But because this is San Francisco, we apparently can't have nice things without a bureaucratic subplot.

This year brought heightened enforcement efforts around unregistered runners — or, as the rest of us call them, people walking down a public street in costume having a good time. The reasoning isn't totally unreasonable: last year, unregistered participants reportedly snagged medals and shirts meant for people who actually paid. Fair enough. But as one local put it, "What incentive does SFMTA have to enforce paid runners only in Bay to Breakers? If this were true, we should all be upset the city is spending public funds to protect the interests of a private event organizer."

That's the real question, isn't it? Bay to Breakers registration isn't cheap, and the race is run by a private company. So why are city resources — your tax dollars, your transit cops — being deployed to play bouncer for a for-profit event? Another SF resident summed up the enforcement prospects pretty succinctly: "They won't be able to stop the number of people that do this. What a waste of manpower."

Look, protect the medals and the shirts. Put wristbands on paid runners. Fine. But Bay to Breakers has always been far more city-wide party than serious athletic competition, and trying to fence off public streets to squeeze out the fun is exactly the kind of joyless overreach San Francisco has become famous for.

One resident captured the spirit perfectly after spotting someone in a homemade Trogdor the Burninator costume: "You guys are why this event and city feel special."

Exactly. The costumes, the chaos, the weirdness — that's not a problem to be managed. That's the whole point. Spend the enforcement budget on something that actually needs it. We've got a few suggestions.