Bay to Breakers

This event was a ton of fun!
The packet pick up is kind of a hassle because they don’t allow for same-​day pick up, BUT they have a mail option, so remember to select that if you can’t make the expo.
The start location on website was incorrect, but close enough where you can see one or two costumed people finding their ways to the corrals. They tried to keep the corrals honest, but so many people were jumbled into different corrals.
Leaving the race is miserable – the festival in the end was super tame, and when you want to leave you need to walk maybe a mile through the park to find the buses. BUT I am really grateful for the free buses that get you back to the other side of town.
Long story short: it was well worth the $ 40, and it was fun, and I would do it again. Especially for the beautiful views (of the city, not the naked men).

An eye-​opening experience. That’s all I have to say.
I grew up in a small conservative town in SoCal. It’s safe to say there aren’t any people walking around the area with full on nudity, but hey, I guess that’s what SF is all about.
Overall though, I’m really glad I came. Definitely dress up if you’re not planning to sprint the whole damn thing because you’ll just stick out like a sore thumb if you wear normal clothes. The corrals honestly don’t do much to separate people by their speeds because most of the people (despite signing up for the 9 min mile, etc.) end up walking. There’s a ton of fans on the street throwing parties and playing loud ass music, which makes this «race» so much more fun.
Points for next time:
1. Bring tortillas! For some unknown reason (or maybe I’m just the only one who doesn’t know), people throw tortillas in the area before/​when the race begins. I think it’s a tradition, and the tortillas fly surprisingly well.
2. Go with friends, and maybe even your family/​kids if you’re comfortable with them seeing naked old men. There’s a ton of crazy and fun costumes out there too!
3. Prepare yourself for Heartbreak Hill. Oh my god, it’s literally like a wall. A FREAKING WALL.
4 stars because the excitement dies down after a while in Golden Gate Park, and that park is also big as hell. The festival at the end is sort of tame with a ton of free food samples. We paid $ 20-​$ 30 per parking but there’s probably cheaper street parking if you try. Don’t know if I’ll be back because I really can’t imagine there being huge changes every year, but it was cool while it lasted.

Very let down by this event. Did it couple days ago. It was all hype! Never doin it again. Expecting to see some TandA as well as other raunchy behavior. Only saw couple of old guys naked bodies. Tried to hit up some bars along the way only one was open. Too many cops who looked ready to bust you just by looking at them funny. «Thanks Obama!» Actual highlight of my weekend trip was finishing a two liter boot of German beer in two hours and a massage the night before.

I finally did Bay to Breakers!!! And it was awesome. Sad about all they don’t allow anymore… but people were still having a great time. Because it’s San Francisco, the best city in the world, sponsors can’t dampen our spirits with their ‘rules’. Can’t wait for next year! :)

#69/​2016
Our Lieutenant Governator, Gavin Newsom, famously complained about B2B public drunkenness and participants who broke the rules yet bragged he was going to «run bandit.»
Yeah. Thanks, Gavin, that helped.
Especially after the flagrant public urination, passed out folks on peoples’ lawns and in public parks, the vomiting in homeowners’ flower boxes, the City pulled back the reins big time and Bay to Breakers has become a much more… sane event.
Alcohol is now prohibited (though folks still sneak it), more police are on patrol and parks like Alamo Square are fenced off for the full day to cut short the all-​day drunk fest.
Zaniness is still in full swing, the salmon still spawn downstream (though two took off south on Steiner this year, huh) and you can count on the naked people and costume du jour folks («Black Swan», «Avatar», this year «Star Wars the Force Awakens» was big).
Calmer, quieter, better organized and less insane, Bay to Breakers came back to an even keel.
It’s an all-​day city party, whether you run, walk or just watch it.
Stay in and make brunch with friends, enjoy a Mimosa at an absurdly early hour, challenge yourself to an uphill run the first 4 miles of the race or just soak up the wackiness that makes San Francisco the greatest show on earth!

