Bay to Breakers

A few years ago my friends and I ran the Zappos Bay to Breakers race. And when I say “ran,” I mean that we drank mimosas and fast-walked the second half of the course through Golden Gate Park. But that’s what I love about San Francisco and the Bay to Breakers race. It’s a total come-as-you-are celebration. Want to train super hard and run your fastest, bestest 12K ever? Good for you! Want to wear neon colors with your girlfriends and treat the race day like a spring-time Halloween? Excellent!

While the latter option doesn’t really require any training (although some might beg to differ when it comes to the sport of day drinking), people put a lot of time and effort into conceptualizing and sometimes even hand-making their group Bay to Breakers costumes. And really, anything goes. Some of my favorite outfits I’ve seen at Bay to Breakers include two dozen people dressed up in rainbow costumes, a few people conjoined as the Golden Gate Bridge, and the entire cast of Sesame Street. I feel like San Francisco just lends itself to this type of celebration of individuality and creativity (mixed with a little bit of debauchery, for good measure). This is why I love San Francisco and fun events like Bay to Breakers that personify the city’s open, vibrant culture.

“Bay to Breakers is a direct route to the city’s heart and soul.” I love this quote from The Chronicle!! The race really is such a quintessential SF experience, and the first one was held over a hundred years ago in 1912. This city loves its eclectic traditions. Maybe someday I’ll actually train and run the race, but for now I’ll enjoy dreaming up costumes and cheering people on along the Panhandle.