Excited Runners Participate in the 99th Anual Bay to Breakers
To a crowd of 165,000 residents, the third Sunday in May is a sacred day. Throngs of people threw on creative costumes, including some birthday suits and barefeet, and hit the streets of San Francisco to celebrate the 99–year old tradition of the ING Bay to Breakers 12K footrace.
The race originated after the historic, destructive Bay Area earthquake of April 1906. In 1912, to foster the image of recovery and to boost city morale, many festivities and activities were established, including the first annual Cross City Race. The race was renamed in 1964 and became “Bay to Breakers” since the 12k course takes race runners from near the Embarcadero, the “bay” side of the city, to Ocean Beach, the “breakers.”
Race enthusiasts can be categorized into four categories: the seeded division runners, the centipede team runners, the happy–go–lucky strollers in it for the costume contest, and the reported tens of thousands of spectators. The seeded division runners, who often fly in to compete from all over the globe, start off the race at 8 AM. They are followed by competitors self–ranked based on pace during the race. Among these are centipede runners — a component of the race that began in 1990 when a group of male and female University of California, Davis Aggies ran the race attached to one another, setting the first centipede record with a time of 37:39 (male centipede) and 47:36 (female centipede). The centipede concept has developed over the years, and now includes wacky group costumes.
The 99th Bay to Breakers race, on Sunday, May 16, was a rather historic one. This past Sunday morning, Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya completed the race with a time of 38:07, setting the new world record for best women’s 12K time. This year also marked Sue Potter’s 28th year participating in the race, emphasizing the sense of tradition the race holds for this Navato resident. Another record was broken during this year’s race: the Guinness World record for longest human centipede.
LinkedIn, a social networking site, set out to break the record for longest human centipede. At 5:30 AM the morning of the race, equipped with megaphones and five miles of connecting tape, a team of 30 LinkedIn members convinced race participants to join in the blob. LinkedIn knew that it needed to connect 2,027 people in order to break the existing record, and by the start of the race, they counted a total of 2,375 participant signatures, and after reviewing film coverage of the centipede, officially broke the world record.
This beloved Bay Area tradition had a successful 99th run of the race, and is already looking forward to next year’s 100th edition with a 358 day countdown until May 15, 2011. In the meantime, here is a look back on the highlights of the 99–year tradition, and a nod to its colorful history taken from the race’s official website.
April 18, 1906 — A massive earthquake devastates San Francisco.
January 1, 1912 — SF city fathers decide something needs to be done to boost morale and promote the image of the recovering city. They hold the first annual Cross City Race, and college student Bobby Vlught crosses the finish line with a time of 44:10.
1940 — The first female runner, Bobbie Burke, participates disguised as a man. Her descendents still run the race today.
1964 — In its 53rd year, the race is dubbed the Bay to Breakers.
1971 — With a finishing time of 50:45, Frances Conley becomes the first official winner in the Women’s Division.
1974 — Maryetta Boitano, aged 10, becomes the youngest winner in the history of the race.
She also set the fastest women’s finishing time at 43:22. She went on to win the Women’s Division in 1975 and 1976.
1986 — With 78,769 registered runners and 110,000 total participants, the Guinness Book of World Records awards Bay to Breakers the title of World’s Largest Footrace.
1994 — American runners are able to use their Bay to Breakers finishing times to meet the standard required for entry into the Olympic trials.
2009 — Sammy Kitwara of Kenya ties the world’s fastest time ever for 12k and sets a new course record with a time of 33:31.
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