Bay to Breakers Recap

This morning I wogged the Bay to Breakers 12K. If you want actual info on this race go here. If you want to learn about the runners who run it sans clothes, go here. Now that you're fully informed, I'll tell you how my morning went - just in case you want to do this in 2012 - clothed or not!

The first thing is the tortilla toss. While you're waiting for the race to start, all the participants are tossing tortillas. You get hit in the head, the back, the wherever, and you pick it up and toss it back into the crowd. Fun stuff and gets you in the mood - for what, though, I don't know!!

The dudes with the yellow balloons are the "Bare to Breakers." If you did your homework, then you know what I'm talking about. This morning started off a bit chilly, hence the reason these dudes were clothed. At this point, they were starting to shed their layers. Luckily they had backpacks in which to store their layers. By the way, these dudes are all middle-aged. Or older.

The aforementioned yellow baloon dudes, having fully stored their layers. There's nothing to wake you up in the morning than the sight of a nekkid dude running past you. Trust me.

These are the salmon. They run against the stream of runners. You can learn more about them here. I don't know when they started, but they passed me at Mile 2.

This is Hayes Street Hill. It is very steep. If you look at the elevation profile, this is the part after Mile 2 that looks like you should be mountain climbing at this point. This picture is looking down - much more rewarding than at the bottom looking up!!

Young bare butt dude. Whatevs.

Two bare butt dudes. I called them Harry and Smooth. Get it??

There were lots of costumes - some in the race and some on the side. We even had a few dignitaries show up!!

I don't know what this place was, but it was really pretty with the flowers.

Very natural - just like some of the runners!

Waterfall - oooh, pretty! Yep, that's why my race time was so slow -

I stopped to take pictures. Yep, that's it.

These are the bison along the course. They were only slightly faster than me.

Ah - the "breakers" of Bay to Breakers.

In other words, "We Almost Done!"

And there it is - THE FINISH!!!!

I hope you enjoyed my pictorial rehash of the race. It was fun, it was entertaining, it was illuminating. And boy, were there a lot of sights to see!

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Today's blessings: Race people, scenery, supporters, parties, finish, medal, bus ride back downtown; Subway lunch and washing clothes; chatting with fellow racers at the hotel; wandering around town with a sack with Molly, looking for a FedEx place; ; Steve picking up Thai for dinner