Thousands of runners and costumed participants flooded city streets on Sunday for the annual Bay to Breakers footrace. The 12-kilometer race attracts tens of thousands each year and runs from downtown (“The Bay”) to Ocean Beach (“The Breakers”). Though serious runners can clock in times of around forty minutes, the race is well-known for the multitude of participants who costume up to run- or walk- the route.
The inaugural race took place in 1912, and was dubbed the Cross-City Race. It had 150 runners that year and the course was around seven and a half miles long. It was officially named Bay to Breakers in 1964, while the race distance was changed to 12 kilometers in 1983.
A chicken and a chick make their way past the “No Dancing” sign on the race route. | Photo: Cheryl L. Guerrero/Hoodline
The first recorded costumed runner, dressed as Captain Kidd, took part in 1940. And since then participants have dressed up as everything from dinosaurs to unicorns and MUNI trains to marshmallows.
This year’s first-place finisher, Colin Bennie, clocked in at 37:02. Bennie, also came in 1st place in 2023. The women’s first-place finisher was Julia Vasquez Giguere, crossing the finish line at 43:49. The Non-Binary first-place finisher, Cal Calamia, came in with a time of 44:27. All of the race results can be found online.
Colin Bennie crosses the finish line first overall, with a time of 37:02. | Photo: Cheryl L. Guerrero/Hoodline
Runners can already start registering for the 2025 race, which will be held on May 18, 2025.
Here are more photos from Sunday’s race:
Lego Men walk the route through the park.
The first Centipede Run Team crosses the finish line just a couple of minutes after the first-place finisher.
The Women on Wheels from Chico, CA (r-l Billie Kanter, Mary Ann Bachus, Lena Sprague, Becky Warren) wear handcrafted floral costumes for the race. They were missing one member, their bumble bee, who had to miss the race due to illness.
A T-Rex makes its way through Golden Gate Park on the race route.
(l-r) Mohamad Hasoon, from San Francisco, and Trenton Lovell, from Golden, CO, dressed as aristocrats for the day.
A participant has free sunblock applied as he enters the park.
Matty Jo, who operates Richmond Sound System, normally DJs in the park on the weekend and decided to play for the participants on race day. “Today is awesome,” he said, “It’s great to see people out and enjoying themselves, having a lot of fun. That’s what it’s all about.”
An alien and two dinosaurs walk into a park…
A participant sports a lampshade headdress during the race.
Alex Pittman, from SF, ran the race as McDonald’s Hamburglar and then circled back around and added a play ball pit to his costume as well a group of friends. Though it was his first time running the race, the group has been attending the race together for the last 8-9 years.
Participants dance their way through the park.
(l-r) Aastha Shah and Dejean T., both from Oakland, made their way through the park on the race route.
Troop Beverly Hills, all from San Francisco, raises their flag during the race.
Race participants make their way up Fell Street during the race.
A farmer and a fruit medley on the race route.
Marley the dog dons butterfly wings for the race.
