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Video: Tens of Thousands Turn Out for Slightly Subdued Bay To Breakers

Mark Andrew Boyer
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Bay To Breakers isn't what it once was, but it's still a good time. That was the consensus of a handful of runners and revelers interviewed along the race route Sunday morning. Floats and kegs are a thing of the past, and in an effort to make the event more family-friendly, the number of security personnel was increased by 20 percent this year, according to CBS San Francisco. Police took steps to reduce alcohol consumption, arresting two dozen people and citing several others. But San Franciscans still found a way to let it all hang out in the annual race-slash-dance party (as usual, there were still plenty of nude people).

Bay To Breakers, San Francisco
Participants run, walk and dance up Howard Street near Yerba Buena Gardens. (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

About 40,000 people participated in the 7.46-mile race, which starts near the Embarcadero and weaves through Golden Gate Park before ending at Ocean Beach. And about 100,000 people attended the event and took part in the mobile block party, according to race organizer Wasserman Media Group.

Bay to Breakers, San Francisco
As part of an annual tradition, racers dressed in costumes. (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

Kenyan runner Geoffrey Kenisi won the race with a time of 35:06. At the other end of the course, a parade of Mr. Potato Heads, Santa Clauses and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jogged, walked and danced their way across the city.

For the first year, Alamo Square -- the site of drunken revelry in years past -- was closed (Mark Andrew Boyer / KQED)
For the first year, Alamo Square -- the site of drunken revelry in years past -- was closed. (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

In a notable change from last year, Alamo Square Park — often the site of drunken partying — was fenced off and closed to the public during Bay To Breakers. Several police officers lined up at the top of the Hayes Street hill to enforce the ban on public drinking. And in response to complaints about public urination, officials installed a long line of portable bathrooms next to the park.

By about 11:00 a.m., the Panhandle was transformed into a dance party (Mark Andrew Boyer / KQED)
By about 11 a.m., the Panhandle was transformed into a dance party. (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

With Alamo Square Park closed, the party shifted down to the Panhandle, which became the site of a midmorning dance party. At 1 p.m., police arrested a naked man who broke into the bison paddock in Golden Gate Park and was challenging a buffalo. "The bison seemed unimpressed," according to the SFPD Richmond Station's Twitter account.

Although police took steps to curb alcohol consumption, there was still plenty of booze to go around (Mark Andrew Boyer / KQED)
Although police took steps to curb alcohol consumption, there was still plenty of booze to go around. (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

Speakers heard in the above video, in order: James Anderson, Hayley Nenadal, Brian Gillis, Jeff, Mike Brauch, Jackson Sullivan.

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