QUESTION: Whats the different between Christmas Morning and Bay to Breakers?
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ANSWER: I love Bay to Breakers more… a lot more!
Cops and security were way more chill than previous years… everyone of all ages being fun and crazy… the weather was perfect… and the costumes were all so much fun!
PRO TIP: If you’re gonna booze while en route, pour into a different container, like a paper coffee cup or gatorade bottle.

What an entertaining and fun race! Definitely a bucket list item to do in Bay Area. It was my first time doing the Bay to Breakers race. It won’t be my last. It’s all about the party ambience and experience in this race. Yes, there’s nudity and booze and craziness that makes Bay Area us. Everyone is a good sport from college kids, grannies, grandpas, strollers, and race crashers. Although it is also okay for families with children. I wouldn’t really recommend it because I would hate to explain the running lady nun with a penis hanging out. But to each your own! I’m ready for Bay to Breakers 2017!!! Well done Zappo’s.

I am ashamed, literally, that Im an SF native and this is my first b2b. Popped my b2b cherry today. yup.
It was lovely weather, a fun crowd… well organized, and that made 6+ miles fun and… let’s face it. If you can get in some exercise and call it fun… that’s a win.
THe finish line was a bit of a shit show… but I appreciate all the goodies, which were handed out in beyond generous quantities.
Today was a good day.

This race deserved another star after I thought about it. Without a doubt the most unique race around! It’s nowhere near as crazy as it used to be, and to be honest, I miss that craziness a little bit. But still, this was my first road race ever in 2000, and I’ve only missed it once. And it’s the reason I run and race today, cause it all started here. Always a good time, that’s guaranteed!!!

I’m a fairly decent runner but had yet to challenge myself to do some sort of organized running event. With the encouragement of coworkers and since my New Years resolution was to run a marathon why not give this one a try.
To start you must register early to enjoy the great savings, I did not do so and paid a little extra. The great thing is zappos takes care of everything for you logistically, from the initial sign up to transportation after the race. It’s extra charges but who wants to walk back after running? The giveaways are great, as soon as you finish you get all the nutrients to replenish from water, fruits, even bean burritos.
For the race itself you set up by strength, meaning faster runners go first, average second then the beginners «partygoers.» When I say party goers I mean the ones who will walk and drink or even dress up and soak in the ambiance. Everyone is pretty relaxed and open for conversation. So mingle have fun and be safe. Great start to your running experience. I will definitely be back next year.

stupid event, fucking helicopters woke me up with their bullshit. I know the cops love it cause they can milk the overtime, but come on … take your clown act to burning man & leave us regular people alone. lets summarize, nuisance event for impotent people.

Bay to Breakers was on my bucket list of races to run. I was a little hesitant because of all the craziness that I’ve heard about it, but I figured it’d be a fun experience. Welp, the run itself was fine. The course was scenic and challenging, and the crowd was enough entertainment to last the entire race. And the nudity… so much nudity.
As far as logistics, it was pretty easy peasy. Packet pick up was a cinch, when you register, you have the option to buy a pass for public transit to get you back to the start. There were plenty of refreshments post race.
My suggestion to anyone who is a serious runner, don’t sign up for this race. If you’re somebody who kinda likes to sign up for races to get the medal, and aren’t super duper competitive, sign up! There are a ton of race crashers who make the entire race congested, especially if you’re a middle-​of-​the-​packer like myself.

Bay to Breakers is fun!
For serious runners, it can still be a good challenge.
If you plan to run serious, sign up to be in the faster corrals. Some people like to purposely start in the slow corrals and maneuver their way through the crowd to get some self-​fulfilling feeling that they are passing people up – which is no problem at all, but if you do it in Bay to Breakers, it might be more difficult because it gets jammed pack towards the back. So at least start in the middle if you want to do that in this run.
The course is nice, usually ending at the Great Highway by Ocean Beach, through Golden Gate Park. The biggest challenge on this course is Hayes Street Hill. Train and get use to that, and the rest should be smooth.
This is the funnest course I’ve run and a great course for people just starting out running events. 12K though is not short, especially as your first run. That is 7.4 miles.
This event also brings in a lot of people who don’t even run. You can walk it and it’s just pure fun. People partying in the streets. People dressing up. Everyone out here brings positive vibes. Be warned though, you will run into folks drinking – so be prepared to run into some drunks. You will also notice a strong smell of marijuana in some parts during the course. So be mindful of that if you plan to bring your young children. Overall though, people tend to make sure they keep it under control because the last thing anyone wants is to lose this event.
I always join Bay to Breakers and run. One day I just want to walk towards the back and party with friends. It’s nice to be able to have that option.

