Pacesetter: Let’s play: Two truths and a lie
August 20, 2026: Marin edition.
You made your pick. Now let’s see if you got it right.
Answered A?
Nope. This actually happened. 🤯
The backward stairs were REAL.
Sam Smart walked backward on stairs for roughly 60 miles,
completing the equivalent of 16 Dipsea crossings.
Ridiculous? Absolutely. Made up? Not even a little.
Answered B?
Nope. Also true. 🤯
An 8-year-old really did win the Dipsea.
The Dipsea’s famous handicap system gives runners different
starting times based on age and gender.
In 2010, 8-year-old Reilly Johnson crossed the finish line
ahead of the field and became the youngest winner in
the race’s history.
Answered C?
You got it! 🎯
The rock story is the lie.
No, generations of Dipsea runners weren’t required to haul
a rock from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach to prove they
completed the course.
We made that one up.
But considering some of the things that really HAVE happened
at the Dipsea, we can’t blame you for believing it.
Crazy enough to be true.
The Dipsea has more than a century of unusual history,
legendary runners and only-in-Marin stories—which made it
particularly difficult to invent a lie that sounded crazy enough.
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