200,000 Feet to Toe the Line in S.F. Race
- Share via
SAN FRANCISCO — About 200,000 feet, their owners dressed in all sorts of outlandish garb, will challenge San Francisco’s steep hills today in the “Bay to Breakers 1988,” the world’s biggest footrace.
The race was inaugurated 77 years ago to bolster the city’s morale after the devastating 1906 earthquake. It has grown larger and more bizarre each year.
Race organizers said they expect about 100,000 runners this year, some of them serious entrants like Kenyan Ibrahim Hussein, winner of the last New York City and Boston marathons, and Australian Lisa Martin, victor in the 1988 Osaka International Ladies Marathon.
But most of the runners will not be competing seriously. They will be out for a good time, starting on the bay side of the city in costume, running through the business district to finish on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
At least 10% of the runners are expected to be in costumes.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
