History

The ultra running world was considerably different in the early 1980s than it is today. There were a lot fewer ultra runners then and - unlike today - there were hardly any races to run. In Northern California, there was American River 50 and Nugget 50 in the spring, Western States in late June and Cow Mountain 50 in the fall. And that was about it.

So, several of the regular runners got together and decided that each should host a run on trails in their neighborhood so that people could run together and also explore new terrain. John Medinger lived in Mill Valley then, and when it came his turn to host he chose a run that would be four crossings of the Dipsea Trail. “I was really more of a road marathoner than a trail runner at that time,” Medinger said, “and I didn’t know the Mt. Tam trails very well. But I did know the Dipsea Trail - it was famous even then - so that’s what it had to be.” So, on a Saturday in August, eight intrepid souls gathered in Old Mill Park, and all finished the run. (Some things were the same in those years as they are now. Though he wouldn’t be tagged with the nickname “Tropical John” for another few years, even then Medinger had a penchant for wearing Hawaiian shirts.) After the first Quad, everyone thought they were the first runners to run the famed trail four times but it was later discovered that another Marin runner, Hans Roeneau, had accomplished the feat in a solo run four years earlier.

(The current record for consecutive Dipsea crossings is an astonishing 16 – a Quad Quad – first completed by Don Lundell in May of 2003, and matched by Bradley Fenner in December 2020. Fenner holds the fastest known time with 34:15:35.)

The following year the run was repeated, this time 16 started and 15 finished. So much fun was had that it was decided to put the word out and invite the world the following year. Everyone was astonished that 80 runners signed up. Medinger stepped in as race director, though things were so casual that he often said “go” and then jumped in and ran, too, leaving the finish line responsibilities to Jack Cover or Jim Skophammer.

During the following decade the race slowly grew. Until 1990, runners were allowed to take the many short-cuts that are commonly run in the (single) Dipsea and Double Dipsea races. But as the field grew, the event started attracting more and more runners from outside the Bay Area, and many of them were getting lost. So, it was decided that everyone should run the same route and stick to the actual trail.

In 1995, the event was limited to 250 runners. “By that time it was rather a lot of work to put it all on, and I didn’t want the trail to get so crowded that it would lessen everyone’s enjoyment,” Medinger said. The race sold out that year, and has every year since.

Medinger continued as Race Director for 30 years, before handing the reins over to John Catts in 2013. After 10 years as the RD, John Catts handed over the race to Ted Knudsen in 2024 after he fininshed his 25th Quad Dipsea.