Bay to Breakers: Let the race begin

By Joanne Santomauro

This month, Santa Clara students flocked to thrift stores, American Apparel and costume shops to prepare for the highlight event of the spring season: Bay to Breakers. The 99-year-old 12k footrace is held annually in downtown San Francisco. The race starts near the northeast end of the city near the Embarcadero,the "bay" side of the city, ending at the "breakers" of Ocean Beach.

However, this race isn't known for its challenge to runners; traditionally, participants and folks who are out to enjoy the city sights for the day walk through the race sporting outlandish clothing--or no clothing at all.

"I'm excited to spend the day with my friends and be in San Francisco," said freshman Emily Hawley before the race. "I'm from Portland, and we don't have anything like Bay to Breakers there."

In preparation for the weekend, Hawley finished her homework earlier in the week.

"I feel like such a nerd, but I doubt I'll want to do homework on Sunday after Bay to Breakers," she said.

Freshman An Nguyen said, "I've accepted that I'm already so far behind in my schoolwork, I'm just not going to do it this weekend. I mean, it's Bay to Breakers."

One of the most important elements of attending Bay to Breakers is the costume. Nguyen planned his outfit well ahead of time.

"I'm going to wear tights, rainbow suspenders, a trucker hat and an ugly yellow jersey," he said.

"My friends and I combined (wardrobes) to make our costumes," said Hawley. "I'm not sure what I'm wearing, but I know my outfit will involve neon, spandex, bright colors and not very much (fabric)."

When asked what she planned to wear, freshman Christine Horman said, "Just glitter and band-aids. I'm just kidding, but I'm guessing that wouldn't be too weird of an outfit choice for Bay to Breakers."

In the spirit of Santa Clara tradition, I decided to board the 6 a.m. CalTrain with the rest of the school and document my Bay to Breakers experience.

4:00 a.m. Perhaps a poor decision, but my friends and I decidedto go to Stanford Saturday night, and we end up at an iHop with a bunch of high school prom-goers. Eggs have never tasted so good.

4:37 a.m. We arrive back at school. Dunne Hall is filled with half-naked boys painting their chests and girls in neon tutus, running back and forth between rooms.

5:32 a.m. The line for the CalTrain stretches for miles. One of my friends brought a staff with her as part of her "tribal woman" costume, and we decide that it should serve as a beacon in case the crowd swallows one of us into oblivion. There is neon everywhere (did someone somewhere decide that this was the theme?).

There are also boys in short shorts that I wish fit them more loosely. To my right and left, students chug suspicious looking liquid from juice bottles and Listerine mouthwash containers.

5:45 a.m. A man dressed in a pirate costume climbs a lamppost by the ticket booth, waving a plastic scimitar in an effort to excite the crowd. It works.

6:00 a.m. After nearly being trampled and suffocated by a horde of costumed tennis players, I'm on the train. For the most part, passengers have settled into seats and laps, and an excellent display of one of our three C's, "community," begins. While students on the train pass around bottles of "juice" and "water," the train nudges forward and passengers erupt in delight. Chants of "S-C-U!" begin.

7:14 a.m. It is freezing in San Francisco. I immediately regret my decision to forgo jeans for a festive black tutu. We follow the crowd toward the Embarcadero.

8:05 a.m. Apparently one of Bay to Breakers' greatest traditions is tortilla tossing. As we join the main crowd, tortillas fly into the throng from all directions. I see pirates, Vikings, the Incredibles (cute), green people, blue people (cool), a Stanford University float bumping rave music at the highest decibel possible (also cool) and naked men (not so cool).

8:11 a.m. We cross the starting line and the crowd takes off running. Wait, why is everyone running? I thought we could walk! The serious runners (we're talking Gatorade commercial status) shoot us angry looks. We quickly exit to the crosswalk before we end up like Mufasa in the Lion King.

9:30 a.m. Call me lame, but I hadn't slept in 20 hours and was in desperate need of a bed and pillow. We leave early and board the CalTrain, sleepy and content from a day well spent.

5:00 p.m. I wake up from one of the most satisfying naps I've ever had and begin writing this article.

"My favorite part of Bay to Breakers was definitely the naked men," sophomore Timothy Fong said.

Added freshman Carly Zipper, "The highlight (for me) was meeting crazy people on the train and hanging out with them for the rest of the day."

Similarly, freshman Caitlin Hendricks said, "It was fun shopping for a crazy outfit. The highlight was seeing what everyone else was wearing and having random conversations with people."

The theme song of the day was the classic sporting event chant, "Olé, olé, olé, olé!" Santa Clara students belted the tune throughout the streets of San Francisco, along with loud chants of "S-C-U! S-C-U!" Count on the Broncos to show San Francisco a good time.

Contact Joanne Santomauro at jsantomauro@scu.edu or (408) 554-1918.