Changes for SF run
By Emily Entress
Naked Men. Costumes. Alcohol.
These are the words that are typically associated with Bay to Breakers. Not this year, though. Zazzle, the new sponsor of Bay to Breakers, is laying down the law and enforcing restrictions relating to alcohol and registration.
"This year, we are making every effort to enforce restrictions and we are confident that it will be different," said Stephanie Reichin, a spokeswoman for Bay to Breakers. "We will not tolerate it, we are very serious about it, and we will confiscate alcohol, escort people off the course and make arrests if they do need to be made."
Zazzle, a Bay Area company that was started in 1999, agreed to sponsor the race after the insurance company ING decided last May not to renew their sponsorship.
"Last year at Bay to Breakers I was horrified when someone defecated on the sidewalk in front of me," said senior Tracy Akashi. "Moments later, another person ran up and put an empty water bottle into the recently laid feces."
To change the image of the race, the press team for Zazzle's Bay to Breakers 2011 has made a few changes to the race, including moving the start time to 7 a.m. and employing a wave start, which means that each registered participant has been assigned one of seven different start locations. Also, they plan to install fencing along the perimeter of the course, particularly along the panhandle, to make it harder for non-registered runners to enter the course.
And, of course, they intend to crack down on the alcohol policy.
"Though alcohol has been banned, not only by California state law, prohibiting open alcohol containers as well as public intoxication, but also as a rule of the race, in years past there has been somewhat of a laissez-faire attitude around it," said Reichin. "However, after sending close to 30 people to the Emergency Room last year for alcohol related ailments, race organizers are cracking down."
For students, however, it's hard to imagine that they will be able to control the masses of runners enough to enforce these rules.
"I consider myself a veteran: I have gone to Bay to Breakers my freshman, sophomore, junior and now senior year," said Liz Gaffney, a senior at Santa Clara. "I just don't believe it will be different because they have threatened this in years past and nothing has changed."
Akashi agreed that it is unlikely the rules will drastically change anyone's behavior this year. "I don't think it's going to happen. How are they going to stop 50,000 drunken people from participating in the race?"
According to Reichin, in addition to fencing in the actual course, they will have checkpoints throughout the course to monitor the participants.
"If you are caught with an open bottle, we will basically pour your money down the drain. We will not tolerate it. We will throw away open cans. If you are intoxicated on the course, you will be arrested or cited," said Reichin. "And for non-registrants, we will escort them off the course as well at those check points."
For students, one of the biggest changes for this year is the alteration in the Caltrain Schedule. There will be no train leaving from the Santa Clara station on the morning of Bay to Breakers; instead there will be one express train leaving from Mountain View at 5:10 a.m. and three trains leaving from the San Jose Diridon station at 5:20, 5:25 and 5:30 a.m. There will be two express trains to San Carlos after the race, as well as the regular weekend schedule.
Caltrain officials are also cracking down this year and will only allow passengers aboard who have purchased a ticket. They also have re-iterated the alcohol policy. Consumption of alcohol is allowed, but intoxicated passengers and kegs will be removed from the train.
Besides the issues surrounding participant safety, the neighborhood associations are angry because their neighborhoods are being ruined by the thousands of intoxicated participants.
"It's these neighborhoods that allow these races to happen, and with the drunken nature of past races, it has sort of ruined the neighborhoods," said Reichin. "There's lots of garbage and people relieve themselves along the houses.".
In order to combat this problem, there will be 1,226 Porta-Potties throughout the course, which is almost double from last year, according to Reichin. There will also be a number of 6 men troughs to encourage the males from using houses or sidewalks.
"When it really starts to affect the city, it becomes a problem," said Reichin. "We want to preserve the race, we want to preserve the city, and we want to preserve people's dignity, which, you know, sometimes can get lost when people get that drunk."
Apparently, the restrictions and increased security has not affected the MASSIVE popularity of the event. The registration filled up in three months, which is the fastest that Bay to Breakers has ever sold out.
"We had to actually open up 5,000 extra registrations, in conjunction with the city, to allow 5,000 extra people to run for this historic occasion," said Reichin.
With the addition of these extra 5,000 runners, there are a total of 55,000 registered participants running in the race.
For students, it might be a different story.
Freshman Katie Reamy said, "I think what makes it fun is having all of your friends there." Reamy, who is anticipating her first Bay to Breakers this May, said she was worried that the new restrictions might make for fewer participants.
For some students, however, the alcohol policy doesn't affect their desire to participate in the event.
Sophomore Janey Bruno said, "It's an experience within itself, and drinking or not, it's an opportunity to be a part of San Francisco's lively energy." "San Francisco is a unique city and this is a day when the craziness shines."
"All college students, come dressed up, come naked, we don't really care, just don't come drunk!" said Reichin.
"It's a great tradition and we do want everyone to take part, we just want everyone to take part safely."
Contact Emily Entress at eentress@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4546.
Letter addressed to University President Fr. Michael Engh, S.J. from Bay to Breakers sponsors: