Race attracts costumed crowds to the City

By Molly Gore

Drowning in a sea of neon and the stench of beer and morning dew, roughly 600 Santa Clara students slapped themselves out of slumber early on Sunday morning to get to San Francisco's annual Bay to Breakers race, a colorful phenomenon of runners, costumes and revelry.

Every year on the third Sunday in May, a crowd of roughly 75,000 gather to walk the streets of San Francisco. Both a costume party and a competitive race, Bay to Breakers celebrates creative expression and competition, and, for many, is just the perfect excuse to party on a sunny day. The race is the offspring of a city that loves freedom and tolerates every kind of self expression -- San Francisco.

Waking up at 5 a.m. in the dark, it was tempting to try to catch some shut-eye on the Caltrain ride to San Francisco. But no one could sleep as a storm of cheers and singing exploded out the train doors.

The crowd of Santa Clara students was so big on the Caltrain that once everyone entered the train, the announcer told students who didn't have a chance to get a ticket to tell the attendant you were with Santa Clara, and this time it was on Caltrain.

At the start of the race, participants were showered with the traditional cascade of whirling tortillas, tossed Frisbee-style into the crowd.

Throughout the past 95 Bay to Breakers races, a series of odd traditions have developed, including crazy costumes which have become the heart of the race's identity.

Other smaller traditions include a sect of costumed, upstream-swimming salmon, the centipede race and nude running. The centipede race began in the 1970s. Participants link themselves together so that they resemble the insect and run together. The centipede has grown in popularity and remains quite competitive.

Though nudity and alcohol are officially prohibited, there was more than plenty of both at the race.

The walk is consistently interrupted by impromptu dance parties, traveling barbecues and games of beer pong and Frisbee.

There were walking ice cream cartons, an Oompa-Loompa, several Borats, a very large Snuffleupagus on wheels and too many Elvises to count. Waldo appeared several times, and the whole McDonald's crew (including Ronald, Grimace and the Hamburglar) came out for the race, as well. And, of course, there were those wearing only their running shoes and registration numbers.

The 7.46-mile course of the race from the Embarcadero to Ocean Beach is hilly and challenging, attracting a handful of world-class athletes. The course also offers a pleasant trek to those less competitive participants and gorgeous views along the way.

This year, Bay to Breakers introduced a new high-tech attraction to the race: electronic timing chips. The chips can be slipped into a shoe or a pocket and register a runner's exact time upon crossing the finish line. The chips this year are the first of a set of five collectable chips leading up to the race's 100th anniversary.

The race was begun as a morale-booster for San Francisco after the deadly 1906 earthquake. The first run took place in 1912 with less than 200 participants.

Now, the race usually attracts around 70,000 participants and set a record in 1986 with over 110,000. Race officials said this year roughly 35,000 participants paid to register for the race, while 25,000 costumed crashers invaded the streets in the traditional Bay to Breakers fashion.

The costumed crashers are not technically allowed to participate, but in the traditional Bay to Breakers spirit, citations are rare.

Contact Molly Gore at (408) 551-1918 or at mgore@scu.edu.