Bay To Breakers - A Quirky Race Where Anything Goes

Over 60,000 people participated in the 97th annual "Bay to Breakers" race held in San Francisco, California on Sunday. This quirky footrace attracts a whole spectrum of runners from the very serious to those who just want to have fun.

While the serious runners start early and are done in less than an hour, the fun-seekers take all day to complete the approximately 7.5 mile distance.

They come dressed as angels, superheroes and even doughnuts. Others come wearing just a pair of shoes. Some walk while others come wheeled in grocery carts. Nothing is too wild or wacky for this race! Along the way they toss tortillas - a fun tradition started a few years ago or band together in teams of 13 or more and run the "centipede" race.

In the midst of all this mayhem, the actual winners of this race are almost forgotten! This year the men's race was won by John Kori who completed the race in 34 minutes and 24 seconds, earning himself a cool $34,000 U.S. Dollars. The women's winner, Lineth Chepkurui was not far behind, completing the distance in 39 minutes and 22 seconds, for a prize of $7,000 U.S. Dollars. Both runners are from Kenya, East Africa.

The Bay to Breakers race, started to cheer up the residents following the 1906 earthquake, is part of a revered San Francisco tradition today.

Sources: SFgate.com, Wikipedia.org