Mayor Lee Celebrates Bay to Breakers 100th Anniversary

Revelers enjoy the 98th Bay to Breakers run and fiesta in San Francisco, May 17, 2009.

From the Office of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

Editor’s Note: A few changes this year: Zero tolerance for booze; limited registrations; all race participants must be registered and floats will not be permitted. Good luck with that.  Previous race organizers have had limited success in restricting alcohol consumption and float usage.

May 13, 2011

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Bay to Breakers 12 kilometer foot race, which will take place Sunday, May 15th. The 100th running of Bay to Breakers is sponsored by Bay Area micro-retailer Zazzle. Mayor Lee honored race organizers on this historic occasion with a proclamation declaring May 13-15, 2011 as Bay to Breakers Weekend in San Francisco.

“Bay to Breakers is an unequaled sporting event which attracts athletes from around the world,” said Mayor Lee. “A century ago, San Francisco showed the world that it had recovered from the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906. What better way to show that our City was up and running than to get ‘up and running’, literally, from Bay to Breakers. The City and race organizers have worked hard to make sure that this year’s race will be a fun and safe race, ensuring that the race will be here for years to come.”

Bay to Breakers is one of the world’s largest and oldest footraces, held annually in San Francisco. The race was created to reinvigorate, unify and lift the spirits of the citizens of San Francisco after the 1906 Great Earthquake & Fire. 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.

The race, a unique celebration of San Francisco and its culture, will institute new measures this year as part of its centennial celebration. The Bay to Breakers race organizers have been meeting with residents, neighborhood associations, race participants and representatives of the City and the San Francisco Police Department and have collectively highlighted a number of changes which are required to make the race a fun and safe event that can be enjoyed by everyone—runners, walkers, families, children, neighbors and the City as a whole.

“With 55,000 people on the race course and more than 100,000 spectators expected, public safety is – as always—our top priority,” said SFPD Chief Greg Suhr. “We want to help everyone safely enjoy a wonderful tradition.”

The Bay to Breakers race changes, include:

· Allowing only registered participants on the race course;

· Working to have all streets opened by noon;

· Eliminating floats;

· Limiting the number of registrations for the 100th anniversary; and

· Zero tolerance for alcohol.

The City and race organizers have worked hard to educate the public about what’s expected at this year’s 100th Bay to Breakers, through a public outreach campaign that has included a website, Facebook and YouTube videos to make sure everyone gets to the starting line ready to have a safe and fun run.

For more information, go to: www.baytobreakers100.com.

FCJ Editor

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