The Banana Chase is a family-friendly 5k/10k race that starts at Kezar Stadium and loops around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. As far as runs in the city go, it isn’t that special; most of the others (Bay to Breakers, Bridge to Bridge) have some oceanside views, or some tradition to make it unique (costumes in Bay to Breakers).
What the Banana Chase has going for it is a gimmick: the race organizers have people dressed up in banana costumes running the course; the promise to the runners is that each banana passed is worth a chance at winning prizes.
The gimmicky implication (to my imagination, anyway) is that runners are tackling big yellow banana costumes along the course, scalping them to collect trophies, and turning them in at the finish line for raffle tickets.
In reality, I suspect each banana maintains a pre-determined pace such that the organizers only need to look at a runner’s finish time to determine how many bananas were “passed”.
This was also an attempt to get back in to running shape. My last run was the Vineyards in Carneros 5k, where I ran 5k at a pace of 8:53. Today I ran the 10k to get my money’s worth (5k and 10k entry fees were the same), and finished the 10k at an even more-leisurely pace of 10:09 (includes two bathroom breaks).
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