Caltrain will expand its weekend service to help South Bay and Peninsula runners reach the starting line at the 101st Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12K race in San Francisco.
The race begins at Howard and Spear streets in San Francisco at 7 a.m. Sunday, May 20 an hour earlier than in previous years but the same time as last year.
Caltrain will make special early trips so participants can arrive by the start time. However, those in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin are out of luck for taking public transit the whole way, since Caltrain only offers weekday commute services in South County.
The closest operating station to Gilroy is in San Jose. South County residents' best bet is to drive to the station and travel to San Francisco from there.
A special B train will leave the San Jose Diridon station at 5:20 a.m., and a special D train also will leave at 5:30 a.m. from the San Jose Diridon station located at 65 Cahill St. in San Jose.
A special A train will depart the Palo Alto Caltrain Station at 5:30 a.m. and express to San Francisco, arriving by 6:08 a.m., and a special C train will depart the Santa Clara station at 5:30 a.m.
Authorities have encouraged participants to arrive early to make sure they have a ticket to board the trains. For the first year, Caltrain is offering one-way tickets and day passes for pre-sale at all station ticket vending machines.
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., 2:10 p.m., and 3:10 p.m.
Caltrain also will be live tweeting the morning of the event, with information available on Twitter @Caltrain_News or on the Caltrain website news page.
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