May 17, 2009 7:40 pm US/Pacific
Bay To Breakers Still Wild: Kenyan Gets Record Win
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS / BCN) ―
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The starting line for Bay To Breakers.
Cindy Chew/ING Bay To Breakers
The 98th annual San Francisco footrace and roving street party known as Bay To Breakers was run Sunday, and it appeared to have been a little more peaceful than years past.
But while there were fewer alcohol-packed floats and more of an effort to contain bad behavior, the event still walked on the wild side.
Unusually warm weather may have slowed down the rowdiness a bit -- but not the race. The winner, 22-year-old Sammy Kitwara of Kenya, set a new course record with a first-place finish time of 33 minutes, 31 seconds.
That easily topped the race's previous record time of 33 minutes, 42 seconds that was set in 1993 by fellow Kenyan Ismael Kirui, according to race organizers.
As many as 65,000 runners were estimated to have made the run starting at 8 a.m. from downtown San Francisco to Ocean Beach, some with racy costumes and occasional nudity.
Police reported some incidents of public urination near the start line and it seemed that beer was everywhere despite a ban on alcohol that was announced by the event's planners.
Five people were arrested for being drunk in public in connection with the race, San Francisco police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said.
"The race was much, much calmer, but still a lot of fun," Tomioka said.
It's the huge wacky crowd that drive runners like Tania Fischer of Santa Monica, a winner in the 40 and over competition last year.
"It's just like this party atmosphere," Fisher said on Sunday. "It changes your attitude and that's what keeps me going."
Runner Brooks Geiken agreed.
"This race is kind of a freeform, free-flowing nutcase race and that's the way I like it and that's the way I've always run it," he explained.
For many participants, they were more intent on having fun than winning the race.
Some contestants had been worried when organizers announced in February that there would be a zero-tolerance policy on alcohol, floats and nudity. It was later lifted.
In response to the announcement initially, the Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers made a petition that attracted about 25,000 signatures and vowed not to register if planners did not lift the bans.
After a couple weeks of meetings with community groups, Mayor Gavin Newsom's office and the Police Department, the bans were lifted but organizers still cracked down on other restrictions.
Police, for instance, announced they would have no tolerance for glass bottles, kegs and open containers.
The race Web site,
http://www.ingbaytobreakers.com, has complete results of this year's competition.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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