The oldest trail race in America, this year’s Dipsea Race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, Calif., Sun., June 14, was won by Brian Pilcher, 58, a retired real estate investor from Ross, Calif., who covered the scenic, rugged 7.4-mile course in a handicap time of 45:56.

Pilcher started the race with an 11-minute head start over the scratch runners – men aged 19 to 29 – and took full advantage of his course knowledge and age handicap to win this race for the second time since 2009.

He actually ran the course in 56:56, winning by 1:58, the biggest winning margin since 2003, from first-time Dipsea runner Matias Saari, 44, of Anchorage, Alaska, who finished with a handicap time of 47:54.

The fastest time of the day was actually run by 34-year-old Rickey Gates of San Francisco, Calif., who covered the distance in 49:11 to finish third with a handicap time of 48:11.

Chris Lundy, 44, of Sausalito, Calif., won the women’s race and finished fourth overall with a handicap time of 48:23.

Diana Fitzpatrick, 57, of Larkspur, Calif., winner of the race the last two years, was the runner-up this time in 50:16, with Sissel Berntsen-Heber, 51, finishing third in 51:57.

The Dipsea Race was first run in 1905 and is the second oldest race in America after the Boston Marathon, first held in 1897. 

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