Tamalpa Runners - The Quad Dipsea

by Geoff Vaughan

We all love the Dipsea. It is one of the great races in existence and it has provided us with memories that are forever branded on our phyches. Racing the Dipsea requires all the drive we can muster and training for it demands resolve and long range focus. This race is not for the timid. So why would anyone want to run it four times in a row?

In 1978, locals Mike McKenzie and Hans Roenau thought it sounded like a good idea. Just a couple of buddies on a slightly strange mission for their own amusement. By 1983 the Quad had grown into a casual "fun run" and by 1985 the race was on for real. Now in its 18th year and operating under race director extrordinaire, John Medinger, the Quad continues to draw the maximum allowable 250 runners eager to burn off their Thanksgiving feasts. Always on the Saturday after turkey day, the Quad sneaks in when many a runner is taking a little autumn break from racing. Those who have become regulars at the Quad know better. It is wise to have done your homework if you want to cross this finish line. Any ultrarunner will tell you that the last 20% - 30% of these multi-hour endeavors can become a death march if you miscalculate pace, rehydration, or nutrition replenishment. Being that the course has you either climbing or descending (virtually no flat sections to be found), the body takes a royal thrashing. Again I ask, Why?

As a devout disciple of the church that is Mt. Tamalpias and a member of Tamalpa Runners, I have a particular intrigue with anything that happens on the trails of Her Highness. Attach the name Dipsea to any of these events and they just might become irresistible. I recall passing through Old Mill Park on Quad Dipsea day in 1992 seeing runners with numbers on their chests crossing the bridge, refilling their bottles at an official looking table and heading back up the stairs. It didn't immediately register with me what was going on. Upon learning what these nuts were up to I recall thinking that this challenge must be attempted. I hadn't done an ultra. No problem. I had done the Single, the Double, why not the Quad? It was too ridiculous to pass up.

1993. My first Quad and some lessons learned: The Quad is not the single Dipsea so don't run it like it is. The adreniline associated with racing on that trail is enough to make any Dipsea veteran go overboard. Don't do it. You'll pay. You might arrive at Stinson at the end of the first leg and feel pretty good. You might eek out a semi-comfortable second leg. Then the Gu hits the fan. The third leg makes it clear that your Double Dipsea experience won't help you anymore. It's new terrain and the stairs never felt so slow, dynamite never felt so steep, and the hogback never felt so long. The downhill to the beach might give you a sense of rejuvenation. Maybe the legs aren't so wasted after all. You couldn't possibly feel as bad as the living dead that approach you as they embark upon their fourth and final leg. Maybe everything is fine...

Some of the fun, if not twisted, things about running ultras are the suprises that crop up during your adventure. Your body might start behaving in ways you've never seen before. Your mood might dart around in ways you've never felt before. The course might present challenges that you didn't expect. There are no suprises, however, that are quite like hitting the fourth leg of the Quadruple Dipsea for the first time. The photos I've seen of myself during my first fourth leg conjure up words like "lost", "lifeless", "nobody home", "severely compromised", "toasted". It is hard to make sense of how things can get so bad so fast. The thought of getting from Stinson Beach to the top of Cardiac is enough to make you curl up and take a nap in the bushes or perhaps hail a cab. If the hills and fatigue aren't enough, you might enter the wonderful world of leg cramps. This is a state of virtual helplessness where your muscles involuntarily contract and either slow you way down or stop you in your tracks. They may subside for a bit only to return on the next hill. Somewhere within your struggling lies your drive and perserverance. These qualities have helped you through many runs and races and once again they are your most powerful allies. You push over the top of Cardiac, collect yourself as you descend to Muir Woods, crawl up to Windy Gap, and let gravity and joy float you down the stairs to the finish.

Why is the Quad fun and how can you make it even better? You don't have to start too fast and sabotage the end of your race. You can train appropriately to better your time and lessen the leg damage. By participating in the Quad Dipsea you get to experience the Dipsea course on what is sometimes dry, sometimes wet, but always a gorgeous fall day. The support and comradarie between the runners is uplifting and unlike point-to-point races, you get to see every runner three times. Every couple of years you get to witness the Quad Dipsea King, Carl Anderson, run the course in under four hours which he and only he has accomplished. The aid stations are full of fun and enthusiastic volunteers. As with most races on and around Tam, there is no shortage of Tamalpa runners and they're a merry lot. Anyone who has done one or more ultras knows the gratification of working through physical and mental challenges and crossing the finishline at a multi-hour event. It helps us become stronger, happier, and more self confident. I've completed eleven consecutive Quads and there's no stopping now. It's a great thing to do on a weekend in late November.