dipsea Race was held, on a 7.4-mile course, with 110 runners, by members of the San Francisco Olympic Club, from the Mill Valley train depot to the then-new Dipsea Inn, on a sand spit now called Seadrift, in the Bolinas Lagoon between Stinson Beach and Bolinas, taking place annually, only being cancelled a few times in its history: 1932-1933 due to the race not being able to earn enough funds to be financially viable due to the Great Depression, 1942-1945 due to World War II, and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 1977, the race was almost cancelled as the previous year saw an overwhelming number of participants due to the running boom of the 1970s - the local government was worried about overcrowding and also did not want to close down nearby streets. The Marin County Board of Supervisors voted 3–2 to cancel the race until changes could be made. The race ended up being delayed and held in October instead. A “Women’s Dipsea Hike” (called a "hike" to avoid an AAU ban on women's long-distance races.) took place 1918–1922. In 1907, the final run on the sand was eliminated. In 1983, the race date was changed to the second Sunday in June.