The Quadruple Dipsea 2002 by Peter Holleran "Non-runners think of the pain, the agony and the exhaustion and ask why. Runners think of the pain, the agony and the exhaustion and ask why not." "The Quad". The very name sends shudders down the spine of the knowing runner, but last year I braved the challenge, and this year came back for even more. (Time and tide wait for no man, as they say. The clock of age is ticking. How long can one put these things off?! Better hurry, or so I think). Well, I survived the adventure and actually did better than expected, considering I hadn't run in a week due to a sciatica-like burning pain from right butt to calf that kept me inactive. Plus I carelessly twisted my right ankle two days before the race while walking home from the bank. I took the back way along the railroad tracks and tried walking on the rails for a mile to "improve my posture and balance" and rolled the right ankle. That was real smart. The next two days the shin predictably cramped up. I didn't know until the morning of the race whether I would be able to run, but I had chiropractic adjustments, and took a lot of ibuprofen (generally against my religion - I only use it in a pinch for sports injuries) and homeopathic remedies (arnica and ruta) that seemed to help, and prayed that several months of training wouldn't go down the drain. This monster race consists of four crossings on the famous Dipsea Trail from the town of Mill Valley, California, to the ocean and back, with 1000 stairs, two hills and 2300 vertical feet - EACH way - for a total of 28 miles and 9200 feet of brutally steep ascending AND descending. Just the thing to work off one's Thanksgiving feast! I ran fairly carefully the first two legs and the right hamstring tightened up on the last two, but my general aerobic conditioning and relatively even pacing (:81, :83, :88, :89) allowed me to pull off a pretty decent race. I ran 5:42:56, 18 minutes ahead of last year, finishing 77th out of 231. In my age group (50-59) I was 7th out of 36, and 9th out of 58 if you include women and over 60 year olds (I like to do that - it makes my performance seem better). On the first descent to Muir Woods a couple dozen runners got stung by bees after disturbing a hive on the trail. It seemed odd to have bees this late in the year. I heard the runners ahead of me yelling and saw them swatting themselves when all of a sudden I felt a hard smack on my lower lip. It swelled a little bit but I think only from impact, not from a sting. I'm actually not sure if I ever had a bee sting in my life, so I didn't know what to expect. The weather was spectacular, clear and cool, and fast times were the rule. (Last year the course was a sea of mud due to torrential rains the night before - which didn't seem to effect the winner and superstar Carl Anderson, probably because he never tried to slow down, but others were slippin' and slidin' most of the way). Other than the bee incident the most interesting experience I had was a trance-like moment on my second trip from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach when for about 10 seconds I forgot that I had ALREADY run the 14 miles and four hills out and back to Stinson Beach once, and for a few brief moments that made the run seem easier and I thought athletically I had achieved a higher level. As I said, however, it only lasted about 10 seconds, and then reality set in again! On one grueling uphill a fellow runner said to me, "boy, this is the most fun race ever." I replied to him that according to the diagnostic manual of the APA saying such a thing would probably qualify him as clinically insane. He laughed - sort of. On the Quadruple Dipsea they say that there are really two races: the first three legs, and then the fourth. The last one really separates the men from the boys, that is, those with the requisite prior miles "in the tank". You can either do it or you can't. The Quadruple Dipsea isn't like running the average 5k. You can't fake it. It is hard to describe the feeling one gets heading back up the infamous Steep Ravine for a second time on the fourth and last Dipsea crossing. You either have what it takes or you don't, but in any case you have to dig deep. This year I didn't so much run faster than before, but - more importantly on this kind of race - I SLOWED LESS and it felt easier, and, moreover, I didn't fall. If I had been pain-free and fresh as on better practice days, able to run fast downhill without holding back, I think I might have had a chance at breaking 5:30, my original goal. My current long-term plan and expectation is to continue getting faster until at least age 60 or thereabouts, when the "descending curve of age" starts to catch up with the "ascending curve of improvement" begun at the late age of 49. Thereafter I will measure improvement not by faster times but by how little I slow compared to