I was in San Francisco on travel assignment a couple of weeks ago, and a friend asked me if I was going to check out the Bay to Breakers race (one of the city’s biggest and best-known events, held the third weekend in May). Since 2011 marked the centennial running, I definitely wanted to be there. On the appointed day I delayed my usual morning ritual—coffee and a bagel with hummus—grabbed my backpack and headed down Van Ness Avenue from my hotel toward the race route.
The first Cross-City footrace, held 5 years after the 1906 earthquake, was intended to lift the city’s spirits in the aftermath of a devastating tragedy. The name Bay to Breakers was adopted in 1965, and it also describes the course—from a starting point a block east of The Embarcadero (and San Francisco Bay) to the finish line at the Great Highway at the western end of Golden Gate Park (next to Ocean Beach and its frequently crashing waves). This east-west route across the city officially measures 7.46 miles.

By the 1980s running boom the number of race participants had swelled to more than 100,000, and these days tens of thousands of people join in the trek along downtown streets and across the length of Golden Gate Park. Over the years different traditions also have emerged, from Batman and Wonder Woman costumes to occasional displays of public nudity. Obviously I needed to observe this event up close. And there was definitely a celebratory feeling in the air as I walked along briskly, passing knots of boisterously shouting revelers.  

It was shortly after 9 when I reached my personal observation post at the corner of Van Ness and Hayes Street in Civic Center, but the race had been in progress since 6 a.m. My first impression: This is no Marine Corps Marathon. While I’m sure some people actually enter to seriously run the course, every “racer” I saw was proceeding at a leisurely walk, and many weren’t exactly in serious running shape. Most of them also were wearing some sort of costume.

I saw lots of T-shirts emblazoned with the Batman insignia. Skimpy getups were much in evidence, with skin-tight lycra being more a fashion statement than an athletic accoutrement. Some people carried signs bearing topical witticisms. My favorite: “I am on a drug—it’s called Charlie Sheen.” And there were indeed exhibitionists, both men and women. Modesty (and my editor) prohibit me from treating you to a view of those particular entrants.

The street was littered with paper water cups and beer bottles; although there’s a technical ban on alcohol consumption and public drunkenness, it would seem next to impossible to enforce. You usually don’t catch the occasional whiff of marijuana at a serious racing event, nor do the participants incessantly stop to snap cell phone pics for the inevitable appearance on Facebook. And while an official registration is required to enter, it would also seem like you could just step off the sidewalk and join in at any point. In other words, this is basically an excuse to party in a town that has turned partying into an art form.

I hung around enjoying the scene for about 45 minutes, and in that brief time period experienced another San Francisco tradition: changeable weather. When I set out it was overcast, windy and chilly, sprinkles of rain spattered the sidewalk and my hoodie did an inadequate job of keeping me warm. When I left the sun was beginning to peek through the persistent clouds. And 20 minutes later, by the time I had walked the 15 or so slightly uphill blocks back to a Peet’s Coffee & Tea location for my morning jolt of java, the sky was a glorious blue and my hoodie was tied around my waist.

If you plan on some heavy-duty training—or want to at least start working on an outlandish costume—mark this date on your calendar: The 101st Bay to Breakers race is May 20, 2012.  




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