The 2023 Application Process!

The 2023 Dipsea Application period has ended! Good luck to all those who entered! The 2024 Dipsea application period will begin around mid-March 2024. Please check back closer to that time for information on the 2024 Dipsea Race.

The 112th Annual Dipsea Race will be Sunday, June 11th, 2023 starting at 8:00am, Downtown Mill Valley. Please note the new starting time.

The Dipsea Race is one of the more challenging athletic events in the Bay Area. Because of the potential environmental impact that would result from uncontrolled use and the risk of injury from crowding on the steep and narrow trails, the number of runners has for several years been restricted to no more than 1,500. That's less than half the number of people who apply every year. So, an elaborate system has been developed to fairly apportion the scarce racing slots.

The surest way to get a racing number is to do well in the previous Dipsea. The first four hundred and fifty Invitational runners who finished in the 2022 race are automatically eligible for the Invitational section of the 2023 race. All they need do is get their application completed and mailed in by the deadline of April 1st, 2023. Plese note: The application must be in our PO Box by April 1st. Mail early! Applications received after April 1st will be returned. Also eligible for the 2023 Invitational are those from the Runner section who were among the first 750, overall, to cross the finish line in 2022. Note: if there is a * next to your name on the 2022 results, it means you automatically qualified for Invitational. For everyone else, it's a little trickier, partly because the system still is subject to the U.S. Postal Service and the fact that the Race receives far more applications as the number of available entries.

Once the pre-qualified runners are assigned their numbers, the remaining 900 slots are apportioned according to the following system:

• Five hundred racing numbers are allocated on a basis of first come, first accepted. For the last several years, the official applications are available for downloading only on our website. That evens the playing field because everyone has access at the same time. But the completed applications can be sent back to us ONLY through the mail. That tends to favor the local Bay Area residents. And that's fine with the race committee, because the Dipsea is essentially a local event, even though racers come from other states and other countries.
  
  
• In previous years, the fastest way to get your application to us was to hand-deliver it to the Mill Valley Post Office. However, the Mill Valley Post Office will no longer accept and/or hand cancel letters to be put directly in our our post office box. We understand that Dipsea applications, as well as any letters, will go to a regional facility for sorting and then will be delivered to the Mill Valley Post Office. So it might be more expedient to mail your application from a regional center near you.
  
  Please note: You may send the application by USPS Overnight Mail. However, FedEx or UPS do not deliver to our post office box.
  
  
• For those who are really desperate to run in The Dipsea, there's always money. After the first 500 applicants have been assigned, another hundred entries are accepted based on a silent auction. One hundred race numbers are awarded to applicants who send checks in excess of the $100 entry fee, $60 for children under 16, (the "bribe" money, anything over the $100 for adults and $60 for youngsters under 16 goes to the Dipsea Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that awards scholarships, sponsors the Dipsea Kidz program, and maintains the trail). The auction bidding goes higher every year.
  
  
• The final 300 places in the 2023 Dipsea race will be filled by lottery. After the three above scenarios are completed, all remaining applications received in our office by April 1, 2023 are eligible. No special application is required. The drawing will be conducted randomly. We cannot predict the chances of success. The odds will be based on the total number of applications received.

There are actually two more ways to get into the race. One is to send a convincing sob story that will persuade the race committee to make room for the applicant. They're reasonable, but they've heard just about everything, although serving previously as a volunteer in the race may help, but not necessarily. Finally, on the Friday before the race, there's the Annual Dipsea Race Foundation banquet where one Invitational race number is auctioned to the highest bidder, starting at a bid of $500.

As in past years, 2023 applications will not be mailed via US Postal Service. In our endeavor to contain race operating costs and entry fees, the Dipsea Race will no longer print and mail applications to previous year’s participants and new applicants. The application will reside on www.Dipsea.org for you to download only.

Participants, Invitationals and Runners in the 2022 Dipsea Race and prior years, who provided a valid email address on their application and have their log on information may access their application/runner profile at this time. Simply go to application.Dipsea.org and log on, click on Runner Profile, verify your information and if needed make any applicable edits. (Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Edit".) You will not be able to print out your application until March 15, 2023 at 12:01am.

All profile updates, if any, must be completed before March 15, but definitely prior to downloading and printing your pre-filled application starting on March 15 at 12:01am.

2022 race participants who did not submit a valid email address on the 2022 application, and new applicants may also download an application from our web site www.dipsea.org on March 15 at 4:00pm. These applications do not contain any of your information.

Once you have downloaded and printed your application, sign it, attach an entry fee check, and mail it to: Dipsea Race, P.O. Box 30, Mill Valley, CA 94942. Any donation amount may be added to the fee check.

For those who downloaded and printed a blank application: Please make sure it is legible and completely filled out, signed and has entry fee attached. We will return applications that are unreadable or not complete.

We no longer mail applications to you.

Please note: Acceptance into the race is based on criteria as set forth on page 1 of “The 2023 Application Process”.

Applicants who are not successful in getting into the 2023 race will be mailed a refund check less a $10.00 processing fee on April 14, 2023. The fee is intended to cover some of the costs of processing the application and postage and does not subsidize the race. We impose the fee by cashing your entry check and returning the refunds by separate check with your notice. REMEMBER: Cancellation of your check DOES NOT mean you have been accepted in the 2023 Dipsea Race.

Any questions or comments not related to Invitational applications can be asked via our Contact page.