San Francisco's Bay to Breakers brings back clever costumes, fun and lots of traffic

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The 113th running of the Bay to Breakers race kicked across the city Sunday. The "only in San Francisco" tradition did not disappoint when it came to crazy clever costumes and themes. But the ripple-effect traffic the event caused, caught many non-runners by surprise.

More than 20,000 registered runners funneled through the Financial District Sunday on the seven-mile trek to Ocean Beach. Bay to Breakers was off and running at 8 a.m.

True, it's about the grueling run uphill and down, but it's also about the fun and those 'Why didn't I think of it?' costumes.

From the Kool Aid man to Barbie.

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Down the racecourse, Vicky Carrillo was dressed as a box of wine.

"Wine, I guess, is the secret," Carrillo said.

Friends from Chico created a lovely bouquet of flowers.

"Last year, we were flowers with bumblebees and butterflies. Unfortunately, our bee couldn't make it because she's home with COVID," said Lena Sprague.

Trevor Mead brought the roar, dressed in a mechanical dinosaur suit.

"So proud to be with this guy his name is Doloresaurus. He wanders the Mission District. He goes to festivals. He's an icon," Mead said.

There were road closures for the race, taking many drivers by surprise. The Bay Bridge toll plaza was gridlock and, by midday, so was The Embarcadero.

"We're stuck, absolutely stuck. My map doesn't know what to do, keeps re-routing. We're late for a wedding shower," said Don and Deedee Meininger.

Traffic was moving by early afternoon. For the runners and walkers, it was a near perfect day.