Tweet
Pirates, nudists run through San Francisco
By Kelly Rayburn, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 05/21/2007 08:34:57 AM PDT
Click photo to enlargeThey actually didn't seem that wild: Maggie
White, from left, Kim Gould and Erica Sampson, all of...«12345»
SAN FRANCISCO — Top international runners were joined by pirates,
space aliens, leprechauns and naked middle-aged men as they took to
the streets of San Francisco on Sunday for the 96th Bay to Breakers
cross-town jaunt.
The event, as always, combined world-class athleticism with drunken
debauchery as 60,000 people ran, walked or stumbled their way toward
the 7.46-mile course's finish line.
"With divine faith and honor, we steer this vessel through the
crowds!" said Pirate Captain Nathan James, 29, of San Francisco.
James and his crew of scurvy-ridden shipmates rolled their wooden
boat, stocked with kegs of Pabst Blue Ribbon, down the road.
They offered beer and pirate-talk along the way.
The skies were slightly overcast when the race got under way minutes
before 8 a.m., but the sun was shining most of the day.
Few knew it, but the event was struck by a tragedy early on. A 53-
year-old man collapsed at the course's finish line around 9 a.m. He
was pronounced dead at 10:03 a.m.
The San Francisco Medical Examiner's office later identified him as
Joe Spinale of El Cerrito, but few details about his death were
available.
Lost among the beer bongs and impromptu dance parties was the fact
that, for some, Bay to Breakers is a real race — and one that
attracts top international talent.
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya made history by becoming the first woman ever
to cross the finish line first in a Bay to Breakers race.
Women runners were given a 4:40 head start over the men as they
competed for a $25,000"Battle of the Breakers" prize.
Kiplagat clocked in at 38 minutes, 55 seconds, finishing ahead of
John Korir, also of Kenya, who finished the race in 34:44.
The Bay Area's top men and women finishers were Tommy Greenless of
Walnut Creek at 36:44 and Magdalena Lewy-Boulet of Oakland at 41:44.
Both said the costumed and drunken masses behind them did not take
away from their enjoyment of the day.
Quite the contrary.
"You can't take yourself too seriously here," said Greenless, a
middle-school physical education teacher.
Lewy-Boulet agreed.
"If anything it relaxes me a little bit more," she said.
A group of Elvis impersonators jumped onto the course mid-race
Sunday, briefly surrounding a group of leading women runners.
Lewy-Boulet said they couldn't keep up for long.
"Only a few steps," she said. "Maybe less than 50 meters."
The scene got zanier and zanier as more people approached the finish
line.
After the runners came a posse of Star Wars storm troopers, Austin
Powers-inspired Fembots and two naked guys on skateboards.
At least one woman used the event as a job fair. Marianne Dove
carried a sign reading, "Google recruiter hiring brilliant minds."
She said she did the same thing in 2006, and ended up receiving 500
resumes, including some that were sent via BlackBerry before she
made it to the finish line.
Few costume ideas were off limits.
Dozens — mostly men — wore nothing other than running shoes. One
group dressed as doctors, pushing along a woman who was giving
birth.
Others, inspired by a certain Justin Timberlake "Saturday Night
Live" skit that became a YouTube phenomenon, donned cheap-looking
suits and strategically placed cardboard boxes.
"Reach in the box," called Chad Walter, 32, of San Francisco, from
the side of the road.
His box was filled with phallus-shaped gummy candies.
Before noon, officials began diverting people off the course in
order to reopen roads for vehicle traffic.
By that point, some were headed for an afternoon hangover as they
slept off their morning indulgences in Golden Gate Park.
Still, many were ready to do it all again next year. And some were
already looking ahead to the 100th Bay to Breakers in 2011.
"Six years ago was our rookie year," said Walter, gesturing to his
group of friends. "Now we do it nonstop."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/timesst...ews/ci_5947482
By Kelly Rayburn, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 05/21/2007 08:34:57 AM PDT
Click photo to enlargeThey actually didn't seem that wild: Maggie
White, from left, Kim Gould and Erica Sampson, all of...«12345»
SAN FRANCISCO — Top international runners were joined by pirates,
space aliens, leprechauns and naked middle-aged men as they took to
the streets of San Francisco on Sunday for the 96th Bay to Breakers
cross-town jaunt.
The event, as always, combined world-class athleticism with drunken
debauchery as 60,000 people ran, walked or stumbled their way toward
the 7.46-mile course's finish line.
"With divine faith and honor, we steer this vessel through the
crowds!" said Pirate Captain Nathan James, 29, of San Francisco.
James and his crew of scurvy-ridden shipmates rolled their wooden
boat, stocked with kegs of Pabst Blue Ribbon, down the road.
They offered beer and pirate-talk along the way.
The skies were slightly overcast when the race got under way minutes
before 8 a.m., but the sun was shining most of the day.
Few knew it, but the event was struck by a tragedy early on. A 53-
year-old man collapsed at the course's finish line around 9 a.m. He
was pronounced dead at 10:03 a.m.
The San Francisco Medical Examiner's office later identified him as
Joe Spinale of El Cerrito, but few details about his death were
available.
Lost among the beer bongs and impromptu dance parties was the fact
that, for some, Bay to Breakers is a real race — and one that
attracts top international talent.
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya made history by becoming the first woman ever
to cross the finish line first in a Bay to Breakers race.
Women runners were given a 4:40 head start over the men as they
competed for a $25,000"Battle of the Breakers" prize.
Kiplagat clocked in at 38 minutes, 55 seconds, finishing ahead of
John Korir, also of Kenya, who finished the race in 34:44.
The Bay Area's top men and women finishers were Tommy Greenless of
Walnut Creek at 36:44 and Magdalena Lewy-Boulet of Oakland at 41:44.
Both said the costumed and drunken masses behind them did not take
away from their enjoyment of the day.
Quite the contrary.
"You can't take yourself too seriously here," said Greenless, a
middle-school physical education teacher.
Lewy-Boulet agreed.
"If anything it relaxes me a little bit more," she said.
A group of Elvis impersonators jumped onto the course mid-race
Sunday, briefly surrounding a group of leading women runners.
Lewy-Boulet said they couldn't keep up for long.
"Only a few steps," she said. "Maybe less than 50 meters."
The scene got zanier and zanier as more people approached the finish
line.
After the runners came a posse of Star Wars storm troopers, Austin
Powers-inspired Fembots and two naked guys on skateboards.
At least one woman used the event as a job fair. Marianne Dove
carried a sign reading, "Google recruiter hiring brilliant minds."
She said she did the same thing in 2006, and ended up receiving 500
resumes, including some that were sent via BlackBerry before she
made it to the finish line.
Few costume ideas were off limits.
Dozens — mostly men — wore nothing other than running shoes. One
group dressed as doctors, pushing along a woman who was giving
birth.
Others, inspired by a certain Justin Timberlake "Saturday Night
Live" skit that became a YouTube phenomenon, donned cheap-looking
suits and strategically placed cardboard boxes.
"Reach in the box," called Chad Walter, 32, of San Francisco, from
the side of the road.
His box was filled with phallus-shaped gummy candies.
Before noon, officials began diverting people off the course in
order to reopen roads for vehicle traffic.
By that point, some were headed for an afternoon hangover as they
slept off their morning indulgences in Golden Gate Park.
Still, many were ready to do it all again next year. And some were
already looking ahead to the 100th Bay to Breakers in 2011.
"Six years ago was our rookie year," said Walter, gesturing to his
group of friends. "Now we do it nonstop."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/timesst...ews/ci_5947482
Comment