When we lived on Fell Street in San Francisco, one of the most awesome events in the city, Bay to Breakers, went right by our front door. It’s a 12 km (7.456 mile) race/jog/walk/stumble that starts at the Bay (near the Ferry Building area) and goes through downtown, Civic Center, Hayes Valley, Alamo Square, The Panhandle, and Golden Gate Park to the finish line at the beach where the Breakers roll in and hit the shore.

The first Bay to Breakers race was in 1912. After the devastating 1906 earthquake, city officials thought such a race would be a good way to lift San Franciscans’ spirits. They were also counting on it to drum up excitement for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Some years, registration topped 50,000 and spectators numbered more than 100,000. People from all over the world come to party. It is a citywide party weekend. That’s why some people are too drunk to start the race, and many are too drunk to finish. Actually, many do not intend to finish; some just stop at Alamo Square to party there, some attend or crash a house party along the way, and many more stop in Golden Gate Park.

Employer-sponsored teams, serious participants, parents with strollers, middle-aged and senior participants are more intent on finishing and getting their medals. Through their costumes and banners, people express what’s important to them; LGBTQ rights, Mother Earth, unicorns, superheroes, you name it. People get really creative and fun. The men’s category winner in 2019 was Gabriel Geay from Tanzania who finished at 35:01. In the women’s category, Caroline Rotich from Kenya finished at 39:28.

For Kenric and me during the last few years we lived there (except for 2017 because the house was mostly empty by then), it was Cousins’ Weekend. His sister from San Diego, his cousin and his cousin’s wife from San Luis Obispo, and another cousin from LA would come late on Friday and leave mid-afternoon on Sunday. Bay to Breakers takes place on a Sunday in May.

During the race, I would be busy taking photos, he would be busy cooking and topping up our cups, and the others would be on the front steps making sure no one pees in the alcove that’s hidden from view of others. The “cousins” would also politely, sometimes firmly, tell intoxicated people that they had just passed many Porta Potties (potable toilets) at the end of the block.

Two houses down, our neighbors who on other days are fully dressed grace us with all their glory and jewels each year. So do many race participants; everything goes when it comes to clothing. One house further, a local radio personality has his DJ stand every year. He’s a really cool guy. His music, his friends and fans make that spot a compulsory stop along the route, especially after the city closed off Alamo Square to prevent damage to the grass, and the people were forced to pass by our street to make it to Golden Gate Park.

Public urination, drunkenness, sexual crimes, injuries, and deaths, including someone falling off a roof at a house party, and someone drowning at the beach, contributed to tighter and tighter rules. Gone are the big and creative floats that might have taken months to construct being pushed down the street. The San Francisco Police Department started to strictly enforce the no-alcohol rule throughout the event, and once the clock strikes the official end time – turn off the music and get off the street.

When the city’s super efficient cleanup crew was done, the Cousins’ Weekend was drawing to a close. Over those few years, the event became a lot tamer, but it was still very fun. None of us had a costume, but we did have customized T-shirts. We even had a new member; cute, chubby cheeks and no hair. Kenric and I miss and cherish those Cousins’ Weekends.

On Monday morning, somebody still suffering a major hangover would knock on the door asking if they had left their phone there. “No, you have never been inside this house. Good luck.”

Some of the things I mentioned above are the extremes. For those who know how to party responsibly, Bay to Breakers is a fun and quintessential San Franciscan event.

This year, the 109th Bay to Breakers has been postponed to September 20th. The video I shared below was filmed on our street in 2014. I sobbed uncontrollably watching it the other day. Seeing how happy and friendly people were, how strangers posed for photos, hugged, danced, kissed, and played broke my heart. It may be a very long time before people can connect with such joy and abandon again; it may be never.

Stay safe, San Francisco. Millions left their hearts with you.

I hope you enjoy the video (better with sound on!):