Youth honored ahead of event - Marin Independent Journal

114TH DIPSEA RACE

Youth honored ahead of event

Redwood’s Nacco and Tam’s Wong among this year’s scholarship winners

Redwood’s Marley Nacco takes fifth place at the MCAL girls cross country championships at the Indian Valley Campus of the College of Marin in Novato on Nov. 13. SHERRY LAVARS — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, FILE

Image

By Derek Wilson

dewilson@marinij.com

Marley Nacco might have been born to run the Dipsea and, even if she didn’t take to running early on, it has become a major part of her life.

Nacco’s mother was pregnant with Marley when she ran the Dipsea 18 years ago. Now Marley is running in her seventh Dipsea since 2017 on Sunday.

Nacco, a standout track and cross country runner at Redwood High the past four years, was honored Friday night at the Dipsea Foundation Dinner with the Hauke Memorial Scholarship. Nacco says she plans to continue running while at Santa Barbara City College.

“I can’t fully express what the Dipsea means to me,” Nacco said.

Tam High runner Estella Wong, who is heading to UC Davis in the fall, earned the Linda Gill Memorial Scholarship.

“(Wong’s) passion for running and community building truly embodies the spirit of this award,” Dipsea Kidz director Ana Levaggi said while presenting the scholarship to Wong. “Estella embraces running with eagerness.”

Berkeley High’s Gracie Koch will be presented the William Patterson Memorial Scholarship. Koch was not at Friday’s celebration in Sausalito as she was attending her high school graduation ceremony.

Nacco ran her best Dipsea time last year, with a clock time of 1 hour, 26 seconds (after an 11-minute handicap) to place 126th overall. She is running with her older brother, Ziggy, and their father, Greg, this year.

Running — the Dipsea in particular — has always been a family affair for them. Greg Nacco is an ultramarathoner who has run the Dipsea, Double Dipsea and Quad Dipsea. Julie Nacco, herself a Dipsea veteran, was a track standout at Drake (now Archie Williams). Ziggy, a star runner at Marin Catholic whose best Dipsea finish was 58th in 2023, just completed his sophomore track season at Cal State San Marcos, highlighted by a first-place finish in the 1,500 with a PR of 3:54.66 in April at the ULV Leopard Invitational.

“I want to say how honored I am to be part of the community, and how just hearing the word ‘Dipsea’ reminds me of being back in June and being surrounded by the most incredible runners,” Nacco said in her acceptance speech. “The community really did make running for me. It did take me a really long time to warm up to running. It wasn’t always my favorite thing, as my family knows, but I stuck with it because the community was always so amazing.”

Wong, 17, is running her sixth Dipsea on Sunday after she slashed 13 minutes off her previous time last year for a 1:16:13 finish (also with an 11-minute head start).

“I ran my first Dipsea in fifth grade, and haven’t stopped running since,” said Wong. “I wouldn’t have had the confidence to pursue all the other things I have in my life without the Dipsea Kidz or running in general.”

Wong credited the older runners in the Dipsea Kidz Program for helping her to start running, after she spent her early athletic endeavors as a goalie for her soccer team so she wouldn’t have to run so much. Wong has passed the baton, as a mentor with Dipsea Kidz runners and her Tam High track and cross country teammates, and as a founder of the Kids Explore Endurance program and camp.

Wong and Nacco, good friends and better competitors, were closely matched on the track this season, especially in the 800 meters. In three head-to-head races, Wong was mere seconds faster than Nacco. Wong set a personal record of 2:22.94 at the North Coast Section Redwood Empire Meet, besting Nacco’s personal record of 2:23.23 set in 2023. Nacco’s best time in the 800 this season was 2:28.19, while she was also focused on the 1,600, in which her season-best time was 5:13.02.

Nacco set a PR of 19:02.8 in the 5,000-meter Asics Clovis Invitational cross country race on Oct. 24, 2024, with Wong finishing in 21:51.8. Nacco placed 68th (19:06.8) at State in the Division II race on Nov. 30, her best finish in four trips to the CIF Championship Meet.

Koch, who will study biology at UCLA, ran her first Dipsea as a high school freshman in 2013, following in her family’s footsteps. A track and cross country standout at Berkeley, Koch set a PR of 19:44.5 in the CIF State D-I cross country meet last year.

“Running has taught me resilience and discipline, qualities that echo the spirit of the Dipsea race,” Koch wrote.