By Larry Ullrich

Each May, the annual Bay to Breakers 5k race is run through the skyscrapers of downtown San Francisco. Traditionally, over 200 people run nude, intermingled with the other 10,000 runners who traverse the city east to west, hence its name. Only those who run nude call the race "Bare to Breakers" for obvious reasons.

I arrived the day before to get a good night's rest and an early start to the assembly point. As I saw the thousands of people gathering and warming up, the realization really of what I was about to do really hit me: Wow, I was going to be naked in front of thousands and thousands of spectators lining the streets, in front of the police, and the rest of the world. This was well beyond the experience of a first-time nudist. I held the fear of being arrested, despite the assurances from those around me.

My adrenaline was running at its peak just before Bay to Breakers was about to begin. Having properly pre-registered at the on-line web site, I received a yellow hat from the nudist organizers. The hat read “Bare to Breakers.” Others were distributing other souvenirs to the thousands assembled: bead necklaces for the women and some helium balloons for the kids were the most popular. Just before the whistle blew to begin the 12k walk, whispers of what we were about to do leaked out to the crowd nearby. Then, without a signal, the Bare to Breakers group removed their clothes within seconds, and began their walk/run/trot to the Pacific on the other side of the city.

I can only describe the moment of revelation as “shock and awe.” Mouths dropped, and wide smiles began, not just from the participants but from the spectators, now 6-deep lining both sides of the street. A group of college-age girls, walking alongside of us, wanted to take our picture. We did, standing as a group, arm-in-arm. Others continually pulled us aside as if we were celebrities. By now my girlfriend, Donna, had removed her top after seeing the response and energy of the crowd. Nobody objected to the nudity at all.

Race organizers said that there were over 70,000 registered for the event. The Bare to Breakers said they had about 225 participants. But, in truth, there were unregistered people in the race as bystanders got caught up in the moment and joined the march to the sea, if only for a few city blocks.

People from all over the world had come to see the event, and both sides of the street were packed for the full seven miles, people hanging out of windows, balconies, staircases and even trees. Many people wore costumes. Every few blocks a band was playing on the sidewalk, and their catchy tunes had us dancing our way along. We met a pair of young New Yorkers who requested to take their pictures with us, as they claimed nothing like this every went on back in their home town.

As the race continued, the nudist group began separating and spreading out as some began walking (and jogging) faster than the others. After awhile, Donna and I found ourselves to be the only unclothed participants among the vast crowd around us. This caused us to be the focus of much of the attention as we walked, as hundreds of cameras were trained now on us as we walked.

Donna was so charged up and appeared to be feeding off the crowd’s energy. I passed many people who looked shy when they first saw we were nude, but I distributed a lot of beads to the crowd as I walked, and as I did, these embarrassed people almost always relaxed and gave me a smile. We made a brief stop for pictures as we passed through Haight-Ashbury, and I was immediately transported back to 1967 and the Summer of Love. The area really had not changed since those legendary Hippie days, and I felt I was reliving history for a moment.

We finished the course in a couple of hours, but the euphoria, that Donna and I felt has yet to subside. What an experience! I have been on many an expensive vacations, yet for so little money I don’t think I could have had more fun in my entire life.

Frankly, a month later, Donna and I still cannot stop talking about the experience and we are already planning for next year.