Running in the 100th Bay to Breakers? There Are Many Options to Get There!

Caltrain will expand its weekend service to help Peninsula and South Bay runners reach the starting line at the 100th Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco.

BART trains will also run early and often Sunday to help East Bay and Peninsula runners get to and from the race.

The race begins at Howard and Spear streets in San Francisco at 7 a.m Sunday, an hour earlier than in previous years.

For those taking public transit from the Peninsula and the South Bay, Caltrain will make 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 leave from the Santa Clara Station this year due to construction work.

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 run trains starting 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.