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The 98th running of what is now called the ING Bay to Breakers (I have to admit I was used to "The San Francisco Examiner Bay To Breakers" because the name "San Francisco" was in it) kicks off tomorrow (Sunday, May 17th) and for the first time, I'm not running it; I'm covering it. It's a weird feeling but a totally new experience. As media you get to attend a very cool press conference, as I did on Friday at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. You also get to talk to the main celebrity runners and the race organizers and sponsors. You also get a lot of great food and drink. But back to the race itself.
I've ran 19th of these events - yes, 19 straight times with my best time 1:04.30 - so I feel qualified to talk about how crazy the day is. In fact, the day's gotten so out of hand in the recent past, that earlier this year ING's race organizers tried to put a break on some activities by floating the policy of a ban on beer, floats, and nudity. That decision set in motion a large online protest movement, which after a period of heated exchanges with the race organizers, agreed to a new set of policies.
(But before I show them, I've got to say I think there should be a ban on people who have no business shedding their closthes, going nude! Hey, if we're serious about physical fitness, let's start with the Bay to Breakers: if you're a hardbody you can go naked, otherwise don't even think about it!)
The Major New Policies:
1 - If you've got a can of beer or a bottle of wine on the race course, or your really toasted, or both, you may get tossed into the whoskow. Fascinating! Let's see the SFPD enforce that one this year! There's not enough police to corral the thousands of drinkers blowing off team from losing their jobs and some of them may be former cops too. Still, it's policy.
2 - Floats must be registered and at the start line at a designated place.
3 - Start line has a "corral" system so if you're a slow runner, you go in one area; fast runners another.
So folks, you can take your clothes off, and considering how hot it is, there's gonna be a lot of that. But please if you're not in great shape, keep your clothes on and bring a fan with a block of ice!
The Serious B2B Race
A serious race battle starts just before the craziness that is the Bay to Breakers, and in attendance at the press conference Friday were returning men’s winner John Korir (Kenya). Bay Area and Northern California runners are James Nielsen (Palo Alto), Peter Gilmore (San Mateo), Brad Poore (Davis) and Midori Sperandeo (Folsom).
But this year the race features 2004 Olympic Gold Metalist, Deena Kastor in the position, as the race PR specialists wrote "to bring the race title back into the hands of an American since 1993." Kastor takes on the defending women's champion Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya.I talked with both runners at the press event.
While Deena's an Olympic Champion, she lacks the course experience Chepkurui has and frankly, the Bay to Breakers course (called Bay to Breakers because it goes from Downtown San Francisco near the San Francisco "Bay", to the west side of the City and The Great Highway next to the Pacific Ocean, or the "breakers") is not only challenging, featuring the Hayes Street Hill, which is a one-mile incline, to the occasional human walking into the race course and the bands playing along the way. How Deena deals with all of that will be the key to her performance. She told me she mapped out the course and went along it earlier in the week, but there's something about race day and all that human energy that one can't simulate.
Kenya v. America (Again)
I also talked to 21-year old Lineth Chepkurui, who's hails from Kenya and is just plain ready. She's quiet, really kind of shy, but possesses a great smile and energy. I asked her why Kenya specifically and Africa in general has such a great record of winning Bay to Breakers races, "We have a lot of athletes who train", she explains, and went on to explain that running is for all practical purposes a way of life there.
For the men, the competition is "intra-Africa" with the Kenyans versus the Ethopians where 2008 Bay to Breakers champion John Korir and 2005 and 2006 winner Gilbert Okari - both from Kenya - are the favorites to win but will be challenged by Sammy Kitwara.
I'm looking forward to my video trip and watching the race from the press truck. I've ran the Bay to Breakers fast, slow, walked it, and seen bands and rolling bars, but I've never seen it from the media perspective. I'm excited.
Bay to Breakers on Twitter
If you want to follow the Bay to Breakers on Twitter, you can do so at:
http://twitter.com/INGB2Breakers. It's also on television: ABC TV, Channel 7 at 7:45 AM.
The Elite Runners (list courtesy of Edelman PR):
FEMALE
Bib # Name
1 Lineth Chepkurui (Lih-neth Chep-kuh-ruh-ee)
Kenya
21 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 1st 2008
2009: 1st Cherry Blossom 10 Mile; 1st Crescent City Classic 10K; 1st Kenyan Army
Championships; 4th World Cross Country Championships; 1st Bloomsday 12K
2008: 1st Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, 1st Bloomsday, 6th World’s Best 10K; 4th National
Championships Cross Country
Road Personal Bests: 10K 32:07; 10 mile, 53:21; Half Marathon 70:09
Highlights: Defending ING Bay to Breakers 12K Champion; fastest 10 mile run in the world for
2009
3 Deena Kastor
United States (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.)
