US Airways - May 2013 - (Page 45)

explore Adventure Time to Play Down and Out on the Dipsea Trail This annual Pacific Coast race is not for the faint of heart or weak of leg. By alex Salkever ★ photos by rachel weill I feel a hand on my shoulder. Then another. Then another. “On your left. On your left.” Passing runners are warning me to stay out of the way as they float up the endless stairs that rise through the redwood forest. I’m hustling up stairs two at a time, climbing the slope of Cascade Canyon, an idyllic slice of Marin County, California, backed up against the quaint Alpinesque town of Mill Valley. My lungs are burning. My vision slightly blurry. Someone has injected my legs with cement. Another hand. “On your left.” And then, “You’re almost halfway up the stairs. Hang in there.” Halfway up the 688 stairs. Halfway to heaven or halfway to hell? I have no idea. On the second Sunday in June, normally staid Mill Valley descends into a special kind of madness for the annual Dipsea Race. Restaurants offer recovery specials. The paramedics go on high alert. Village residents who live along the steep course come out to cheer the participants in America’s oldest trail race. Over a course of 7.4 miles, 1,500 runners endure not one, not two, but three steep climbs for a total elevation gain and loss of about 2,200 feet. In other words, you’re either gasping for breath climbing a mountain or hurtling down a wicked incline Clockwise from top: a downhill section with a view of the Pacific; the race’s first set of stairs; and last year’s youngest runner, six-year-old Brendan King, with his dad usairwaysmag.com may 2013 45 http://www.usairwaysmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - May 2013

US Airways - May 2013
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: Best Full-Service Hotels
Hub Crawl: Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Wine & Dine: Virginia Wines
Great Tastes: Old Town Tortilla Factory
Diversions: Anheuser-Busch
Great Escapes: Santa Monica's Fairmont Miramar
Great Escapes: Aruba
Golf: Colonial Williamsburg's Golden Horseshoe
Adventure: Heli-Hiking in British Columbia
Great Escapes: Granada Hotel & Bistro
Adventure: Glasgow, Scotland
Adventure: Dipsea Trail
Great Escapes: Iberostar Hotels and Resorts
Gear Up: Gardening
Travel Feature: Hungry in Key West
US Airways: Painting the Past
Chefs Tell: Smith & Wollensky and Robin's
Must Read: Here Is Where
Great Dates
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Giving: Miles for Good
Window or Aisle?

US Airways - May 2013