+++review #1400+++
as i reach another review, numbered with two zeroes at the end, this one shall be dedicated to a race that i participated in five years ago.
i participated in the 2010 bay to breakers and i still remember what a s&%t show it was.
why, you ask?
1. i had tortillas thrown at me at the starting area (before the gun went off)
2. i couldn’t really run for the first 3ish miles since it was so congested
3. there was no dedicated bag check, so i ended up stashing a bag of clothes at my office, but had to get them well after the race since it was a point to point course, and was freezing at the finish line area, which was by ocean beach
4. the course wasn’t that scenic, in fact, the most scenic part of this race is the people who run it… costumed folks and stark nekkid people
5. there wasn’t much food at the finish line
6. there were no finishers’ medals (at least, not in 2010)
7. it was quite an adventure leaving the finish area and getting back to civilization
you may wonder, why the heck did i sign up for this event? b/​c everyone says that you have to run bay to breakers at least once for the experience, especially if you live in san francisco. b/​c truly, there is no other event like this, and to this day, i still haven’t participated in another event or foot race that allows bare naked participants.
thinking back, i can say that 5 years ago, i experienced something that is truly quintessential of living in the city by the bay… i ran with nekkid men and women along the streets of san francisco, through golden gate park, and onto the beach, from the bay (by the oakland bay bridge) to the breakers (by ocean beach).
only in san francisco…

Bay to Breakers is the oldest consecutively run annual footrace in the world. The 12k fun run was something I wanted to do for awhile. I’m not a serious runner, so I was in one of the later corrals. The corral started a lot later than anticipated. While waiting for the start, participants tossed tortillas around in the air. There were a group of obnoxious teenagers in the corral too. I’m sure they didn’t register for the race. There was a teenage girl who squatted in the corner and peed. SMH. Maybe I’m just being a fuddy-​duddy.
What I did like about the race was the energy. Everybody seemed to be having a great time. There were a lot of great costumes, and as expected nudes. It was estimated that 50,000 people participated in the race. The race started near the Embarcadero and finished at Ocean Beach. In between there was a steep incline at Hayes Street Hill. Many random people were partying in the streets. Some participants stopped at bars before continuing on in the race. There were also people throwing parties at their houses while cheering on participants. It got mellower upon reaching Golden Gate Park. I’m not sure if I’ll do this race again, but I’m glad to have experienced it.

Finally did the Bay-​to-​Breakers this year with my hubby!!! I’ve done it every year with my mom when I was growing up in the city. Lots of good memories! It’s still a party! Even more fun every year! Lots of great costumes and people who just want to have fun! Great vibes! Love my city SF!!!

