Brazen's Double Dipsea Race Report

Writing this the same day as the Double Dispea while it's fresh in my mind!

I did it. I finished Brazen Racing's Double Dipsea, and I didn't fall. *high fives self* It was the first real race after the AR50 in April, so I have been anticipating it and dreading race day. The website boasts of it's 4,500' elevation gain in 14 miles, and the 671 stairs that it features, as well as the unique handicap times categorized with age/sex.

A screen grab of their website

The race itself sold out very quickly, since it's kind of the alternative to the notoriously hard to obtain but sought after entry to the Dipsea race (America's oldest trail race). When registration opened for the double, I jumped on the opportunity to sign up before my brain really knew what I was doing.

While I have been slowly getting back into hills and trails, I still think I was unprepared for this race. The most I've done in training for this race was 2500' elevation and 12 miles. I also foolishly signed up for the Summer Scamper 10k which is tomorrow, so I knew I couldn't just go all out.

I peeled myself out of bed at 5:15 after a restless night's sleep. The cold I had been trying to fight had taken over and gotten worse, and it made it really difficult to breathe. So I cracked myself out with some coffee to make up for it, and ate a slice of toast. I put my usual running clothes on, and filled up my 1 liter Spry vest with some Tailwind and ice. I chose to wear my old Nike Wildhorse shoes since I wanted to be more nimble and less likely to trip again.

We left the house at 6am, and got to Stinson Beach at 7:15am...about an hour and a half early. The drive itself was something I wasn't looking forward to. I don't get motion sickness very easily, but Jon does, and even though he was driving he was not feeling well. It is one curvy drive! You could tell from the pre-race chatter that everyone else was experiencing some nauseous too.

I hit the porta-potty about three times within the hour and a half just to make sure everything was all clear and I wouldn't need to make any emergency stops on the side. There's almost nothing more annoying than starting a race and needing to pee the whole time! There were about 10 porta-potties, but well over 600 people in the race, which meant long lines. I heard a lot of complaints about that.

We picked up our bibs there on race morning, which went quickly and smoothly. It was a big bonus to me that the bibs had our names on it. It is so nice to have people cheering you on by name!

With the registration we are given the option of no tee (I think it's $5.00 off registration), a tech tee, or a cotton tee. I got the cotton t-shirt since I realized I just don't wear tech race shirts, and I love it! The detailed backside with the elevation map, and the noted trail names on them was a plus.

Our friend Johan joined us, and we had the same starting time. Jon started thirteen minutes after us, at 9:00 because he's 30. The race starts based on handicap times, giving a head start to the elderly and children. You can check out the specific wave starts here.

My teeth were chattering as we started. It wasn't unbearably cold, but the cold combined with my nerves was making me physically tremble. I hadn't been this scared for a race in a while. The only time I've ever ran over 4000' in a single run was at AR50 and that was...well, 50 miles long! I knew this run was going to kick my butt.

The weather was perfect for us. A slight cool breeze, mostly foggy, yet there were some sunny and warm spots at the top of the hills.

The trail began with a steep three mile ascent on soft shaded singletrack. It had a very serene jungly vibe. Everyone was pretty pooped a mile into the race, but I was very conservative with my pace. I'm a timid runner, so I had a hard time passing people that were going too slow.

The following two miles of downhill is when I really started to dislike the race. People were bombing down the trail, and the people that started in the waves minutes after us were catching up and running all out. I was terrified of literally being ran over since I was being such a slow poke, so I often would come to a complete or near stop to let people pass me. This happened...a lot. I think I was passed by almost everyone at this point. I did notice one runner down, and I know that others took falls as well. It was pretty dangerous.

Once we hit the bottom, we went right back up for another mile. When we started the descent, we hit most of the 671 stairs. I was having a difficult time going down them because the ones at the end were very small and numerous and my brain started to get dizzy with the visual confusion and poor depth perception.

And this is why my descents are almost as slow as my ascents. :(

I was still pretty fresh at the turn around point, and headed back up the same stairs that I went down. It wasn't too bad but again - I kept getting stuck behind some very slow people, and at this time there were a lot of people coming down the stairs on the other side so it was hard to squeeze through. It didn't help that there was a giant group of hikers thrown into the mix meandering up the same set of stairs.

Going down the little hill again was a breeze, but going back up the big hill was rough. The side going back was much more steep. My only and slight advantage was the mild 5-10% grade ascents that most people still were walking up. I could muster up the energy to keep running on those, although I'm sure the run was probably a 12 minute mile. There was an aid station at the top...and I got to witness a runner upchucking her nutrition. Delightful. :| On my way back I also saw two runners on separate occasions on the ground holding their cramped up legs.

Coming back was a bit easier for me because there were less people that you had to watch out for, and nobody was constantly on your heels. Amazingly, despite all the constant passing on the single track, almost everyone was very civilized and supportive of each other. Trail runners are so friendly.

I was most impressed with the amount of wonderful volunteers the course had. It was such a smooth running operation!

After running through the finish line, we were handed these awesome giant medals that double as drink coasters. They also gifted us with a fancy patch! I would love if more races started giving out patches!

ignore the scarred up legs

The food they gave out was also plentiful, as every trail run that I've done is, but I stuck with just the watermelon. It is a carb lover's dream though, ranging from tiramisu slices, rice krispie treats, peanut butter filled pretzels, cookies, bagels, and more. Not really much of an option for the low carber.

this is just half the table! 

My boyfriend Jon finished strong, and I'm glad that I got a chance to take a quick video of his finish. Our friend Johan was way ahead, even though yesterday he had just finished a really difficult long run.

In the end, I'm thinking that this type of race just isn't for me. I'm too timid and anxious to have the faster runners behind me, but it was a really great experience and I'm very happy I did it. My Garmin tells me that we did 14 miles and 4,107 feet of elevation. I was 21st out of 40 in my age group, and 343rd overall place of 628 folks. I'm just glad I didn't wuss out completely. It was a close one.

Oh and my wildhorses were great! They're starting to get tiny holes where the fabric creases, but I am so impressed with how the tread is holding up. They practically look unworn, and have almost 300 miles! I think I'm going to invest in the Kiger or another of the older wildhorses since I think the newest version that is soon to come out has a thicker heel and higher drop.

A little wear on the uppers but the soles are still good!

Sorry for the novel, I just wanted to be thorough! I'll post another for tomorrow's Summer Scamper!