Since 1994, these costumed racers have run against the stream.
) has put its quirky identity into question, but there’s still a strong contingent of participants keeping the original spirit of the event — and today, they’ll be wearing salmon suits.SFGate / Douglas Zimmerman
Although never as extreme as the Suicide Club , the Cacophony Society’s street theater antics and absurd traditions are the stuff of legend, with some of their most notable ideas like SantaCon and Burning Man turning into worldwide phenomena. Cacophony Society member Rob Schmitt was part of the team that conceived the first salmon run.
The informal group meets at the top of the Hayes Street hill near Alamo Square Park to hand out costumes, then casually jogs against the crowd, stopping at bars along the way. The most ambitious fish eventually end up at the race starting line, where they lay down on the ground in a pile to simulate spawning. Although the whole schtick is a simple gag, it blew people away the first year.
The original salmon suits were made for $9 each using off-the-roll outdoor carpet from Home Depot and spray paint. The costumes extend high above the wearer’s head, so that incoming runners can see them above the crowd.
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