Hillsea Run: Different From the Start

In last year’s inaugural running of the Southern California Dipsea at Huntington Central Park, the first to cross the finish line out of a field of 330 runners, most of them adults, was a 10-year-old girl named Megan McGowan, who beat second-place finisher Greg Mislick by almost six minutes.

Of course, McGowan had a 16-minute head start in the 7.57-mile run, which shouldn’t take away from a great effort from a young runner (an actual time of 53:21, about seven minutes per mile), but it goes a long way toward explaining the final result.

Staggered starts by age group are the unusual aspect of the event, which will return Sunday as the Hillsea (renamed to head off a threatened lawsuit from the purveyors of the original Dipsea in Northern California). The point is to equalize the field and shake up the predictable results.

Thus, the first four across the finish line last year were McGowan, Mislick (in the male 30-to-34 age group), Bill Graham (50 to 54) and Herb Tanzer (40 to 44). The race this time begins with women 55 and older and girls 13 and under at 8 a.m., with new groups starting every two minutes until the men 24 to 34 years old take off at 8:16.

“Theoretically, everyone has a chance to win,” said race director Oscar Rosales. “Last year it was extremely successful. People said it was so unusual; they’d never done anything like that.”

The course winds throughout Huntington Central Park, starting on grass and including stretches of dirt trails and, only when necessary, pavement. “Back on the dirt, that’s where we want to get people,” Rosales said. The course includes one significant hill and even some stairs.

In keeping with the run’s whimsical side, sections of the park and various obstacles have been renamed by Rosales. Marked on the map are the Old Well Ghost Town, Snake Marsh, Tame Horses (Maybe), Wet Forest, Tortilla Flats and the Green Huntington Lake Attack Ducks.

The Dipsea race in Northern California is limited by organizers to 2,000 runners and has a long waiting list every year. Rosales figures the Hillsea course can handle 500 runners, and he hopes to approach that number this year. Race day registration will begin at 6:30 a.m.