36 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Bupa Great Edinburgh; 1st Shamrock Shuffle 8K
2008: Olympic Trials Champion, Marathon; 1st National Championship 15K; 3rd NYC 10K
Road Personal Bests: 5K 14:54 (former World Record); 10K 31:44; 15K 47:15 (American
Record); Half Marathon 1:07:34 (American Record); Marathon 2:19:36 (American
Record)
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 14:51.62; 10,000m 30:50.32 (former American Record)
Highlights: 2004 Olympic Bronze Medal (Marathon); 2002 World Cross Country Silver Medal;
2003 World Cross Country Silver Medal; winner of Chicago and London Marathons; holds eight
American Records, one World Record, winner of 20 National Titles
4 Edna Kiplagat (Kip-lah-gaht)
Kenya
29 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 1st 2007
2008: Maternity leave
2007: 1st Bloomsday 12K; 1st BAA Half Marathon; 1st Virginia Beach Half Marathon; 1st
Bolder Boulder 10K; 1st Bellin Run 10K
Road Personal Bests: 5K 15:37; 10K 32:02; Half Marathon 1:09:32
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 15:57.3; 10,000m 33:27.0
Highlights: First woman to win the ING Battle to the Breakers bonus; 1998 World Junior Bronze
Medal (3,000m); 1996 World Junior Silver Medal (3,000m); married to Gilbert Koech
5 Jane Kibii (Kih-BEE)
Kenya
24 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 3rd 2008
2009: 1st Carlsbad Half Marathon; 5th Crescent City Classic 10K; 5th Carlsbad 5,000m; 9th
Bloomsday
2008: 1st Woody Wilson 5K, 1st Davis Twilight 5K, 2nd Carlsbad Half Marathon, 3rd
Newport Beach Half Marathon
Road Personal Bests: 10K 32:23; Half Marathon 1:12:26
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 16:15.67
Highlights: Strong finish at 2008 ING Bay to Breakers 12K to grab 3rd; lives and trains in Davis,
Calif.
6 Mariya Konovalova (Mah-ree-yah Koh-noh-vah-loh-vah)
Russia
34 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Moscow Indoor 3,000m; 4th Indoor National Championships (3,000m); 2nd
Galan Indoor 5,000m
2008: 5th Beijing Olympics 10,000m; 4th BUPA Half Marathon; 2nd & 3rd National
Championships (10,000m & 5,000m)
Road Personal Bests: 1:10:58 Half Marathon
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 14:38.09; 10,000m 30:35.84
Highlights: 5th Beijing Olympics 10,000m; fastest 10,000m personal best in the field; 2006
European Cross Country Silver Medal
8 Liliya Shobukhova (Lil-leeh-yah Show-boo-koh-vah)
Russia
31 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 3rd London Marathon; 6th Bloomsday
2008: 6th Beijing Olympics 5,000m; 1st National Championship 5,000m; 1st New Balance
Games Mile; 1st ING Philadelphia Distance Run
Road Personal Best: 1:10:21 Half Marathon
Track Personal Bests: 8:27.86 indoor 3,000m (former World Record); 14:23.75 5,000m
(European Record)
Highlights: 6th Beijing Olympics 5,000m; 2006 World Indoor Silver Medalist (3,000m) and World
Outdoor Silver Medal (5,000m); fastest 5,000m time in the field; one World Record, two
European Records
9 Kiyoko Shimahara (Key-yoh-koh Shim-ah-har-ah)
Japan
32 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Osaka Half Marathon; 6th Tokyo Marathon
2008: 1st Honolulu Marathon; 3rd Chicago Marathon
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 15:54; 10,000m 32:54
Road Personal Bests: Half Marathon 70:16; Marathon 2:26:14
Highlights: 6th place at the 2007 World Championships (Marathon); won the 2008 Honolulu
Marathon
10 Meskerem Legesse (Mehs-kehr-em Leh-geh-see)
Ethiopia
22 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 3rd Carlsbad Half Marathon; 7th Cooper River Bridge 10K
2008: 5th NYC Fifth Ave Mile; 3rd Healthy Kidney 10K; 13th San Jose 5K
Road Personal Bests: 5K 15:45; 10K 33:59; Half Marathon 1:15:51
Highlights: 2004 Olympian; World Junior Record holder indoor 800m (2:01.03); three-time
National Champion
11 Tania Fischer
United States (Santa Monica, Calif.)
