Participating in the 100th Bay to Breakers? Here Are Options to Get There!

With record-breaking crowds expected at the 100th Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco, you really don't want to drive—or find a parking space in time for the starting gun. Do you? 

Fortunately, public transit is helping out. 

Caltrain will expand its weekend service to help Peninsula and South Bay runners to help Peninsua and East Bay runners get to and from the downtown starting line.

BART trains will be running at 5 a.m.—early and often Sunday to help runners get downtown.

For those taking public transit from the Peninsula and the South Bay, Caltrain will be making special early trips so that participants can arrive by the 7 a.m. start time.

• A train will leave from the Mountain View Caltrain Station at 5:10 a.m., and depart express to San Francisco Caltrain station, arriving at 6:08 a.m.
• The other three trains will depart from the San Jose Diridon Station and arrive in San Francisco by 6:40 a.m. The B Train will depart at 5:20 a.m. the C Train at 5:25 a.m. and the D Train at 5:30 a.m.
• No trains will be leaving from the Santa Clara Station this year, due to construction work being done. Authorities have encouraged participants to arrive early to make sure they have a ticket to board the trains.
• The San Francisco Caltrain Station is about 1.4 miles from the starting line at the Embarcadero. Riders can take the Muni T-Third light-rail line directly to the race, officials say.
• To return after the race, two express trains will leave San Francisco for San Carlos at 1:10 p.m. and 2:10 p.m.

BART will begin running trains at 5 a.m. Sunday. All East Bay stations will be open.  The Millbrae and Daly City stations will also be operating early.

• Those stations will open 20 minutes before the first trains depart to allow patrons to buy tickets.
• Before 8 a.m., trains are scheduled to arrive every 20 minutes. Those early trains will also have extra cars.
• BART officials said the best stations for runners to use are the Embarcadero and Montgomery Street stops in downtown San Francisco. Both are a few blocks from the Bay to Breakers starting line.
• BART officials warn runners that shoes and proper attire are required on trains. In other words, you may have to wear more than your costume on the trains.

Those in Santa Cruz County are out of luck for taking public transit the whole way, as no buses leave early enough to connect to the San Jose Diridon Station early-bird Caltrains. Their best bet is to drive to the station.

For those still thinking about driving, just know that San Francisco parking tickets are pretty hefty...and so are the towing company fees if you manage to park in a towaway zone (towing and administration fees start at $385 and the meter starts running at 2 a.m. on additional storage fees).  Just in case, here's what to do if you are towed. 

Los Altos Patch Editor L.A. Chung contributed to this report.