Bay to Breakers Garners Support From Neighbors, City Officials For Ban on Alcohol, Elimination of Floats

Sep 17, 2010:

Improvements for 100th running of "Civic Treasure"
To Ensure Fun for Everyone

San Francisco, Sept. 17, 2010 - The organizer of the Bay to Breakers road race has received support from San Francisco neighborhood groups, San Francisco city hall and police officials for its banning of alcohol consumption and floats for next year's 100th anniversary of the race.

"We cherish the fun aspects of the race that have made it unique worldwide--runners dressed in costumes, centipedes, group running--that add to the excitement of a professional internationally important 12K footrace," said Angela Fang, general manager of the Bay to Breakers race. "But we are officially eliminating alcohol and floats in order to ensure public safety .  These measures are imperative to the preservation of this event."

"Starting this year, we will add additional police and private security to enforce the new rules," Fang said. In addition, she said the race will limit the number of people who can run the race and will only allow registered runners on the course.

"If you have always wanted to run the Bay to Breakers race, this will be the year to do it," said Fang, who said the 100th running of the venerable 12k race will take place May 15, 2011.  She added that a number of enhancements and special events will be announced in the coming months.

A large crowd is anticipated for the 100th anniversary of the event, which was established in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake by civic leaders who wanted to boost morale and promote the image of the recovering city. In 1964, the race was dubbed 'the Bay to Breakers.'

The first annual Cross City Race, held Jan. 1, 1912, was won by student Bobby Vlught, who crossed the finish line with a time of 44:10. By contrast, this year's women's winner, Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya, made world history finishing in 38:07 and the men's winner, Sammy Kitwara of Kenya, became a back to back winner at the race with the time of 34:15.

About Bay to Breakers 12K
Bay to Breakers 12K is one of the world's largest and oldest footraces, held annually in San Francisco, Calif. The name reflects the traditional course which takes tens of thousands of participants from the northeast end of the downtown area near the Embarcadero (the "bay" side of the city) to the west end of the city and the "breakers" of Ocean Beach. The 7.46 mile (12 kilometer) race features world-class athletes in addition to costumed runners and 'fun-loving' folks out for a great day of running and walking through San Francisco. For more information, visit www.baytobreakers.com.