Bay to Breakers: Costumes, chaos in SF.'s wildest street party - minus the ocean plunge
Participants in the 113th annual Bay to Breakers run through Golden Gate Park at the end of the 12-kilometer race. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
A colorful tide of runners hit San Francisco's streets Sunday for the 113th iteration of Bay to Breakers, an annual event that's part footrace, part street festival and part costume party.
The estimated 30,000 participants ran the gamut from walkers to competitive runners, dressed in everything from spandex running shorts to tutus - though some wore nothing but shoes and socks. Their 12-kilometer route wound east to west from Howard and Main streets through downtown San Francisco, over the crest of Hayes Hill and into Golden Gate Park.
The course ended at Ocean Beach, where it's a long-standing tradition for runners to celebrate by crashing into the waves, or breakers. But this year, the National Weather Service urged runners to refrain from jumping in - the weather was sunny but windy Sunday, churning up high waves and raising the likelihood of rip currents.
A Bay to Breakers runner stretches at the starting line. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Racers run from the water at Ocean Beach after competing in the 113th annual Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. The National Weather Service urged runners to avoid the water because of big waves this year. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Harry York, 82, waited near the starting line for his daughter, with whom he planned to walk the race.
York grew up in San Francisco but has since moved to Walnut Creek. When he ran his first Bay to Breakers last year, he was delighted to finish 17th in his age group.
"I like people-watching," he said. "And I love San Francisco. It's just fun to be here and see it all again."
York watched from the curb as runners streamed toward the starting line wearing leotards, aprons, superhero capes, Santa suits and, in several cases, nothing at all.
A participant dressed as Chonkers the Steller sea lion has sunscreen applied during Bay to Breakers. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Peter Johnson cheers on runners from the sidelines during Bay to Breakers. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Bay to Breakers participants dress like musical artist Pitbull for Bay to Breakers. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Andrew Lira and Sarah Lee left Davis at 5 a.m. Sunday to commute into the city for their first Bay to Breakers. The couple are moving to Southern California in two weeks and planned the race as a farewell to San Francisco.
Lee dressed as Nick Wilde, the fox protagonist of "Zootopia," alongside Lira, who wore a red vest and straw hat in homage to Monkey D. Luffy, a character from the anime series "One Piece."
"I hear there's a giant hill that I'm excited to see," Lira said. "We usually come here for special events, so there's a lot of San Francisco we haven't seen. This felt like a good way to see the highlights before we leave."
Rolly Loreto has been running Bay to Breakers regularly since 1999.
"Back when it was still wild," he said, laughing. "There were floats and people passing out cocktails. They've had to tone it down, but it's still fun. Every year, I'm intrigued."
Participants run down Fell Street in San Francisco during the 114th annual Bay to Breakers. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Members of the "Pit Stop" crew hydrate runners during Sunday's Bay to Breakers. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
This year, Loreto wore a flowing red cape and superhero mask as part of a group of a dozen "Wonder Women, and some Wonder Men." He brought along his co-worker, Kirby Lawson, a newcomer to San Francisco.
Esteffay Castro gave her uninitiated friend, Roberta Gonzalez, the direction to "wear your brightest clothes and something you wouldn't wear on the regular." The pair donned sunglasses and hot pink skirts and sports bras, their skin and hair shimmering with flecks of glitter.
"It's so lively," said Castro, 32. "Everybody's having fun, no one cares about pace. They're going to have a great time. It's just vibes."
The friends were considering flaunting advice with a plunge into the ocean at the end of the course, but Castro said that choice depended on "how much we party on the way."
Jonathan Petitcolas and a friend decided to dress as the French cartoon characters Asterix and Obelix after they were inspired by a stuffed boar in a theme park gift shop - Obelix's favorite food.
Petitcolas carried the warthog under his arm on the course, sporting a bright red mustache and braids and an inflated pair of striped pants.
A running group depicting a Muni train participates in the Bay to Breakers. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
A group dressed as reindeer poses for a selfie at the top of Alamo Square during the 113th annual Bay to Breakers. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
"It encapsulates perfectly the San Francisco spirit," Petitcolas said, looking out at the sea of costumes. "People are doing some great stuff."
Other runners dressed as a flock of pigeons and a group of green peas. Two men dressed as Sisyphus enthusiastically rolled an inflatable stone through the bike lane. A "centipede" of cowboys connected by a bungee cord jogged alongside a pair of inflatable cows.
The event has grown from a traditional footrace to a more freewheeling event, known for its outlandish costumes and swaths of unofficial participants. It's currently organized by Motiv Sports, which also offered a bonus section of 3 kilometers along the coast for high-achieving participants. Other groups of up to 15 runners ran as "centipedes" connected by bungee cords.
The overall 12K winner was Nolan Hosbein, 22, with a time of 37:16, or 5:00 minutes per mile. The top 12K female was Tamara Jewett, 36, with a time of 40:46, or 5:28 per mile, and the nonbinary winner was David Elk, 29, with a time of 41:47, or 5:36 per mile. The 15K winner was Timothy Liu, 22, with a time of 54:44, or 5:56 per mile. The top 15K female was Lara Slater, 16, with a time of 1:04:28, or 6:59 per mile, and the nonbinary winner was Miguel Mercado, 37, with a time of 1:18:21, or 8:29 per mile.
The finish line closed promptly at 1 p.m., making San Francisco difficult to traverse by car, with the route effectively splitting the city in half.
By 11:30 a.m., the sky over the Ocean Beach finish line was a cloudless blue, with a stiff breeze whipping runners' ponytails, capes and fairy wings as they reached the end of the course.
"Slow down," an announcer repeatedly reminded them. "This is not a sprinting zone. This is a finish with a smile zone."
Some runners strayed onto the dunes, but none could be seen venturing into the waves, which were choppy by noon, tossing around the Coast Guard boats stationed by the shore.
A group of Waldos sits on Ocean Beach after the 113th annual Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Megan Coddington, who finished the race in a $100 bill costume complete with an emerald green wig, described it as "perfect running weather."
Coddington, who was running Bay to Breakers for a fourth time, said her favorite part of the course is the grueling push up Hayes Street Hill.
"There's all the music going on and people doing fun things," she said. "It's just a big party. It makes the hill more bearable."
Beginning Saturday evening, all of Howard Street from the waterfront to Civic Center was closed, as well as sections of Hayes and Fell streets between the City Hall area through Alamo Square and along John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park.
While BART trains and Muni light-rail cars were able to travel beneath the chaos, most bus routes were broken up. BART offered four special event trains Sunday morning, making limited stops on the way to Embarcadero Station. Caltrain also added early morning service into the city Sunday.
When Calla Martyn last ran Bay to Breakers a decade ago, she jumped into the ocean at the end. This time, however, she held back.
"It might have just been an extra nice day that year," Martyn said. "I surf, and I wouldn't recommend going in today. It looks dangerous. You're going to get sucked out."
A U.S. Coast Guard surf boat coasts through choppy waters at Ocean Beach, the destination for Bay to Breakers runners. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Ariel Falth, left, reaches the top of the Hayes Street Hill during Bay to Breakers. (Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Martyn began the race walking with friends, but ran ahead for the last stretch and waited at the finish line for them to catch up. She had stayed up until midnight the night before fashioning a sporty minidress out of canvas Trader Joe's bags.
Rachel Li also followed a grocery theme for her costume, dressing as both a Costco employee and a vanilla ice cream cone; her friends ran as other flavors. Nevertheless, the group was "out Costco'ed" by runners who carried trays of free samples along the route, she said.
"It was tiring," Li said of the race. "But the energy peaks up in the Panhandle."