What you’ve ever heard about Bay to Breakers 12K… it’s all true!
The flying corn tortillas, the outrageously creative costumes, the spectator-​heavy crowds, the party-​going atmosphere, the drunkenness, the nudity, the fun: it’s all there… and more! I swear, there were over 50 thousand participants at this event. I’ve never before been to a race with so many runners!
Of course, I’m using the term «runners» here rather loosely, as many of the runners – beers in hand – walked, meandered, and stumbled through the 7.3 miles. It was a giant party! You had to laugh at there being «Sobriety Tents» along the course, just in case. Having been run now for the last 104 years now, this party parade, as big and as fun as it was, will most assuredly be continuing onward.
What was also important to me by running Bay to Breakers was that I was chasing the San Francisco Original Run Series medal. A collaboration between San Francisco’s most iconic running events:
Bay to Breakers, the San Francisco Marathon, and the San Francisco Giant Race. By enduring all three – and also by registering early, as participation caps at 2,500 – you’ll be awarded a big, fat SFO Series medal at the finish line of the Giant Race.
This course is a point-​to-​point, a course beginning at the Bay, heading west through the city, and finishing at the Great Highway along the Pacific Coast’s Ocean Beach. Participants run up the iconic Hayes Street Hill, along the Panhandle, and through Golden Gate Park, the entire city of San Francisco cheering you on. You may catch shuttles to get back to the start. And if you’ve also decided to park along the starting line, you may consider the Embarcadero Center Parking Garage off Drumm & Clay. Normally, you’d be charged $ 34 to park for the day, but since I had my bib on, my medal still draped around my neck, I was given a discount. And easy $ 10! It was a very cool surprise!
Bay to Breakers, I had a great time! See you next year!

I wanted to experience the San Francisco tradition of Bay to Breakers but I also wanted to get a work out from it so I had the intentions of running this. 90% of people here are walkers. My slowest 12k I have ever done because it was so crowded to run all the way the first 4 miles. Spectators would walk into the middle of the course to take pictures blocking everyone’s way. Some walkers would just stop suddenly to take a selfie. There are many times when I ran behind someone and almost rammed into them because they stopped suddenly for a photo op.
I was assigned Corral A but due to the crowd, when the race began I was in Corral D. The race began at 8 am but my corral didn’t get to start until 8:30 am. The first half mile was just trying to disperse from the crowd. Next time I would squeeze my way into Corral A to dodge the walking crowd.
Bay to Breakers is very festive. Everyone here just wants to have fun and have a good time. The rumors are true, there will be naked sightings.
At the finish line there are food, drinks, stretching stations, and a beer garden. Don’t get too excited for the food because it’s only chips and nuts.
I paid for parking in advance per the link from Zappos. When I got to the parking garage on the event, the price was cheaper than what I paid in advance! How is it that I paid more when I bought it through a link from Zappos and I paid in advance? Lesson learned: don’t pay in advance for parking. There are a few parking options by the start line. I guess a lot of people take public transportation or get dropped off because my parking garage was empty and I parked right across from start line.
The costumes were so fun to look at. Thanks Bay to Breakers for all the Halloween costume ideas! The medal and under armor is nice too!
I didn’t find it as enjoyable as most people because when I do a race, I want to get a work out of it and I wasn’t able to run through the whole thing because of the walking crowd. I knew this was a fun run and I didn’t sign up to do it to beat my PR so it was still fun looking at everyone else’s costumes. It was an interesting experience. If I ever were to do Bay to Breakers again, I would either be just a spectator or make sure I’m in Corral A at the front of the line.
It may be a 12k but it’s definitely a FUN run.

I ran Bay to Breakers for the first time this year! As long as you do a decent amount of running, it isn’t that bad (except for Hayes Hill). Me and my friends were able to run a bulk of the race, except for half of Hayes Hill, which we consider an accomplishment. It was a fun experience, seeing everyone in costumes.
However, the corral starting time was quite late. As a part of the F corral, we were told we would start at 8:20, but we didn’t start until close to 9. The Expo was well organized. Me and my friends have already decided to run again!

It was a good race this year. The run was good and we were at corral B and most runners were doing a good pace. The security this year was much better. The festival at the finish line was organized better this year. They had a lot of free food (energy bars, chips, coconut water) given out at the finish line. The concert could have been better. The lines for the shuttle bus back to the ferry building was very long. They could improve on the transportation part.
Everybody had a great time. This is my fifth bay to breakers run. We plan to continue running in this event.

