Foggy conditions would not stop more than 17,000 runners, walkers, and costumed jokers from the annual Bay to Breakers traditions of racing, partying, and the occasional naked keg stand.
Sunday morning played host to the 110th annual running of the Bay to Breakers, the race that started as a means to “lift our spirits” after the 1906 earthquake, and has somehow evolved into a sort of beer-bong and nudist festival. As we always do, SFist pulled the drunken casual walk to procure a treasury of images of the highlight costumes of the day.
KGO estimates that more than 17,000 runners showed up Sunday, NBC Bay Area inform us that the race’s winners were Colin Bennie in the men’s category, Sarah Anderson in the women’s category, and Cal Calamia in the non-binary category.
The race is once again being sponsored by the online shoe retailer Zappos, who'd sponsored the event in 2015, 2016, and 2022. "We have decided to sponsor Bay to Breakers again because we believe in the race's unique spirit, rich history, and its ability to bring people together," Zappos chief merchandising officer Joe Cano tells. SFist. "By continuing to support Bay to Breakers, we aim to contribute to the race's growth and success while also fostering a sense of community and fun."
But you may be more interested in the costumes and hedonism aspects to the day. As usual, the rowdiest and most drunken stretch of the race was on Hayes Hill, where residents’ booze-stocked house parties only fueled the debauchery.
Once again private security was confiscating open containers when runners reached Alamo Square Park, and three large dumpsters were quickly filled with confiscated of Coors Light cans, cases of White Claw, and bottles of Smirnoff Ice.
And Alamo Square Park was again gated off, with signs remaining the crowd “No public urination.”
But there were some public naked keg stands being pulled at one household that had generously provided a keg.
This fellow was allowing street-level people to shotgun beer bongs poured from his second-floor window, while another neighbor up the street was keeping a constantly updated “Dick Counter” keeping track of how many times they saw a, well, you know.
The most common group costumes of the Party City variety were groups of people waxing it as Crayons, or Mario and Mario Kart characters from the Nintendo video game universe.
But here is some quality costuming! These two have a running homage to the late San Francisco Twins, Marian and Vivian Brown. You can follow their exploits at Twins_Of_SF on Instagram.
The vibe got more family-friendly in the Panhandle area, and there were several full family costumes.
Part of that family vibe came thanks to so many households had enterprising youngsters vending food. These kiddos allowed you to order a (somewhat) customized grilled cheese sandwich.
Even little tiny youngsters were able to sometimes happen upon a group costume that matched their own.
We couldn’t help but be surprised that one of this year’s many Bay to Breakers sponsors was Michelob Ultra, given this race’s complicated relationship with alcohol use. And there was again a beer tent at the end of the race, which they've had the last few outings, offering registered runners a free beer at the finish line. Though SFist was told that the free beers ran out around noon.
And in a new development, cannabis brands were sitting there waiting when you left the race, eagerly offering flyers and QR codes so you could order yourself some weed as quickly as possible.
Yet this was a very well-organized race this year, and we have not seen any reports of arrests. Not unlike 4/20 at Hippie Hill, Bay to Breakers has been able to improve its terrible reputation with logistical additions like fencing, porta-potties, and a dash of extra security in high-hedonism areas. So Bay to Breakers organizers have got this thing going in the right direction, even if it may have felt in some years like they were swimming upstream.
Related: Your Bay to Breakers Guide To Drinking and Partying During the Run [SFist]
Images: Joe Kukura, SFist
