The Dipsea gives head starts to women, older runners, and younger runners. A 74-year-old woman gets 25 minutes on a 25-year-old man. Enter your details to find your wave, then explore who wins this race.
Your handicap
—Head start
—Group
—Start time
Did you know
Wave start times
All runners sharing the same head start are in the same group. Times shown are for the Invitational section. Runners Section participants start 27 minutes later in each group. Your group is highlighted after you calculate above.
Who wins the Dipsea
The handicap system produces winners of every age and both genders. The data below covers 2005–2025 — the last two decades of racing.
Year
Winner
Age
G
Time
Head start
12Women's wins, 2005–2025
Women have won 12 of the last 20 races — just over half. Chris Lundy alone accounts for three of them (2017, 2018, 2024).
55Median winner age, 2005–2025
The typical Dipsea winner over the last two decades is in their mid-50s. A handful of younger winners — Johnson at 8, MacLean at 19, O'Leary at 35 — bring the average age to 50.5.
8Youngest winner in race history: Reilly Johnson
Johnson won the 100th Dipsea in 2010 with a run time of 1:12:31, breaking Megan McGowan's 1991 record (age 9) as the youngest-ever winner. She had a 25-minute head start.
72Oldest winner in race history: Hans Schmid
Schmid won in 2012 at 72 — the oldest winner in the race's 120-year history. He didn't start competitive running until age 63. He died in 2025 at 83.
48:35Fastest winning time, 2005–2025: Eddie Owens
Owens ran 48:35 as a scratch runner to win in 2022. The all-time course record of 44:49 was set by Ron Elijah in 1974 — in the five decades since, no runner has come within 1:59 of it.
4Brian Pilcher wins, 2005–2025
Pilcher won in 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2019 — joining hall of famers Sal Vasquez and Shirley Matson as the only competitors to win the race at least four times.
Winners by age group, 2005–2025 (20 races, excl. 2020). Blue = men, peach = women.
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Handicap tables reflect the official 2026 Dipsea Race rules, Invitational section. Runners Section participants start 27 minutes later in each group. Handicap rules are set annually by the Dipsea Race Committee and can change from year to year. Winner data for 2005–2025 sourced from official results at dipsea.org. 2020 was cancelled due to Covid-19. Scratch runners (men 20–25) start last — Invitational at 8:25 a.m., Runners Section at 8:52 a.m. The 2026 race runs Sunday, June 8.
