Quad Dipsea
Mill Valley, United States • 28 Nov 2026
Quad Dipsea, Mill Valley, CA
The Quad Dipsea is a trail event covering 28.4 miles with about 9,000 feet of vertical change. The route features many stairs and steep trail sections, including three flights of stairs within the opening few hundred yards that are described as as tall as a fifty story building. Runners pass through areas named "Dynamite", "The Hogsback", "The Rainforest", "Cardiac", and "Steep Ravine", and traverse both wooded and open grassland sections before reaching Stinson Beach.
The course runs from Old Mill Park (Throckmorton Avenue and Cascade Way) to Stinson Beach and back along the Dipsea Trail, and then repeats that sequence for the Quad. Shortcuts are not allowed; entrants must remain on the Dipsea Trail for the entire distance.
Time limits are set relative to the start: the halfway turnaround has a cutoff at 4 hours 30 minutes after the start, the cutoff to leave Stinson Beach is 6 hours 45 minutes after the start, and the overall finish cutoff is 9 hours after the start. Aid stations are located at Cardiac Hill, Stinson Beach, and Old Mill Park (start/finish and the halfway point).
Because much of the course is single track, no pacers are permitted and hiking or trekking poles are not allowed. Refunds, rollovers, and exchanges are not offered. A wait list is used and the entrant list is finalized by November 10th. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.