Tens of thousands ran, or stumbled, down the streets this morning as the 100th Bay to Breakers began. Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco crossed the finish line first at Ocean Beach 34 minutes and 26 seconds later, winning the race. Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya won the women's division for the third time, finishing in 39 minutes, 12 seconds.
Then the revels began as runners in tutus, those in the nude, and folks decked out in just about anything began their run though 7.2 miles of San Francisco.
This year local residents were concerned about the growing problems of public urination, drunkenness, and nudity. But racers were penned in by many more gates than last year, which also led directly to the 1,200 port-a-potties strewn about the race instead of local lawns. "Sobering tents" were also set-up throughout the event, where nurses and EMTs could tend to the injured or those who had drank perhaps too much, reporter Caitlin Esch noted.
Zazzle, who organized the race this year, provided private security guards who patrolled the streets in popular stopping areas such as the panhandle. While the guards were supposed to stop people from drinking, many just tried to keep things calm.
"Honestly, we walked around and just asked people to chug their beers," said private security guard Garnales Torres of Redwood City.