Welcome to my annual recap from Bay to Breakers, held in a fabulous place that I’m proud to call my home town: San Francisco. San Francisco’s Zappos.com Bay to Breakers is the oldest consecutively run annual footrace in the world, a staple to the City by the Bay since May 1912. With a starting point near the San Francisco Bay, a few blocks from The Embarcadero, the 12K race runs west through the city and finishes at the Great Highway where breakers crash onto the Pacific Coast’s Ocean Beach. A quintessential San Francisco experience for 103 years, the race is interwoven into the fabric of the city and is a true reflection and celebration of life between the breakers and the Bay.
There are always so many fantastic individual and couple costumes but this year my favorites were the group costumes, including a Flintstone-esque cop car, the Elvis guys and Jurassic Park -The Ride.
The 7-mile trek through the city feels like one big party and I’m always a little sad to see it end. Each year, this event makes me fall in love with San Francisco all over again. I usually consider wearing a costume but running gear wins out, year after year. This year I wore the best pair of compression tights I’ve ever worn, thanks to Australian brand 2XU.
Founded and based in Melbourne, Australia; the 2XU philosophy is to create products which will advance human performance for the elite athlete and also weekend warriors, like me. These fabulous tights were created from prototype yarns that were designed to move with the body and balance out the zones and to improve athlete performance before, during and after activity through improved circulation, muscle containment and reduced muscle vibration. In addition to all that awesomeness; they’re super comfy, flattering and cute. 4 out of 5 Elvis impersonators agree! Check out the 2XU site HERE for more info and styles.
Hayes Street hill is always a highlight of Bay to Breakers. This is the most challenging portion of the race and also the most fun, thanks to the residents who play music, throw Mardi Gras necklaces, sell lemonade and cookies and just generally make it a blast to get up and over that steep hill.
One of my most treasured rituals each time I visit home, and especially after Bay to Breakers, is to visit the best bar in the entire city (I may be biased), cultural landmark and the first bar to introduce Irish Coffee to the US: The Buena Vista:
Located at Powell & Hyde Street Cable Car’s last stop in Fisherman’s Wharf, The Buena Vista is an absolute must when visiting San Francisco. To see previous years of Bay to Breakers madness, check out my recaps: 2013, and 2014.
