A colorful tide of runners left San Francisco’s Embarcadero on Sunday morning 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. 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.
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The course ends at Ocean Beach, where it’s a longstanding 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.
Harry York, 82, waited near the starting line for his daughter, with whom he planned to walk the race.
A group dressed as reindeer poses for a selfie at the top of Alamo Square during the 113th annual Bay to Breakers in San Francisco on Sunday. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
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.
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.”
Runners descend Alamo Square during the 113th annual Bay to Breakers in San Francisco on Sunday. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
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.”
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.”
Runners descend Alamo Square during the 113th annual Bay to Breakers in San Francisco on Sunday. (Benjamin Fanjoy/For the S.F. Chronicle)
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 finish line is set to close promptly at 1 p.m. Sunday. The city will be difficult to traverse by car until then, with the route effectively splitting the city in half.
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 will be able to travel beneath the chaos, most bus routes will be 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.
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This article originally published at Bay to Breakers: Thousands of runners hit S.F. streets in colorful, costumed tradition.