Running naked through the streets of San Francisco will be OK and not OK, according to the people in charge of the Bay to Breakers race.
You're not supposed to do it, said race organizers, wink-winking and nudge-nudging. But if you decide to do it on Sunday morning, there's not much anybody can do to stop you.
Every year, more and more people run the 7.5-mile race without clothes. Last year, there were more than 200 nude runners. Now, they even have their own Web site, logo, caps and souvenir pins.
This year, police say they will cite naked runners who do not clothe themselves once they cross the finish line at the west end of Golden Gate Park, but will not try to stop naked runners during the race.
Angela Fang, head of the foundation that organizes the race, says she was told by police that it is "not physically possible'' to cite nudists in motion.
"There's no way for police to run into the race and yank out the naked runners,'' she said Friday.
Race organizers were clearly of two minds about the whole thing. They want as many runners as they can get, at $40 a head. They do not want to offend paying customers, and they do not want to offend nervous Nellies, either.
Typically, naked runners carry clothes in a fanny pack or hide clothes in Golden Gate Park, and clothe themselves immediately after crossing the finish line.
"It's a family event, and we know people bring their children,'' Fang said. "But the Bay to Breakers means so much to so many people, and this is San Francisco. We don't want to change anything. We're torn.''
Some of the naked runners compete as members of Bare to Breakers. On their Web site (www.baretobreakers.com), they call themselves "outrageous and courageous'' and have their own souvenir pin, even though attaching the pin on race day could prove challenging.
Seeded runner Jackie Brooks, who will be racing at the front of the pack and is one of the favorites, says she doesn't mind if people run naked, as long as they finish behind her.
"To each his own,'' she said. "It doesn't bother me. It's sort of funny.''
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/15/BAG4G6LR5H19.DTL
You're not supposed to do it, said race organizers, wink-winking and nudge-nudging. But if you decide to do it on Sunday morning, there's not much anybody can do to stop you.
Every year, more and more people run the 7.5-mile race without clothes. Last year, there were more than 200 nude runners. Now, they even have their own Web site, logo, caps and souvenir pins.
This year, police say they will cite naked runners who do not clothe themselves once they cross the finish line at the west end of Golden Gate Park, but will not try to stop naked runners during the race.
Angela Fang, head of the foundation that organizes the race, says she was told by police that it is "not physically possible'' to cite nudists in motion.
"There's no way for police to run into the race and yank out the naked runners,'' she said Friday.
Race organizers were clearly of two minds about the whole thing. They want as many runners as they can get, at $40 a head. They do not want to offend paying customers, and they do not want to offend nervous Nellies, either.
Typically, naked runners carry clothes in a fanny pack or hide clothes in Golden Gate Park, and clothe themselves immediately after crossing the finish line.
"It's a family event, and we know people bring their children,'' Fang said. "But the Bay to Breakers means so much to so many people, and this is San Francisco. We don't want to change anything. We're torn.''
Some of the naked runners compete as members of Bare to Breakers. On their Web site (www.baretobreakers.com), they call themselves "outrageous and courageous'' and have their own souvenir pin, even though attaching the pin on race day could prove challenging.
Seeded runner Jackie Brooks, who will be racing at the front of the pack and is one of the favorites, says she doesn't mind if people run naked, as long as they finish behind her.
"To each his own,'' she said. "It doesn't bother me. It's sort of funny.''
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/15/BAG4G6LR5H19.DTL
