Bay 2 Breakers Centipede

Bay 2 Breakers is a HUGE (50k+ people), partying, 12k race from the Bay Bridge to the ocean, East to West, across San Francisco. Every year my running team fields at least 2 centipede teams. Each consists of 13 runners tied together by our super-secret-patented-speed tie system and 2 floating runners in case someone has a bad day or trips over a salmon-runner or gets hit by a rogue flying tortilla. Only one 3-block steep hill slows the runners at about 2.5 miles and the rest of the race is mostly downhill to the coast.

I've wanted to be a part of the women's centipede since I started with the Aggies in late 2004. It took 6 years of running, injury, time-off, self-coaching and finally hiring a coach to get my first chance, and it was definitely an experience. I'm not a fan of the 5-9 mile race distance yet, and wanted to see if this 12k would inch me toward liking it. Here's how it went:

I was hooked into the middle of the centipede, and was so glad I wasn't a floater! When the countdown clock hit 00:00, we were really close to the start, all lined up in a long column, so our front runner (wearing the antennae!) was about 3 rows back and I was about 6-10. We started out at 6:30 and I thought I may be able to keep up, but it was going to be hard. Some crazy was running back to the start in the first half mile and collided with us. A young naked guy ran past a little later. Tortillas were flying. Red Coats fired party-popper rifles. The hill caused my belt to squeeze me because the 'peders in front and behind me were too far away. At mile 4, I thought, "We are over halfway there!" And then I thought, "And the distance left is more than most of my running races!" A little after that marker, the ladies sped up and I was pulled for the rest of the race. We finished together! And finished first in the women's centipede division.

I had a lot of people encouraging me the whole way and making sure I stayed hooked in, and without them I likely would have bailed. I'm so happy I didn't. It was hard and a blast and I was sore for over a week.

But, I still am not keen on that race distance.