Bay to Breakers is approaching, and the energy is already building. Longtime spectators are converting into actual participants, costumes are being assembled in apartments across the city, and people are putting out calls for running buddies like it's a dating app for cardio enthusiasts.

As one SF resident put it, they finally "bit the bullet" after years of volunteering and joining from the sidelines — costume ready, registration paid, looking for a fast-walking buddy to share the experience with. That's the spirit.

Here's the thing about Bay to Breakers that we love at The Dissent: it's one of the rare SF traditions that doesn't require a government grant, a community advisory board, or a three-year environmental review. It's just people — tens of thousands of them — organizing around a shared, gloriously weird experience. The city charges permit fees, sure, but the event largely runs on voluntary participation, personal responsibility, and the kind of organic community building that no municipal program could ever replicate.

No task force needed. No $4 million consulting contract. Just San Franciscans being San Franciscans.

Whether you're a serious runner gunning for a PR, a casual jogger in a salmon costume, or part of a centipede team held together by duct tape and questionable decisions, Bay to Breakers remains proof that this city still knows how to have fun without permission from City Hall.

So sign up. Dust off that costume. Find a buddy. And remember: the Hayes Street hill is real, it is steep, and it does not care about your feelings.

See you at the finish line — or at least somewhere around the Panhandle.