everyone else! Truly speaking, races are not an end in themselves but only benchmarks of fitness, and motivators to get out there and enjoy the fresh air and beauty of nature day in day out. It helps to have the wondrous trails of Mt. Tam just minutes away. You see, I really don't like pavement, which is why I haven't yet run a 5k, 10k, or marathon. My feelings are expressed perfectly by Christopher Lloyd in the last line from the movie Back To The Future: "where we're going, we don't need - ROADS." First man over 50 (Danny Dreyer) ran 4:59, first 60 year-old (Russ Kiernan) 5:22, and the winner Carl Anderson (42) a phenomenal 3:57! The laggards - still way beyond "couch potatohood" - finished in 8 hours. For those in excellent shape a fast hiking time would probably be 10-12 hours. As I write this, two days after the race, I park as close to the office, mall, or supermarket as possible to minimize walking, which still isn't that easy. It's feels strange to say "I recommend it", but the Quadruple Dipsea is actually my favorite race. Unlike more hectic short races, here there's plenty of time to relax, warm-up, and deal with personal demons. It's good for the soul. On May 24-25, 2003, an unbelievable Quad-Quad was achieved - 16 Dipseas back to back - by Don Lundell, in 41 hours. The November before, Lundell ran a double Dipsea before competing in the Quadruple Dipsea race. I'd say that's hardcore. How to Run the Quadruple Dipsea and Have Fun Doing it by Peter Holleran On a grueling uphill section on the last leg of the 2002 Quad a fellow runner said to me, “man, this is the most fun ever!” Somewhat in jest I pointed out to him that according to the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association using such words would probably certify him as clinically insane. Yet I had to admit that in the bizarre sort of way known only to runners this race was “fun”. If you didn’t feel that way, perhaps it is related to your approach. There are two primary strategies for running the Quad (not including “going with the flow”). The way generally accepted as optimal is to maintain even pacing. More popular, apparently, seems to be to try and get the first two Dipseas under your belt as fast as you can on the assumption you will inevitably get tired anyway! The latter method tempts me every time I lay out my game plan, but does it work in accomplishing the desired goal? I don’t think so. Kind of reminds me of a discussion I had with my friend Ron years ago who drove 640 miles from New York to Quebec in 8 hours at 80 miles an hour. I said he would run out of gas faster at that speed than at 50, but he insisted, “yes, but I’ll be going that much farther!” The problem with that idea in a race is that when our tank is empty it can’t easily be filled up again. Yet race day excitement makes both novice and elite runners fall for this temptation again and again. It’s a lot more dramatic and sexy than having the patience to hold back in order to look good in the second half of the race - when it counts. A few minutes too fast on the first leg of the Quad can very easily add ten or twenty minutes - or more - at the end, with extra-added pain and discomfort for the bulk of the race - less “fun”, in other words. The following are a few guidelines to consider in running a successful Quad. 1. DON’T USE THE FIRST LEG AS A PACING GUIDE. The problem here is that it will almost always feel too easy. Well, it SHOULD feel too easy. It is the second leg that should simply feel RELATIVELY easy. Therefore, gauge yourself on your return to Old Mill Park whether your first Double was comfortable. If so, you will increase your effort on the third leg. You will actually only be maintaining the same pace, but it will FEEL harder. Then, on the fourth leg you will (inevitably) have to dig deep and increase your effort substantially, but even so you should be able to maintain the pace. It will FEEL ALOT HARDER now, but you ought to be able to do it if you have budgeted your energy. We shouldn’t be seeing 59-63-66-75 or 71-80-85-94 or 71-83-97-103 minute splits like so many tend to achieve. Even if those times were PR’s, there is no way one can achieve his best that way. We grant Carl Anderson some slack for his 56-56-58-67 since if you plan on running a sub-four hour quad you may have to overextend yourself. The trouble is, he whizzed by so early on my first descent through Steep Ravine that I thought he had taken seriously my joke about breaking THREE hours, not four! Roy Rivers and Glenn Redpath raced neck and neck apparently thinking the race was “just a little more” than a Double Dipsea reaching the halfway point in 2:02 only to finish with a comparatively pedestrian 2:21 and 2:34. The rest of the better mortals quickly divided into two main packs and engaged in what for many must have been a somewhat questionable if not torrid pace. I’m talking about