The famous Bay to Breakers 12K footrace, which was birthed from
the aftermath of the 1906 Earthquake, continued on its grand
tradition of getting folks outside to pound to pavement and
celebrate life this weekend.
By Angie Young Special to the Dispatch
San Francisco – The famous Bay to Breakers 12K footrace, which was birthed from the aftermath of the 1906 Earthquake, continued on its grand tradition of getting folks outside to pound to pavement and celebrate life this weekend.
Roughly 62,000 people ran the event this year despite the cold and rainy weather that hit the Bay Area this week. Many weren’t daunted by the gloomy forecast and trudged ahead along the city’s streets in a variety of outfits. Living up to its quirky reputation, the race’s route featured Victorian homes blaring disco from their windows, hippies on the sidewalks and folks throwing Mardi Gras beads to participants.
The Kenyans dominated the race again. The overall winner Gilbert Okari, 27, from Kenya zipped past the finish line in an impressive 34:20. Ukrainian Tetyana Hladyr, 31, took the women’s top spot with 39:09. The other celebrity without costume who competed in the 7.46-mile party was San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, who finished in 59:04.
In wall-to-wall race traffic that made running at a decent clip near impossible were the zany cast of characters such as the Sharks Centipede, Blue Smurfs, Wonder Women, nude men wearing backpacks, the Harry Potter family, “The Da Vinci Code” characters, wild flowers in punk ware and a wide assortment of historic figures. Darth Vader and storm troopers marched in costumes that would have made Star Wars’ creator George Lucas proud. A gaggle of Elvises imbibed on their favorite brew, mingling with the hordes. Four men wearing stuffed emus weaved around the walkers and runners.
Runners dreaded the Hayes Street Hill because of the 11.15 percent grade. But first-time Bay to Breaker participant Kat Powell, 55, said the hill wasn’t as daunting in comparison to another local race.
“Running in a costume is an experience for me . . . comparing it with (the Marin County) Double Dipsea race makes the Hayes Street Hill a piece of cake,” said Powell, a San Jose resident.
Three-time Bay to Breaker veteran Jeanmarie Derry of Gilroy survived “the Hill” and was pleased with her finishing time of 2 hours, 56 minutes.
“This time was easier thanks to training with the South Valley Running Club. We ran on Wednesday nights and on Saturday mornings,” she said.
Derry’s friend and fellow South Valley resident Linda Barnes finished in 1:45. Derry’s focus was to finish the course and have a good time. She plans to return to San Francisco again to run Bay to Breakers in the future.
