Jack Kirk (i)

Short Biography

The legend of Jack Kirk began one day in 1933 or 1934 on a steep slope called Steep Ravine in Marin County during the famous Dipsea Trail race.The runners were tired as they headed toward Stinson Beach when suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere tearing down the slope, sliding and leaping over brush, passing other runners like they were standing still."Boy, " one runner said, "that guy runs like a demon."From that day forth, Jack Kirk was known as the "Dipsea Demon, " and he lived up to the nickname, running the arduous 7.1-mile trail race out of Mill Valley 67 consecutive times. He didn't quit until he collapsed at the top of the grueling 1, 362-foot elevation Cardiac Hill -- at age 96.The man who once beat John Muir's grandson in a race died Monday night of old age at a hospital in Clovis (Fresno County). He was 100.