115th Dipsea Race: Scholarship winners bring passion for running

As with life and school, the Dipsea Race is all about the journey.

"The Dipsea is a very hard race, and I think one of the aspects of it that's just so engaging, it's just such a challenge to get to Stinson, to get to the finish line, and once you get there, you realize the journey was amazing," said Gabriel Cavanagh, who graduated from Redwood High this week.

Cavanagh was the recipient of the Linda Gill Memorial Scholarship award at the Dipsea Race Foundation Hall of Fame and Scholarship Award Dinner on Friday night. Terra Linda's Francisco Luna received the Jerry Wendt Memorial Scholarship. Lucas Ruark, who graduated from Tam this week, received the Wes Hildreth Memorial Scholarship.

All three have been mentored by Ana Levaggi, the outgoing leader of the Dipsea Kidz Program, which serves the youth of Marin County through health and fitness programs, including cross country runs. This year's Dipsea Race includes an all-time high of 47 Dipsea Kidz participants.

Scholarship winners have participated in The Dipsea or volunteered with The Dipsea Foundation events and programs.

"My mom wanted me to do a sport and coach Ana came to Venetia Valley School one day, so I signed up. After the first year, I kind of fell in love with running," said Luna, who has tried to give back by mentoring young runners.

Luna, who has struggled with painful back injuries in his career, will be at the start line in downtown Mill Valley on Sunday morning as he returns to the Dipsea for the sixth time. Luna placed 13th in his group last year after missing the 2024 Dipsea.

"I hurt my back and had a slipped disc, and I wasn't able to run or anything," Luna said. "That was probably my biggest challenge, just facing that and overcoming that, and getting back on the trails from time to time. It kind of killed my motivation for a while, but once I started to get back out on the trail, I knew I wanted to get back into it."

The 115th annual Dipsea race is scheduled to take off from downtown Mill Valley on Sunday at 8 a.m. The challenging and scenic 7.4-mile course takes the field of nearly 1,500 runners to Stinson Beach.

"The views in the Dipsea are amazing," Luna said. "That's my favorite part about it, the scenic places and then the nice, fresh air coming in, blowing cold air on the coastline right there."

While Ruark and Cavanagh stayed on the more traditional path for a distance runner, Luna added an extra element to his running routine - a lacrosse stick. As a senior midfielder, Luna helped the Trojans (13-10) to a breakout season in which they advanced to the North Coast Section Division II championship game, falling 13-4 to Miramonte.

"I don't know if I'll run in college, but I'll always come back for the Dipsea," said Luna, who is bound for College of Marin.

Cavanagh might have gotten a slow start, but he has proven to be one of the fastest high school runners in the North Bay during the past four years.

"I started running in eighth grade, and I started because I was pretty slow, and I wasn't that good at it," said Cavanagh, who is heading for Chapman University in the fall. "I was, like, why not try something new and get out of my comfort zone? I joined the cross country team and that's where i really found a love of running, because it was such a hard sport."

Cavanagh ran his first Dipsea as a 15-year-old sophomore, with a strong finish of 1 hour, 3 minutes, 23.92 seconds.

Ruark, who was second to Tam senior Finn Harrington in the 1600 and the 3200 at the MCAL Track Championships, placed 11th in the 1600 at the North Coast Section Meet of Champions. He was second in the 3200 at the Redwood Empire Meet.

Ruark, a Sacramento State commit, is back for his seventh Dipsea this year after an impressive finish of 1:01:37.57 last year. Ruark's running ability was obvious even at a young age.

"I was in fourth grade and I came to Dipsea Kidz after school one day I expressed to coach Ana my desire to run, and I think she was a little hesitant at first," Ruark recalled. "The Dipsea Kidz don't usually accept people younger than middle school to enter the program, but she gave me a chance. She probably thought I wouldn't make it past the first week, but the next couple years and until I entered high school, I enjoyed every single run, running for them and competing for them."

Levaggi had told Ruark's father at the time that her only thought was that the young fourth-grader was so good at such a young age.

Ruark, who was 24th in the 2025 CIF State Division III Championship in the fall, covering 5,000 meters in a personal-best 15:34.7, has proven all those predictions of his abilities to be correct.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 8:26 PM.