43 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 2008, 2007 1st Masters
2008: 4th United States National Cross Country Masters Championships; 4th Jim Bush
5,000m
2007: 5th Santa Monica 5K; 10th Pacific Association Championships
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 15:44; 3,000m 9:03
Highlights: Coaches track and teaches art at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, Calif.;
two-time Swiss National 5,000m Champion
12 Michelle Simonaitis (Sih-moh-nih-tis)
United States (Draper, Utah)
43 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 21st 2005
2009: 3rd Master National 15K Championships
Road Personal Bests: 10K 35:06; 15K 55:20; Marathon 2:40
Highlights: World Championship Marathon Team member 2001
13 Midori Sperandeo (Mih-doh-ree Sper-ahn-deh-oh)
United States (Folsom, Calif.)
43 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 2nd Valentine’s Day 4 Mile
2008: 1st Run to Feed the Hungry 5K; 1st Cowtown Half Marathon; 8th California
International Marathon
Road Personal Bests: 10K 34:52; Half Marathon 1:18; Marathon 2:41
Highlights: Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier 2000, 2004, 2008; 1st in 2008 Southern California
5K Road Race Championships
14 Teyba Naser (Teh-bah Nah-ser)
Ethiopia
19 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 2nd Cooper River Bridge 10K; 3rd Cherry Blossom 10 Mile; 4th Azalea Trail Run; 8th
Crescent City Classic 10K
Road Personal Bests: 5K 15:35; 10K 32:38 Half Marathon 1:13:38
Highlights: Improved 14 places in Cherry Blossom race from 2008; very consistent in 2009
15 Teyba Erkesso (Teh-bah Ehr-keh-soh)
Ethiopia
26 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Houston Marathon; 2nd Bloomsday; 9th Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon
Road Personal Bests: 10K 31:33; 10 mile 51:44; Half Marathon 1:09:37; Marathon
2:24:18
Highlights: World Cross Country Bronze Medal 2004 (4K); Houston Marathon course record
holder
16 Katie McGregor
United States (St. Louis Park, Minn.)
31 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 2nd National Championship 15K; 2nd Brutus Hamilton (Berkeley) 10,000m; 4th
Carlsbad 5,000m
2008: 2nd National Championship 8K, 10 mile, and 15K
Road Personal Bests: 10K 32:17; Half Marathon 1:12:01; Marathon 2:31:14
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 15:22.60; 10,000 31:21.20
Highlights: 2007 National Champion 25K; 2005 National Champion 10,000m; 2005 and 2006
National Champion 10K (road); member of nine U.S. National Teams.
17 Emily Bates
United States (Salt Lake City, Utah)
32 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: Has run on elite centipede teams
2009: 1st Moab Half Marathon
2008: Pacific Association short road race series champion
Road Personal Bests: 10K 37:03; Half Marathon 1:22:06
Highlights: Invited to participate in the Greatest Race on Earth marathon series in Nairobi,
Kenya, in 2007.
18 Jodi Suter
United States (Spokane, Wash.)
37 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Spokane area finisher in Bloomsday 12K
Highlights: Won a spot in ING Bay to Breakers 12K field by finishing first among Spokane, Wash.,
residents in 2009 Bloomsday 12K
MALE
Bib # Name
21 John Korir (Kohr-reer) – Defending ING Bay to Breakers 12K Champion
Kenya
33 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 1st 2008; 1st 2007
2009: 10th World’s Best 10K
2008: 3rd Bloomsday, 5th Bolder Boulder 10K; 7th Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, 10th World’s
Best 10K
2007: 1st ING Bay to Breakers 12K, 1st Bloomsday, 1st Steamboat 4 Mile, 3rd Puerto Rico
10K
Road Personal Bests: 10K 27:47; Half Marathon 60:47
Highlights: 23 road racing wins since 2000, 2003, 2005; Road Runner of the Year from Running
Times
23 John Yuda (Yooh-duh)
Tanzania
29 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 3rd 2008; 5th, 2007
2009: 1st Bloomsday
2008: 6th Bloomsday; 4th Bolder Boulder 10K; 5th Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
Road Personal Bests: 10K 28:37; Half Marathon 1:00:39
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 13:03.62; 10,000m 27:06.17
Highlights: Fastest 5,000m, 10,000m, in the field; two-time World Half Marathon Bronze
Medalist (2001, 2002); 2002 World Cross Country Silver Medal
24 Sammy Kitwara (Kit-wah-rah)
Kenya
22 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st World’s Best 10K; 1st Fortis Half Marathon; 2nd Kenyan Police Championships
2008: 1st L’Hu Half Marathon; 1st Rabat Half Marathon; 1st Dam to Dam 10 Mile; 1st
Utrect 10K; 1st Paris 20K
Road Personal Bests: 10K 27:26; 10 mile 45:17; Half Marathon 59:45
Highlights: Beat the great Haile Gebrselassie at Fortis Half Marathon, 2009 Fastest 15K in world
