112th Dipsea: DeRuffs making race a family affair

Even as Henry DeRuff completed the Dipsea last year, he and his father started plotting a course together.

"I watched the Dipsea for first time last year and saw my son Henry run it," David DeRuff said. "This is a great event. It's like the Bay to Breakers in that it is a quintessential Bay Area event, but it's much greater. I’m excited to be a part of it."

David DeRuff continued, "Seeing Henry come up the top of the stairs and later cross Panoramic Highway, then dueling with a guy at the finish line. That always gets me emotional. That's what made me want to do the Dipsea."

Ever since, Henry has been helping his father train for the 112th Dipsea. David DeRuff maybe isn't as comfortable running on trails as his son, but David is a world-class athlete in his own right. David DeRuff was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic rowing team, and helped the Marin Rowing Association to gold at the legendary Henley Regatta recently.

"Every time I go to the starting line, I feel the same way. Whether it's rowing or the Dipsea, I suppose I’ll get those butterflies, but I love it," David DeRuff said. "I want to see how I do compared to others my age."

David DeRuff already has an impressive fitness routine for rowing, but running requires a different approach, so he enlisted Henry's aid.

"When children become adults, the roles change," David DeRuff said. "When he was younger I spent time helping Henry with sports. Now we’ve full circle and he's giving me training advice and race strategies."

The steep flights of the Dipsea Stairs are the first challenge awaiting competitors, with fast-paced downhill trails, a narrow footbridge and grinding hill climbs at altitude along the 7.4-mile route from downtown Mill Valley to Stinson Beach.

"I’m pretty excited about having my dad run with me," Henry DeRuff said. "He's an incredible athlete and he's been inspirational for me in lot of ways during my life. But he's a rower and, even though he was a track star in high school, the Dipsea is something different for him. It's awesome to see how excited he is about it. I look forward to seeing him at the finish line."

Henry DeRuff was an avid runner growing up in Ross, and at Claremont McKenna College, but it wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic that distance running became more of a focus for him.

"I grew up in Marin always hearing about the Dipsea but never did it until last year," Henry DeRuff said. "In college, I loved running. When I moved back to the Bay Area, and during the pandemic, it seemed like the perfect time to try out running the Dipsea. It's a beautiful trail. The race atmosphere is electric and super fun. It's different from all other races I’ve ever been in.

In his first Dipsea in 2022, he completed the journey in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 18.86 seconds, as he placed 664th overall, but 23rd in his section.

"I started running occasional marathons when I was in college and found I love the motion of running those distances," Henry DeRuff said. "The first marathon I ran was 4-5 hours. But I ran a lot and got faster. It's been fun to learn about running marathons and to be on that steep learning curve."

Henry DeRuff ran the 26.2-mile Napa Marathon in March with a time of 2 hours, 57 minutes, finishing seventh in the men's 25-29 age group. He's already qualified for the Boston Marathon.

"I get so emotional when I see my kids do things they are successful and passionate about," David DeRuff said. "They’ve all had serious athletic endeavors. I well up in tears thinking about how proud I am of all of them."

Katherine DeRuff was a swimmer and played water polo at St. Ignatius Prep before playing water polo for four years at Bucknell University. John DeRuff grew up sailing the local Bay Area waters, and has gained success as a member of the St. Francis Yacht Club as well as captain for two years with the George Washington University sailing team.

Katherine, David and the family matriarch, Elizabeth, took 11th place in the 2016 San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz in the open mixed division, finishing in 3:09.03. Elizabeth is a decorated triathlete, so it's little wonder the DeRuff family is so involved in sports to this day.

"Both my parents are incredible athletes," Henry DeRuff said. "Growing up, there was expectation we’d all play a sport every season. I loved sports at an early age. Running is just what I settled on as an adolescent and later as an adult in college."

The anticipation of a family get-together at Stinson Beach at the end of Sunday's Dipsea gave Henry DeRuff another idea.

"I would love to see the whole family run at the Dipsea," Henry DeRuff said. "I’m always recruiting my siblings to move back to the Bay Area. My sister and brother love to run, so I could see all five of us at the Dipsea. That's the beauty of the Dipsea with the phased start, there's a place for everyone."

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