Anything Goes at Bay to Breakers
The Bay to Breakers 12K race is billed as a celebration of San Francisco’s spirit. While Boston is revered for its famed marathon, New Orleans is always party ready with Mardi Gras and Pamplona is known for the running of the bulls, San Francisco has its own unique event that is known around the world. This 99 year-old road race was named after the original 7.2 mile course that takes runners from the northeast “bay” area of downtown to the “breakers” of ocean beach.
Each year, this running event draws more than 65,000 participants from the area and all over the country, plus another 100,000 spectators. From elite runners to joggers and walkers to those who consider the event a good excuse to dress up costume, this is one very memorable event. In fact a good deal of the masses show up wearing all types of crazy outfits that would put most folks best Halloween costumes to shame.
The event draws some of the biggest running names to race the challenging and beautiful course to world-class finish times. But more spectacular than the competition is seeing the costumes and “lack of” costumes run by. Yes, not only do runners don all sorts of unusual costume ideas for the run, but some also run in the nude! Yes, this is one of the only major road races that turns the proverbial cheek to jogging along naked.
From body painted runners to those literally only wearing running shoes, there is plenty of skin on display at this race. For runners that like to cover up a bit more, there are plenty of guys wearing tutus or superhero capes and women dressed up in all types of silly or sexy costumes. Teams of friends and family often show up in coordinating costumes such as the cast of characters from a popular movie or television show. Really anything goes for costume ideas!
Crazy Costumes Keep Austin’s Cap10k Weird
Austin, Texas prides itself on not being normal; in fact, the town’s unofficial slogan is “Keep Austin Weird”. With hundreds of live music venues, outdoor festivals and eclectic events, there may be none more super-sized and strangely memorable than the annual Statesman Capitol 10,000 a 6.2 mile fun run through the heart of the city. As a rite of spring for the silly and the serious alike, this event showcases the freedom of individual expression that has made Austin so unique.
The next running of this "largest 10k in Texas" is tomorrow and 8,000 chip-timed runners along with thousands more fun runners and walkers are expected. Of course, there will be the speedy elite runners up at the front, but what makes the race even more fun to watch is the sea of regular Joes and Janes running in waves of crazy costumes. From larger-than-life armadillos and running Elvis’ to homemade renditions of the free-tail bats that so popularly live under the Congress Avenue Bridge, every type of outrageous costume imaginable will be spotted jogging down the streets.
In fact, local grocer HEB sponsors a costume contest to encourage folks to dress up with their best costume ideas. Zany headgear qualifies a runner entry into the Mad Hatter category; forget about visors and baseball caps and head out into the stratosphere with balloon sculptured toppers and way-beyond-basic bonnets. The Best HEB Dressed category encourages runners to dress up as the beloved store mascot, HEBuddy, or their favorite store-branded product, perhaps a big bottle of hot sauce or a juicy beef brisket. Finally for the tree-huggers (and there are plenty in Austin) there is a group category that looks for entries reflecting the green initiatives of the store and Austin in general.
When looking for costume ideas for running there are several factors to consider. The first is chaffing, because there literally isn’t anything worse than being “rubbed the wrong way” when running. Check out where the fabric of the costume meets the friction points on your body, especially the thighs, upper arms and chest. A layer of protective clothing in between or some good, old petroleum jelly should fix any problems. The heat is another factor to consider when choosing a costume for running; avoid overheating by wearing loose, lightweight fabrics and avoid face-paints that can drip down and sting the eyes.
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