Poor job this year Zappos. I agree with the other reviews, the start of the race was a mess. People didn’t know where to go, there wasn’t good communication, there were terrible delays and the walking/​partying crowd wasn’t kept to the rear.
I’ve run B2B on and off for years. This year was my worst experience by far. In other years the people who wanted to walk/​party/​smoke and dance in the streets were kept at the back. This year they were all in the front making it difficult for runners to actually run.
I’m not sure if the walkers were reason the start was delayed for so long… probably. It just seemed like the whole race was poorly planned. I couldn’t find very many water stations because of the crowds. The ones I did find were flooded with drunks and walkers.
The finish area was too small and didn’t have lanes like years past. Everyone was herded into a narrow choke point like a cattle in a chute. The food area was like a giant mosh pit. People where elbowing their way around collecting garbage bags Kettle chips. Seriously, one couple had a Glad bag about half full. They must have had 50 – 60 bags of chips in there.
How about some oranges and bananas next year instead of chips? A few dozen signs on the course saying walkers keep right? Some crowd control to let the runners go first? Bring back the floats too and rolling bar too! That was half the fun in the past. Zappos you’re really killing the vibe. :-(

Not what I was expecting at all… actually very tame for an event which such reputation. I guess it used to be a lot more extreme in the past before the race had major corporate sponsorship.
Two ways of participating, running or just jogging and enjoying the views.
1– If you are serious about running, then you need to be in Corral A, or Elite. then you will have the space to actually run the race. If you choose to do this, the course is uphill for the first 4 miles… then once you get in the park you will be able to get some speed and advantage of the downhills to the finish.
2– If you are just going to participate, then jog or walk and enjoy the views. We only saw one topless girl, the naked old men are creepy and just odd. you will also see a lot of costumes and lots of dunk teens having a good time.
Overall it is a good time, the side parties really look like fun if you bring a bunch of people along. Will not be doing this race again… and next year I might just get out of town to avoid the traffic during the event.

My body aches… but it is always a fun run. Get there early if you plan to run. Still plenty of naked people, great costumes, and wonderful floats. B2B is what makes San Francisco such a great place. Too bad it can’t be every weekend. But than again we’d all be really really sore and hungover year around!!!

Such a fun run!!! Costumes, friendly people, fresh air and tour of SF! My best friend actually ran it but I jogged and decided to take in the views and people watch. A group of people literally ran into the street, stopping me and said, «stop running and have a drink!!!» They handed me some coconut water and some fruit leather and I was back in route… There were happy naked men, energetic naked girls, smurfs, running fruit, super Mario brothers, lady gaga, Disney characters… omg you name it!!! So I hear this race is over 100 years old, the purpose behind it was to get the community hopes up after the big SF earthquake. I could see this being true! Music, happy people, costumes and just plain friendly fun! I’m going to have to make it a tradition!

