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One of the oldest continuos footrace held in the world just celebrated its 101st anniversary on Sunday. It is also the weirdest and most bizarre footrace in the world. The Bay to Breakers footrace started in 1912 as a way for people to relieve stress from the recent 1906 quake that completely wrecked the city. The devastation from the earthquake which is estimated at 7.7 on the Richter scale, and the ensuing fire tore the city to shreds and killed an estimated 3,000 people.
The city needed a pickup so the residents of San Francisco created events to help pick up the morale of the city. One of those events was the Cross City Race. In 1968 the name of the race was changed to what it is better known as today as the “Bay To Breakers.” The race has become synonymous with the carefree lifestyle that the city and its residents share.
The 7.46-mile course from the Embarcadero to Ocean Beach features real runners, walkers, and everyone else.
It also features a huge costume contest. The categories are diverse. Here they are with the prize:
The Be-Zazzled Costume: Most innovative use of the “Z” (the letter…the sound…the Zazzle logo): $1,000 Zazzle Shopping Spree
Best Overall Individual Costume: The head-turner, insane, creative, recognizable but not copy-cat. Color outside the lines: $750 Zazzle Shopping Spree
THE iCostume: Best play on technology, geek out, incorporate a tech theme, use of “i”: $500 Zazzle Shopping Spree
Most Creative-Individual: Never been seen or done before. May require explanation to judges and that is okay: $250 Zazzle Shopping Spree
Most Creative-Group: Never been seen or done before. May require explanation to judges and that is okay: $50 Zazzle Shopping Spree (per group member up to 10 members)
This year more than 50,000 people participated and it was pretty crazy. But it was a little more subdued than in the past with only 19 people getting arrested. Here is some of the fun from the Bay to Breakers via Twitter:
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Not seein a lot of missed connections for “girl that tripped in pug shirt at Bay to Breakers yesterday”
At last half of Bay to Breakers is just the marina showing up in costumes to puke all over neighborhoods they’d otherwise never step foot in
In Elevator – Coworker to me: Did you do Bay 2 Breakers? Me: Why yes Coworker: Well you still have a bit of glitter on. Me: Oh great