Anyone who thought the 100th running of the Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12k urine-a-thon was going to be boring ought to check out the organizers' plan to handle the drunkards. As race spokesman Sam Singer told the Examiner, organizers will be setting up "sobering tents" along the race course to corral those who left their sobriety back at the starting line. In addition to getting the sloppy ones off the streets, workers in the drunk tents will also be handing out free water and juice while they try to find inebriates a ride home. Did you hear that? Free juice!
Singer apparently doesn't want to be a wet blanket about the whole thing, but last year's race saw 26 ambulance rides to local hospitals and caused an overflow at the city's drunk tanks. According to SFPD Commander Jim Dudley, the tents have been successfully deployed at other outdoor drinking events like the St. Patrick's Day parade, so you know SFPD and emergency medical worker have some experience dealing with amateur drinkers. So remember: if the streets seem eerily empty and you're left standing between an aging nudist and a sweaty guy in a gorilla suit, look for the partiers in the drunk tent.
For what it's worth Conor Johnston, co-chair of Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers [sic], offered his take on the drunk tents, calling it a "mobile gulag plan." That's not really fair to Solzhenitsyn though, we're pretty sure no one offered him any free juice. And of course, District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi weighed in as well: "All I can say is they better have some good coffee and plenty of Porta-Potties." No word yet on an official coffee vendor.