and 2nd fastest 10K in the world; brilliant 2008 season concluding with a number two world
ranking at 10 miles (45:17)
26 Feyisa Lelisa (Feh-yee-sah Leh-lee-sah)
Ethiopia
19 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 2nd Cherry Blossom 10 Mile; 2nd Crescent City Classic 10K; 12th World Cross
Country Championships
2008: 1st Lugano 5,000m; 1st Rovereto 10K; 3rd World Half Marathon Championships; 1st
Agadir Half Marathon
Road Personal Bests: 10K 27:38; 10 mile 45:58; Half Marathon 1:02:26
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 13:34.80; 10,000m 27:46.97
Highlights: Strong showing in first two races in United States (both 2nd place); great cross
country strength
MALE:
27 Gilbert Okari (Oh-kar-eh)
Kenya
30 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 1st 2006; 1st 2005
2009: 4th Bloomsday; 7th Fortis Half Marathon; 18th World’s Best 10K
2008: 1st San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon; 2nd BAA Half Marathon; 12th Bloomsday
12K
Road Personal Bests: 5K 13:38; 10K 27:28
Highlights: Undefeated in 2006; back to serious racing after battling an injury in 2007
28 Tilahun Regassa (Til-ah-hoon Reh-gah-sah)
Ethiopia
19 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Ukrop 10K; 1st Cooper River Bridge 10K; 8th World’s Best 10K
2008: 2nd Metropole 5,000m; 2nd Tanger 5,000m; 1st Lille Half Marathon; 4th New Delhi
Half Marathon
Road Personal Bests: 10K 28:21; Half Marathon 59:36
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 13:12.40; 10,000m 27:23.60
Highlights: Brilliant blend of speed and strength; fastest Half Marathon in field
29 Josh Moen
United States (Readlyn, Iowa)
27 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 1st Edison 5K, 14th National Championship 15K
2008: 3rd National Championship 10K; 8th National Championship 8K; 14th Peachtree 10K
Road: 15K 44:34; 1:04:37 Half Marathon
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 13:34, 10,000m 28:31
Highlights: Member of three U.S. National Teams; five-time College National Champion
(Wartburg)
30 Gilbert Koech (Koh-ech)
Kenya
28 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2008: 4th Dresden Marathon
Road Personal Best: 10K 27:32; Half Marathon 1:02:05; Marathon 2:19:09
Highlights: Married to Edna Kiplagat; back to racing after taking most of 2008 off
31 Linus Maiyo (Mih-yoh)
Kenya
26 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 6th 2007
2009: 4th Azalea 10K; 6th Cooper River Bridge 10K; 12th World’s Best 10K
2008: 5th World’s Best 10K; 6th Azalea 10K; 6th Cooper River Bridge 10K; 9th Healthy
Kidney 10K
Road Personal Bests: 10K 27:36; Half Marathon 1:02:40; Marathon 2:12:53
Highlights: Veteran of ING Bay to Breakers 12K course; runs in part so he can eat more
chocolate
32 Justin Young
United States (Boulder, CO)
29 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 8th National Championship (Half Marathon); 23rd Tokyo Marathon
2008: 1st AFC Half Marathon; 6th Himeji Castle 10 Mile (Japan); 13th Rotterdam Marathon
Road Personal Bests: 10K 29:01; Half Marathon 1:03:35; Marathon 2:13:54
Highlights: Invited by Japanese officials to compete at both Himeji Castle 10 Mile and Toyko
Marathon - rare for an American
33 James Nielsen
United States (Palo Alto, Calif.)
29 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: 13th 2006; 14th 2004; 11th 2003; competed four times
as a child
2009: 3rd Napa Valley Marathon
2007: 1st Eugene Marathon; 50th Olympic Trials Marathon
Road Personal Bests: Marathon 2:21:01
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 14:13; 10,000m 29:52.97
Highlights: Eugene Marathon Champion; two-time NCAA Div III Champion at 5,000m; Kona
Ironman Finisher; earned PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford
34 Mike Sayenko (Say-ehn-koh)
United States (Bellevue, Wash.)
24 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2009: 12th National Championship (3,000m); 12th National Half Marathon
Championships; 2nd Stanford Invite 10,000m
2008: 5th National Marathon Championships; 8th National Mountain Running
Championships
Road Personal Bests: Half Marathon 63:52; Marathon 2:18:36
Track Personal Bests: 5,000m 13:49.78; 10,000m 28:25.85
Highlights: Has shown great improvement in last two years and is a great hill runner
37 Brad Poore
United States (Davis, Calif.)
30 years old
ING Bay to Breakers 12K History: None
2008: 7th Austin Marathon; 2008 Olympic Trials Qualifier
2007: Injured (malaria)
Road Personal Bests: 5K 14:39; Half Marathon 1:07:06; Marathon 2:21:51;
Highlights: 3rd Humbolt Half Marathon 2006; dual citizenship with Great Britain – represented
Great Britain at Austin Marathon
