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| You won't find me running with guys in pink gorilla suits this May 19th (photo credit here) |
Can you tell I'm tired of answering questions from well meaning non-runners asking "Are you running Bay to Breakers?". Like many runners, I avoid this race like the plague. Now I must admit never having run Bay to Breakers myself. But everything I've heard indicates it's a huge mob of San Francisco-style exhibitionism and excess with some running thrown in for good measure. No thank you.
Let me be clear, I'm not against the Bay to Breakers. It's just not for me. If you're doing Bay to Breakers, knock yourself out. You'll probably have a much better time without old school curmudgeons like me around, anyway.
Lots of runners like to run races to, you know, like actually run. There's a liberation in going out and running free from the chaos of urban life. There's a sense of accomplishment in preparing for the challenge and testing yourself on race day. Many runners have no interest missing out on these experiences stuck in a mob behind a bunch of drunken streakers. And smaller races like Miles for Migraines also contain a certain familiarity and camaraderie mega-races like Bay to Breakers simply can't capture.
So instead of Bay to Breakers, I'll be running an actual race that weekend. Have fun without me!
As a fellow runner, I will defend the B2B. There is a 25K purse, usually won by a Kenyan. Corral A is serious runners, and they finish the race before the costumes even start! Alcohol was acutally banned in 2011 (however, joggers with Camelbacks are still numerous.) The majority of folks out there are runners, and the party is in the Panhandle after most of the runners are done. Yes, there are runners in cosumes and tutus, but, hey, this is a fun run! I am leading a running club in the B2B this year and for some of these runners it is their first large race. (And us Salmons run the race 2x, there and back again, making it a 15 mile run. Salmons are a tradition of this race.)
ReplyDeleteOh, and this year the B2B is May 19th - so you could run BOTH races this weekend!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank Eleanore. I'll stick with my original plans.
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