Let’s just call Bay to Breakers what is really is shall we? That is a freaking huge moving street party through San Francisco.
This is not a race, hell it’s barely even a run. If you are a serious runner then register as Elite, otherwise this is one to do for fun.
Sign Up:
Easy and relatively cheap if you get in early. I paid the lowest price of $ 39 which includes finishers medal and Shirt.
Packet Pick Up:
If you’re not willing to pay the extortionate amount of $ 20 to just have your bib (not your T Shirt) mailed to you then you’ll pick up Fort Mason either the Friday or Saturday before the event at the Expo. The Expo had a lot going on with lot’s of vendors and samples. Pick up was easy, all I needed to do was show my confirmation email with the bib number and D and I was on my way. The t shirt pick up just wanted the strip from the bottom of my bib and I got a choice of 2 colors for the shirt.
*NOTE* The security are very serious about the closing time of the expo. I arrived at 6:40pm on the Friday and upon leaving at 7:03 (expo closed at 7pm) they were not letting anybody in to get their bib even if they didn’t want to browse the expo so if you’re not going to make it before the cut off don’t even bother rushing there to try, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
Day of:
#ClusterfuckCentral was my hashtag of choice morning of. With tens of thousands of people flooding to the start line is was understandable. The start line Corrals were nothing short of a mess. Checks were being made that you were in the right Corral which is one thing but honestly, I think only about 5% of people put their right pace in anyway so it really made no difference, especially when you consider the amount of non registered people that join the course later on.
I was initially in Corral A for my averaging a 7 minute mile pace but moved back in order to do it with a friend. Sadly she left her bib at my house and didn’t think she would get into the corral but managed to slip through anyway.
The course was indeed fun, lot’s of crazy costumes and a few things I really wish I could unsee (official nude count = 11. This was fairly low as I started early on. Later Corrals had numbers in the 30’s). Lot’s of random people joined in the festivities, there were water stations which was a plus and of course restrooms but were not for Runners only but the entire general public.
Hayes Hill Challenge:
The addition of this sounded promising. Basically the fastest Male and Female up that section of the course won $ 2,500 and I was prepared to take part as if there’s one thing I excel at it’s Running uphill at speed. Sadly the organization left a lot to be desired as you had to run among everybody else and zig zag your way through drunk people to the top of the hill. It’s because of this I didn’t even bother trying to get a good time. If this is going to be a regular thing they really need to fence a section off.
Post Run:
My second favorite hashtag of the day: #GetMeTheFuckOutOfHere!
This wasn’t even organized chaos but just plain chaos. The food section consisted of Chips, Clif Bars, Water, Sambazon, Nuts and Coconut Water. People were literally going crazy shoving, pushing and grabbing everything they possibly could and filling bags and boxes with it. No Banana’s were available. Boo.
The medal pick up was not being checked either which worked out in my friends advantage as she didn’t have her bib but the volunteers were literally just giving medals out to anybody. I’m sure there were hundreds of people crossing the finish line that hadn’t registered and ended up walking away with a free medal.
Sure, this was a fun event but I get impression that Zappos really are just trying to make as much money as possible with the silly rules. If a bag was over a certain size it had to be the clear pre approved one they were selling at the expo. Bullsh*t. People had backpacks and all kinds of bags on the course and there’s absolutely no way they can monitor the tens of thousands of people like the emails said they would.
I had a fun time and may considering doing it in future years as it’s a nice change from my serious running events but I don’t even think i’ll need to register if this year was anything to go by.

Unofficial time: 2:25:08.

I can’t wait to do this again in 2015. I did it in 2013 and had to miss it last year. =[ Won’t happen again!
Stay near the back if you want to drink and walk and be silly.
If you’re all about the running then definitely stay up front.
Also, stretch and be ready for this. If you’re not, it won’t be fun the next day.

To be perfectly honest, Bay To Breakers is quite the weird time. If you’ve got a taste for the weird, the wacky, and the unexpected, you owe it to yourself to experience these seven-​and-​a-​half miles of complete mayhem at least once.
Some of the highlights from this year’s run:
— Guys dressed in salmon costumes who started their day at the finish line and travelled against the crowd, exclaiming that everyone else was mistakenly going «the wrong way»
— People trying to discreetly pee on the corner of house — and ending up doused with buckets of water tossed down from above
— A squad of people walking a pair of leashes — with no dogs attached
— Two gay guys proudly… err…“expressing” their love for one another on a patch of grass near the course (that I’m sure they assumed was discreet… or maybe just didn’t care?)
— Hairy, naked guys (honestly, they looked like software developers or something)
Oh and some important tips:
— If you’re actually trying to run the race competitively, the free water stations are spread out pretty far from one another. You’re much better off bringing a bottle of water to rely on as needed.
— If you’re not trying to set a new PR, try to eat something reasonably filling before the race. That is, unless a Popeye’s crammed wall-​to-​wall with drunken folks sounds like your idea of a good time…