a group of a dozen or so who reached Stinson in 66-67 and a similar number in 71-72. You know who you are! The question to ask is, “how many were capable of holding that pace for the rest of the race, and if not, why not?” Better yet, “if not, why do it in the first place?” Among these groups kudos go to John Edgecomb and Karen Brown for their even-tempered 67-68-68-70 and 67-72-71-72 and to Liz Fagan for 71-72-71-75. Excellent times with rather entertaining splits, however, were posted by stalwarts R.K. (71-77-82-92), C.C. (70-72-79-96), J.H. (67-74-81-87) and B.R. (67-73-84-90)! This was the QUAD, guys, not the single or double! Good runners all but no doubt carried away in the thrill of the moment. Lesser experienced souls might have been carried away for real, perhaps on a stretcher! Seriously, even the slower runners couldn’t seem to escape this disease. The majority of those who finished in 7-8 hours still ran 85-90 minutes on their first leg only to log 2 or 2 1/2 hours for each of the last three. It’s a free country, folks, but that’s no way to run a race. For an interesting exercise, study the splits in the race results and ask yourself, “who had fun, and who most likely suffered?!” 2. RUN THE QUAD LIKE THE MILE. This concept is easy to grasp as there are four laps in each race. Just substitute hours in the quad for minutes in the mile. Would you run a 5:20 mile (or quad) in 71-75-82-92? Actually, you might (I once ran 5:08 in high school with a :59 second first lap!), but wouldn’t 78-80- 80-82 make more sense? Moreover, if you COULD run 5:20 with 71-75-82-92 might you not be able to pull off a 5:16 with 77-79-80-80? Similarly, if you were capable of 4:59 with 67-73-79-80, wouldn’t you have a good chance of 4:52 doing 72-73-73-74? This is pretty basic, yet we seem to keep forgetting it. To help us all, therefore, I suggest we design an Even Pace Grading System for Quad runners. A+ for those with laps within 2 minutes of each other, A for laps within 5 minutes, B+ within 10 minutes, B within 15, C within 20, D within 30, and over 30 = F! Top mark of “A+” goes to Greg Nacco who once again refused to join the lemmings, posting a metronomic 69-68-67-69 (In 1999 and 2000 he would have scored A++ for running even 63’s and 65’s!). John Edgecomb (67-68-68-70), Karen Brown (67-72-71-72), and Liz Fagan (71-72-71-75) get “A”; Tomas Pastalka (73 (!)-82-83-82) and Mike Soltesz (78-81-84-87) “B+”; Carl Anderson (56-56-58- 67), Danny Dreyer (67-73-79-80), Dave Covey (67-71-73-79), and Alfred Bogenhuber (73-80-85-88), “B”. Some of the best runners with great times scored C or less! We now know they could have done even better. (For many it appears that the few moments of glory are worth the inevitable meltdown. At the finish line, dazed and confused, they are heard mumbling their own version of a Neil Young tune, “My, my, hey, hey, better to burnout AND to fade away!”). 3. REMEMBER THAT THE QUAD COURSE IS 3-5 MINUTES LONGER EACH WAY THAN THE DOUBLE DIPSEA COURSE DUE TO LACK OF RUNNER SHORTCUTS. Therefore, if you gauge your Quad pace on your Double Dipsea race time don’t forget to add 6-10 minutes when you reach Old Mill Park to determine if your pace is reasonable. Let’s say your Double Dipsea time was 2:18, and you run the first half of the Quad in 2:30, thinking that is about right for you. 2:30 means approximately a 2:22 Double Dipsea time, however, which is too fast. 4. QUAD TIME SHOULD EQUAL 2 x DOUBLE DIPSEA RACE TIME + 15-20%. This is more than the usual double-your-distance-plus-5% flatland conversion factor due to the unusual strength component required in the Quad. (This information apparently wasn’t available to Andy Grant of Virginia who ran a painful-to-look- at 62-70-84-97!) Runners 65 and over might add up to 25%. This formula tells what you can realistically aim for ON A GOOD DAY, and is based on an average of experienced runners’ times. Thus a 2:00 double (assuming that you have put in sufficient mileage to prepare for the quad) would give 2 x 120 = 240 x 1.15 or 1.20 = 4:36-4:48. That’s 69-72 minute pace. Therefore, don’t be a hero and go out in 59-60!! Likewise a 2:20 double would give 2 x 140 = 280 x 1.15 or 1.20 = 5:22-5:36. That’s 80-84 minute pace, so don’t start with 69-70!! A 3:00 double gives 2 x 180 = 360 x 1.15 or 1.20 = 6:54-7:12. That’s 103-108 pace, so why run the first leg in 85-90?!! Such a decision will come back to haunt you, possibly as soon as your first trip up Steep Ravine, if not sooner. In conclusion, the primary focus of attention for most runners in achieving peak performance in the Quad should be not so much on going faster but rather on SLOWING DOWN LESS. To achieve this end and enjoy doing so a steady, even pace is the recommended way to go. It will keep you strong, confident, and happy while others struggle in with their tails between their legs. Good luck next year! Peter Holleran