As you well know, San Francisco's annual footrace/costume competition/drunken bacchanal is on its way to your doorstep this Sunday, May 18th. Here's what you need to know to prepare, whether that means donning your gorilla suit and joining the fray or steering clear of the event altogether.
To start with, it looks like the race route is relatively unchanged from last year, with the notable exception of Alamo Square, the southern half of which will be fenced off, eliminating one of the first outlets in the race for revelers to rest (or pass out) and rehydrate (or ... not).
Captain Gregory Corrales of SFPD's Park Station noted at a meeting last night that "Alamo Square has been a meeting point for troublemakers and drunken behavior" and stated that a squad from Northern Station and a lot of private security would be policing the Alamo Square area.
Here's a quick refresher of the race's course, courtesy of the event's organizers:
If you have a car and are planning on moving about the city come Sunday, take a moment to scrutinize the above map. You'll want to make sure your car is parked on your preferred side of the race route, because crossing it between early morning and afternoon on Sunday may be next to impossible. Plan accordingly.
In terms of street closures, look for the following streets to transform from auto zones to people zones:
- Hayes from Market to Divisadero: closed 6am to 12:30pm
- Divisadero from Grove to Oak: closed 5am to 1pm
- Steiner from Grove to Hayes: closed 5am to 11:30am
- Baker from Oak to Fell: closed 5am to 11:30am
- Fell from Divisadero to Stanyan: closed 6am to 2pm
- JFK Drive from Stanyan to the Great Highway: closed 3am to 4pm
You can find the full array of street closures listed here.
The scorching temperatures will have abated by the weekend, with weather forecasts predicting windy but clear weather in the mid-60s. But sunscreen, water, and other mom-knows-best add-ons are definitely still in order if you're planning on participating.
There will be cell on wheels (COW) setups at Alamo Square Park and McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park to expedite all your mobile social media posting and friend-locating needs. And of course, look out for port-a-potties wherever you can find them.
And what about that alcohol policy again? "We have zero tolerance for alcohol,” Corrales stated, noting that “the priority will be against kegs, setting up bars” and other distribution and illegal sales. But he admitted that "the sheer number of people are going to outnumber us."
Though many merchants, like the Divisadero businesses we surveyed yesterday, are more than happy to provide food, drinks and maybe even bathrooms to Bay to Breakers faithful, it's worth reiterating that respecting your neighbors and your local businesses should be kept front-of-mind come Sunday.
With that being said, let the last-minute costume theme brainstorming and preparation begin!
