Colorful costumes, loud cheers and crushed tortillas marked the start of San Francisco’s zany Bay to Breakers footrace Sunday as thousands of runners surged off the starting line in a flurry of bright fabric, pounding hundreds of tortillas tossed into the tarmac beneath their feet.
Participants—dressed as everything from cowboys to hot dogs with condiments—hit the streets early, with some sporting race-issued pink T-shirts featuring the city’s iconic Painted Ladies houses. Others went all out in cartoon, comic book or spotted cow costumes and helmets.
While transit agencies worked to help others arrive on time or reroute for errands and other commitments with as few hassles as possible, other organizations urged city visitors to allow extra time to attend events along heavily trafficked corridors, while another offered wise counsel on the evergreen importance of hydration.
From morning and well into the afternoon, it was prime time for people watching.
Cowboys blurred into groups in orange prison jumpsuits or screenshot-perfect Oompa Loompa uniforms, with distracting touches like a little fluorescent green tulle here or a pair of inflatable chickens there.
As is so often the case in any public and free event, a hardy few joined the yearly rite by insisting on their right to wear as little as possible, with a few minor exceptions made for spandex or skivvies, or for accessorizing with baseball hats, head coverings and race-appropriate footwear. The rest of the runners mostly kept moving and took all the near-nudity in stride.
While some spent valuable race time surreptitiously sipping on or openly guzzling spirits, others seemed to find a natural runner’s high as the morning’s low clouds began to burn off and thousands charged westward along closed-off roadways, accepting cheers and the odd orange slice or two from generous onlookers.
Showers of blown bubbles drifted through the air along Fell Street and came down equally atop a costumed swarm of bees, a walking watermelon slice and a spotted-cow-onesie wearing competitor.
By the time many reached the finish line, stiff breezes flew the state and U.S. flags and seemed to put wind into the sails of runners who powered across with uplifted arms and jubilant shouts.
