Organizers ban alcohol to control rowdiness in famously bawdy San Francisco foot race
By Trevor Hunnicutt, APWednesday, July 7, 2010
San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers is getting sober
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco’s Bay to Breakers footrace is famous for its lack of rules, but organizers say there’s one that racers will have to follow next year.
Organizers of the bawdy annual run through the city announced Wednesday that they’re banning booze next year and challenging the estimated 92,000 people who descend upon the 7½-mile course to do so sober.
The race, marking its centennial next May, draws serious runners as well as drunken revelers in risque outfits — or no outfits at all.
Run spokesman Sam Singer says organizers are ending the tradition of drinking after fielding complaints from neighbors, losing a corporate sponsor and transporting 30 intoxicated participants to the hospital this year.
