Bay to Breakers 2020: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures and Event Details

San Francisco's Bay to Breakers road race began in 1912 as a way to unify the city after a devastating earthquake hit the city in 1906—and more than a century later, the event will go on amid the coronavirus pandemic.

After being postponed until September before being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 109th edition of the race will be held virtually, with runners instructed to log the 12-kilometer distance (nearly 7.5 miles) within a 12-day period. Registrants will receive a hoodie, race shirt, medal and bib number shipped to their door, and sign-ups for the race are still open with a $49 price tag.

Typically, prizes are awarded to top finishers in each age group and overall, but there will be no awards this year, which means the Bay to Breakers race is all about fun and tradition. Racers are still encouraged to dress up in costumes, as is customary, with past competitors assuming the identity of emojis, grapes, and even the Golden Gate Bridge.

Here's everything to know about this unique version of Bay to Breakers.

Route

Typically, the race begins at the intersection of Howard and Main St. in northeast San Francisco, continues through downtown and Golden Gate Park to the finish line on Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean. A map of the traditional course can be found on the Bay to Breakers website.

This year, with the race being completed anywhere in the contiguous United States, the race website recommends plotting a course "that will surprise the most neighbors."

Times

The beauty of this year's Bay to Breakers? The 7.5-mile distance can be completed anywhere in the contiguous United States and at any point over the 12-day race period, which runs from Sept. 20 at 8 a.m. PST to Oct. 2 at 8 a.m. PST. Feel like running five miles Sunday, a quarter-mile Tuesday, and finishing up Oct. 1? Go for it.

To earn a Bay to Breakers participation pack, racers will need to track their distance and time using a fitness watch, stopwatch or app on their phone, such as Strava, Under Armour, Google Fit or Apple Health, and upload their results in one go.

Road Closures

The race usually results in road closures across downtown San Francisco from as early as 7 p.m. PST the night before. This year, with no official route, locals should practice the usual caution of watching out for costumed runners over the next few days.

More Info

The weather looks clear in San Francisco over the next few weeks, with no rain in the forecast and temperatures in the high-60s and low-70s, per AccuWeather. However, Mike Nicco of ABC 7 reports that air quality throughout the Bay Area will drop over the weekend as wildfire smoke returns to the region after a few clearer days.

In 2019, Gabriel Geay of Tanzania was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 35 minutes, 1 second. In the women's division, Kenyan distance runner Caroline Rotich was the champion with her time of 39 minutes, 28 seconds.