Bay to Breakers

[MaryH]

I did this for the first time yesterday (although a friend and I walked, did not run.) And I have to say, for any runners out there if you want a unique SF experience, it would be this. From flying tortillas to the Naked People, it is by far the most "interesting" race I've ever entered. And oh yeah, the rain. What was up with that? Let's just say some 70,000 people got drenched yesterday and all wanted the same Muni bus to get home. After 2 hours in the rain, I think everyone was about ready to go home. (Except maybe for all the Elvis' who drank too much and/or the Tiki bar runners.)

:D :D

[Natasha]

Mary,

How fun! Can't believe it's that time again. My friend's friend did it last year as one of the Naked People. :D It sounds like a blast. Maybe someday I'll run it (but I will run clothed, never fear...). ;)

Hope your biking is going well, BTW.

Natasha

[Peggy]

Mary,

I have done the Bay to Breakers twice. What a blast!!! Luckily, I was blessed with wonderful weather both years. The only negative was the shin-splints I suffered with for days afterwards...:( Silly me, never trained for the race and just ran, and ran, and ran.... Very painful the next day!!

Peggy

P.S. I was clothed at all times!;)

[LisaSch]

It was a great race! The costumes were wild! I saw Elvis and the Statue of Liberty, a whole line of pool balls, a shepherd with a flock of sheep, and a group of salmon swimming upstream (in the opposite direction of the race) and lots and lots of bare bums. The group that won the costume contest were the pink slips…just a group of people wearing pink lingerie, representing the down-turned Bay economy! The only downer was the rain. It started sprinkling at the beginning and by the end it was pouring and cold. The party in the park afterwards would have been fun without the rain, maybe next year. My goal was to keep running the whole time, and I made it! It was a lot of fun and I’d do it again in a second. Thanks for all the folks on the board that encouraged me to do a race. You were right; they are a lot of fun.

Lisa

Edit: Adding this for Susie's benefit!

http://www.baytobreakers.com

[SusieO]

Okay, Lisa's post helped a little, but y'all are going to have to elaborate more. Naked People? Flying tortillas? Tiki bar? I'm obviously not familiar with this race! :D

Glad you both had a great time!

[Natasha]

Hi Susie!

I've never done the race, but have heard of it in Runner's World and through friends. I gather it's a wacky, fun, HUGE 12 km course. I guess this doesn't really add anything to Lisa's post, but that's about all I know!

How is your physical therapy coming along?

Natasha

[SusieO]

Thanks for the info, Natasha! That really sounds like a lot of fun.

Well, I "graduated" from PT a couple of months ago, but continue to do my exercises every day. I've been increasing my weekend "long" run by one mile every week (up to seven next Saturday), and also running shorter distances on the treadmill two times during the week. So far, no pain. I should (fingers crossed) be on track to train for NYC in November. Thanks for asking!

[Natasha]

Hi Susie!

Good to hear that your rehab is going well and that you are slowly but surely building up your running base once again. I'll keep my fingers crossed too that you can do NYC! That would be awesome!!

Natasha

[MaryH]

The race (which has been going on for 21 years now) began as a cross-city race through SF. It was later renamed Bay to Breakers. It starts over in the North Beach/North Fisherman's Wharf area, goes up Hayes (??) hill, down JFK and ends in Golden Gate Park by the water. It is 7.5 miles. It is truly wacky. There are elite seeded racers (I think the winner this year wa sa Kenyan at something like 34 minutes), costumed runners, (non-custumed runners - i.e. the Naked People) and various others. Because there are so many people gathered at the starting line about an hour to an hour band a half before the race, tortillas start flying through the air as frisbees and then the beach balls come out. There is also a Tiki bar that some entrants push for the whole race (while drinking of course).

LisaSch, apparently the pool balls didn't do too well in the rain. My friends told me the paper maiche was falling apart by the end of the race.

:D

[SusieO]

Thanks for the info and the link! What a hoot!