Run
Comments: Listen up. If you live in the Bay Area, you owe it to yourself to do this race. Dig out some random old Halloween costumes, throw on your sneaks and DO IT...it was very fun. Of all the places you can run in SF, this has to be one of the easiest 7.46 mile routes... What would you do differently?: Nothing. It was totally fun. We debated the merits of starting in front and running it fast and then watching all the wild things come in, but it sure was fun starting in the back WITH the wild things. Post race
Warm down: The ONLY complaint I have about the whole race is that it was just so flippin' cold. I think Mark Twain said something along the lines of "The coldest summer I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco..." Now, for the REAL critique/advice. The main problem with this run is the logistics of a point to point race. The organizers aren't very. No gear check. I think they have to spend the whole 44 dollars of everone's entry fee on massive quantities of porta potties. We even tried to do the VIP thing (35 bucks for breakfast at the Hyatt and they bring your bags to the finish line...we were just going to do one bag and skip the breakfast, just to have the bag there) but they didn't have that available at the EXPO, you had to realize you needed it when you signed up online well in advance. This is why I ended up running with a backpack. It was SO cold that we HAD to have some clothes for afterwards and since we're from out of town, we had nobody who could bring our stuff for us. If you are running to break a PR (you know, in that highly competitive 12K field) you probably don't want to haul a backpack. It was ok for us, but it could have been a bit of a buzzkill. Also, trying to get back to wherever you came from was kind of frustrating. The race organizers are working so hard to upsell you onto one of their shuttles that they "forget" to tell you about the muni metro that is just a few blocks away. The bus service is a nightmare and traffic is terrible. I recommend you either take the train back out or just get in the zone and walk back...the Haight looked like it was going to be a party all night long. We ended up walking most of the way and found a nice place for brunch in a cute little neighborhood called the "Castro." At any rate, either have airtight plans for leaving GG park or be prepared to spend the rest of the day wandering around trying to figure out how to get home. We opted for the latter. What limited your ability to perform faster: Modelo. It's what's for breakfast. Also trying to run and take pictures of naked people totally slows you down. Oh and 24,000 of my closest friends plus probably 3x that spectating. Actually, doing a fun race has totally broken the doldrums of training and I'm all excited about my upcoming races and training...I was kind of in a funk. Last updated: 2009-12-28 12:00 AM
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United States
50F / 10C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 7170/24310
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 464/2732
This is not so much a race as it is a giant, writhing mass of humanity moving along in generally the same direction. DH and I occasionally race as "The Amandas"...two fun loving Hooter's "Girls." I don't know why, but it is a crowd pleaser. I can't explain why we think it's fun, but it's kinda our thing. Let's face it, we're not professional athletes, and while we like to train and race, we also like to be goofballs sometimes too. If ever there was a race that is suited for letting out your inner goofball...Bay to Breakers is it. So without further ado, here is the "race" report. We got our 6am wakeup call so we could get our makeup done and spend time making sure bras were stuffed and other body parts were sufficiently secured. Hooter's costumes are uniquely suited to running...I just put a little body glide right on the heavy duty "suntan" nylons we order online, and I'm good to go. Pre race nutrition was a pork taco left over from dinner and hydration may or may not have been, ahem, alcoholic...
We found some great cheesy terry cloth headbands down at Fisherman's Wharf the night before...DH needs something to keep his wig on. Finished costume call, packed the backpack (more on that later) and headed down to join the masses.
We were seeded in the A corral, which would have been the ONLY sane place to start if we were actually running this for time, but DH was adamant that we start in the WAY back. Our hotel was right where the E corral started so we just walked outside and immediately got pelted by tortillas. We raided the backpack for our extra hydration and stood in line at the port a potties. I wasn't sure we were ever going to make it to the start, but that's ok, there was plenty to see in steerage.