The San Francisco Citizen

Well, it appears this will be how B2b 2008 will be remembered:

“It’s often called the world’s longest party, but this year’s Bay to Breakers race through San Francisco was anything but fun for the residents, cops and public workers who bore the brunt of the drunken young “runners” who staggered around Golden Gate Park and the city’s west side, relieving themselves wherever it proved convenient.”

Imagine that!

Turkeybot ably captured a fine moment:

The Golden Gate Park Panhandle had far more than ten portajohns set up and waiting to go the night before the big race. But, Matier & Ross report that there were only ten there on the big day. Mmmm, how did that happen?

Speaking of the Panhandle, the half million dollar bathroom in the Panhandle was closed and surrounded by yellow police tape while racers were passing by during the early part of the day. Why was that?

This might have been the only place in Golden Gate park where people weren’t urinating. That’s all part of the Good, Bad, and Ugly of the longtime footrace. Most people had fun though, purported MUNI Meltdown or no.

See you next year!

You already know about the Good of B2B 2008. A good time was had by all.

But what about the Bad? Muni didn’t appear to be working very well north of Golden Gate Park in the afternoon following the big race. It wasn’t like all the buses were packed with people, it was like there didn’t seem to be any buses around at all throughout the Richmond. Must be tough to get drivers working on a Sunday.

And finally, the Ugly. Garbage everywhere, and more so than usual. Check the Flickr to see Drunken Douchebags Trash the Panhandle. Reopening Fell Street was such a chore that the DPW’s Mohammad Nuru called the cops to get some help.

Heading back uphill to the acme of the race course in Golden Gate Park (which is no where near Hayes Street Hill, the purported highest point on the race route): 

The cold dawn of day reveals a lot of trash still out there on the Streets of San Francisco. Maybe the people from Dutch financial institution and B2B sponsor ING could come down from their aerodynamic house and lend a hand with the cleanup? Just asking.

Hopefully, things will go more smoothly next year. Speaking of which… 

See you next year!

[The Panhandle is much cleaner now around 11:00 AM Monday morning. Yay.]

John Kipsang Korir won the in Men’s Elite category, as well as overall, in today’s Bay to Breakers footrace. 

Lineth Chepkurui won in the Women’s Elite category.

It can be tough for foreign nationals to compete in marathons and other running competitions in these United States, due to visa hassles and unfair prize schemes designed to favor Americans. But San Francisco’s oldest run is still wide open to all. Good.

The Autodesk team manged to win second place in the centipede category, despite a few distractions:  

See more wacky photos.

Complete results.

See you next year!

Here’s what they want you to believe: the route of the Bay to Breakers footrace is all downhill after topping the Hayes Street Hill. From the website:

ING Bay to Breakers is a 12K (7.46 miles) course. From sea level at the Embarcadero the course rises steeply along Hayes Street Hill. Around the 2.5-mile mark runners climb an 11.15% grade between Fillmore and Steiner, bringing them to the highest point in the race, approximately 215 feet above sea level. The remainder of the course gradually flows downhill alongside the Panhandle and through Golden Gate Park.

But that’s simply not true. Take a look at this elevation profile. See? After dipping down a bit the course continues to rise and reaches its highest point in Golden Gate Park. So there’s a reason why it feels you’re going uphill after conquering the Hayes Street Hill - you are going uphill.

Thousands of runners are in Golden Gate Park today preparing for tomorrow’s race. Going to the west uphill in the Panhandle:

Why does the mainstream media repeat a falsehood year after year? Laziness, mostly.

But check for yourself, if you want. Mike did last year and came to this conclusion:

According to the Garmin GPS I was using, the highest point is indeed in GG Park, not the top of Hayes Street Hill.

So plan your racing strategy accordingly.

Have fun tomorrow!