The 2005 Dipsea

The Annual Dipsea Race celebrated its one-hundredth birthday on sunny and moderately warm June 12, 2005 with a line-up of winners so appropriate to the occasion it looked like a script out of Hollywood.

The first place winner was Russ Kiernan, 67 years old, who has won twice before. A genial and much-admired participant who has run in 34 Dipsea races, Kiernan represents the old guard of senior runners who have dominated the race for almost a decade.

But there was also a strong showing this year from runners new to the Dipsea winner's circle. Roy Rivers, 48, came in second with an actual running time of just 52:33. And fully twenty-five per cent of this year's black shirt winners did not even place among the top 100 in 2004.

An experienced runner, 63-year-old Melody Anne Schultz did come in third with a respectable 1:08:51. But it seemed clear that a new generation is establishing itself in the race.

These younger men and women announced with their energy and performance that there's a strong core of runners ready to challenge for leadership as the race speeds into its second century.