The Bay to Breakers, a race from the Embarcadero to the Great Highway, has been a San Francisco tradition for 98 years. It is the longest consecutively run footrace in the world. It has become a "Mardi-gras-esque" street party that brings almost a hundred thousand people to the city by the bay each year. Every year you have several different groups. The serious runners who have trained all year (they represent less than 1%), the runners who have no intention of winning but take the race seriously and challenge themselves to beat their own best time (maybe 3%), and then there are the freaks: 96%. Now, I use the term freaks loosely. It is San Francisco. You have people in flamboyant outfits, giant floats which are basically bars on wheels, groups who dress alike, ...and naked people.
This year, city officials, and Bay to Breakers sponsors announced a zero tolerance policy for 96% of those who attend...the freaks. There is to be no alcohol, no floats, no elaborate costumes, and no nudity. So, basically, this 98 year tradition that generates millions of dollars in revenue for the city, will now consist of about twelve Kenyans and maybe a couple hundred serious runners. Why bother? I understand the shutdown of the Castro Halloween festivities since that has at times been truly out of hand; but there is no comparison between an event that resulted in nine people getting shot last year (Castro) and a yearly street party where there were no arrests and no injuries (except for the plants that might have perished due to public urination).
So, this year you might want to skip the Bay to Breakers unless you've been training all year and plan on taking home the $25,000 grand prize. The rest of us will watch the "festivities" from a local pub, wearing something silly...or nothing at all.
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