Mill Valley, California, November 29. Erik Skaggs of Ashland, Oregon set a new course record in winning the 26th annual Quad Dipsea race, which finished here today. Skaggs’ time of 3:52:16 was 13 seconds under the old standard, set by Carl Andersen in 1992.
Skaggs, who won the race last year in 3:53:06, pulled away from Leor Pantilat of San Carlos halfway through the first of four trips over the rugged 7.1-mile Dipsea trail and won handily, besting runner up Fritz Van de Kamp of Berkeley by 23 minutes.
“That 53 was ill advised,” he commented wryly upon finishing, referring to his 53-minute first trip to Stinson Beach. “I really struggled at the end.”
Suzanna Bon of Sonoma was the women’s winner in 4:51:38. Bon took over the lead when early leader Jenn Shelton of Ashland, Oregon stopped at the halfway point. Bon, 44, has won three 100-mile races in the past 18 months.
A total of 221 runners completed the demanding 28.4-mile race, which includes more than 9000 vertical feet of climb and and equal amount of descent. The last finisher, at eleven hours and 47 minutes, was 82-year-old Mike Tselentis of Napa. The event sold out for the 14th consecutive year.
Photo at left: Erik Skaggs descends the famed Dipsea stairs (John Medinger photo)
Men
1. Erik Skaggs, 26, Ashland, OR, 3:52:16 !
2. Fritz Van de Kamp, 29, Berkeley, CA, 4:15:28
3. Jean Pommier, 44, Cupertino, CA, 4:19:19
4. Chris Hauth, 38, Mill Valley, CA, 4:19:42
5. Tim Knudsen, 34, Mill Valley, CA, 4:22:36
6. Christopher Mercaldi, 27, San Francisco, CA, 4:23:23
7. Victor Ballesteros, 38, San Rafael, CA, 4:24:57
8. Jonathan Kimura, 28, Cupertino, CA, 4:30:19
9. Greg Nacco, 48, Sausalito, CA, 4:33:35
10. Roy Rivers, 51, Mill Valley, CA, 4:35:57
Women
1. Suzanna Bon, 44, Sonoma, CA, 4:51:38
2. Karalee Morris, 30, Folsom, CA, 5:03:04
3. Prudence L’Heureux, 38, Bend, OR, 5:03:47
4. Krista Callinan, 27, Davis, CA, 5:13:44
5. Kim Kortz, 44, Folsom, CA, 5:20:38
6. Florencia Gascon-Amyx, 44, Mill Valley, CA, 5:26:44
7. Jane Baldwin, 45, Wasilla, AK, 5:28:08
8. Clare Abram, 37, San Carlos, CA, 5:42:08
9. Karyn Hoffman, 46, Folsom, CA, 5:51:30
10. Adele Ho, 50, Richmond, CA, 5:53:16