On 5÷18÷2014 — I ran the Bay to Breakers for the first time in San Francisco. It was so fun! 12 km went by like a breeze, and I’m not sure how I completed the entire thing without doing any training beforehand. It was totally impromptu; I even picked up my packet the morning of the event (good thing they had packet-​pick up located on the 2^nd floor of the Hyatt Hotel by the Embarcadero).
I tried taking Über or Lyft to the starting line, but all drivers were busy. Fortunately, I saw an empty taxi immediately and hopped in for the quick ride down to the starting line. It took FOREVER to locate where to pick up bibs, etc. as NO ONE seemed to know (i asked the volunteers and even police). Very frustrating. I think the event website should indicate where people can go to pick up their packet /​bib items on day-​of, so that more people can locate it instead of trying to frantically looking for it on the morning of! Maybe they deliberately do not indicate how to pick up bibs on morning of event, so they can prevent people from doing that!
Bay to Breakers actually started late this year for some reason; as people were suppose to start around 8am, but I don’t think I even crossed the starting line till after 8:45 am (i think?). Also, the event was on the milder side this year, is what I’ve been told. There was definitely ruckus all around but not anything too crazy. I enjoyed seeing all the awesome costumes and the bands playing along the street. People from SF came out to cheer everyone on, so great!
The Hayes Hill Challenge was the toughest part; I saw that coming but can’t believe the hill was so looooong and sooo high, haha. :) Sometimes I felt like my jogging pace up that hill would have been the same as if I had just walked it up the hill. LOL.
Running through Golden Gate Park was fun too, since I stopped a couple times to take photos of the bison grazing in the pasture, and the greenhouse (?) in the middle of the park. I didn’t have any music with me this time (to listen to while I ran), but still managed feel entertained w/​all the costumed runners. I like that the event was timed even though it was suppose to be more «fun» oriented. :)
Good thing there were bananas, plenty of water and other small snacks at the end of the run. I liked that they did a medal + free t-​shirt to the finishers. That feels nice. :)
So happy I was able to complete the Bay to Breakers, and would recommend it to anyone!

B2B.
Wackiest Run ever!!! Goodtimes.
I have participated in the moving party through the city that happens annually the past several years. Run the race? LOL no. Drunk walk the race, yes. Great experience IF you actually start partying at 7:30am. Fair warning, you will see some crazy stuff along with hilarious costumes and themes.
several themes that we were
— where’s Waldo
— sperm
— SF pillow fight
— running with the bulls (recycled)
I’m going to skip all the years and talk about the most recent one (2014).
1) it’s been a few yrs since they band the human floats. Those were the best
2) public drinking is prohibited (unless you disguise your drink).
3) panhandle is a hotmess, fun the first hour played out afterwards
24+ of us decided to recycle one of my themes «running with the bulls». It’s a great theme I had done in 2012 but a wasted memory indeed. So it was brought back in 2014 with people to enjoy it more and make better memories that will last a lifetime.
7:30am in the FiDi for the tortilla toss. We had a few bags and was throwing them like frisbees I. The crowd. Shortly after the race begun we randomly jumped out from the side and into the race when the real race was happening… Lol hilarious. We made it to panhandle intoxicated and spent an hour there before departing. Drinking hard liquor from 7:30am to 1pm can only really happen once a year.

A fun SF tradition always held on the 3^rd Sunday in May. The 7.46 mile race starts at a civilized time of 8:00 a.m.(they also run early BART trains that day– YAY). They now have «corrals’ based on expected paces. The race is usually won by Kenyans with insane times of 35 minutes or so. I’ve participated in around 5 races, running a couple «seriously» for time, sometimes walking in costume (and drinking) with a group of friends. Both ways can be fun, although walking it makes for a VERY long day!
The race begins at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarcadero (adjacent to San Francisco Bay) and runs west through the city to finish at the Great Highway. At the start line, many are throwing tortillas at one another to pass time (similar to balloon-​batting at rock concerts). You will always see a handful of naked old guys at Bay to Breakers. Put some shorts on, dudes! :-/​
There is one big hill (the Hayes Street Hill) but other than that, it’s a fairly flat run. Lots of great costumes– my favorite continues to be the group of people who dress as salmon and run toward the start line (salmon swimming upstream, get it?) :) Always women in tutus, body paint, etc. There actually weren’t as many costumes this year as I’ve seen in the past.
There is a finish line expo and this year, they gave out cool medals at the finish. The city (especially the Panhandle area) are a mob scene during the day so avoid driving if possible! Lots of street closures up until 2:00 p.m., some extending to 4:00 p.m.
A must-​do experience, even if you’re not a runner!