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Where It's At
The Bay To Breakers is the most famous foot race in
San Francisco, often drawing crowds in excess of 100 000 people.
If you're in San Francisco in late May, it's a must see event
for the costumes worn, and not worn, by the participants and
is a great way to get a closeup look at the city's irreverent
sense of humour. The foot race is a mere 12 kilometre, making
it a quarter of the length of a full marathon.
Active Participation
You don't have to be a runner to go in the race, and actually
most people just walk the Bay To Breakers. This is more fun
than sitting by the sidelines because the action will be all
around you and there are some hilarious things you will miss
if you decide to just watch the parade go by.
If you do want to run the race its essential to get a number
(which also entitles you to a race t-shirt) so you are officially
registered. Each year some of the worlds top runners compete
here. Otherwise, just turn up with sturdy walking shoes (or
running shoes if you're planning to runthe length) and a water
bottle and you'll be ready to race.
The race is so huge that the winner has already crossed the
finish line before all the participants have crossed the starting
line, down in SOMA near Market Street. Literally thousands
of people are gathered here before the race starts at 8.00am,
so it's wise to make contingency plans in case of separation.
Costumes Galore and Bizarre
Once you're down at the race start, you'll see why the Bay
To Breakers is so famous for its uniquely 'San Franciscan'
slant to costumes, or lack thereof. Centipedes, Land Sharks,
telephone booths, Roman Slave Drivers, S & M displays
and much more have become staple costumes and quite a few
have been hijacked by corporate logos; in fact whole offices
run, en famille, sometimes linked together like the Golden
Gate Bridge or an anaconda.
Others still take the costume ideas a little too au naturel
and a lot of people come wearing nothing at all, to the bemusement
of children and tourists who happily take photos. (some of
whom ask out loud "where does he put his carkeys?")
The naked people are so frequent that news crews covering
the event have naked alerts (naked man coming!) to the cameramen
who can then turn away in time.
Walking the event is a surreal experience and though the costumes
have become more muted in recent years it is still very alternative:
one minute you are watching a homeless man stare at a group
of 6' foot blonde women dressed as Viking Goddesses complete
with metal bras, next thing you're surrounded by 15 naked
people wearing nothing but watches. Next, you're watching
5 'land sharks' circling a lone policeman, then you're watching
a married couple in full S & M gear giving a live demostration,
whips chains or watching a couple of gay guys march by attached
to each other with dog collars. Whatever you think of the
extreme costumes, it's an event certainly not to be missed.
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