Weed advocates hold 4.20-mile race in San Francisco — sort of

Hank Frost of San Francisco participates in the keg carry and run competition at the 420 Games. Hank Frost of San Francisco participates in the keg carry and run competition at the 420 Games. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Weed advocates hold 4.20-mile race in San Francisco — sort of 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Cannabis consumers and joggers — staples of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park — came together Saturday to show the world the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Marijuana enthusiasts arrived in droves at the park’s bandshell to reject the stoner stigma and run what originally was supposed to be a 4.2-mile course, an homage to the celebratory date and time of cannabis use. The race, however, was considerably shortened to about 2 miles just before the start time at the request of park officials.

For backers of Proposition 64, a November ballot measure that would make recreational marijuana use legal for people 21 and older, the race was a chance to disprove what they view as misconceptions about the medicinal plant — like the notion that cannabis users are unmotivated to move beyond their couches.

The event, billed as family-friendly and bookended by yoga sessions, prohibited smoking, but that didn’t stop many runners from lighting up before and after, either at home or in other discreet locations.

“I use cannabis on a daily — hourly? — basis,” said Avery Collins, 24, a professional ultramarathoner and winner of Saturday’s 420 Games. “Running high is awesome. It’s pure joy.”

Before the race, Collins, a Colorado resident, said he munched on some potato chip edibles and toked once or twice.

A few weeks ago, he ran 112 miles in Colorado’s San Juan mountain range, which took about 34 hours. Saturday’s race took him about 9 minutes, but no one was quite keeping track.

The women’s first-place runner, 28-year-old Kate Modzelewski of Fairfield, also wasn’t exactly sure when she got to the finish line, but thought it was around the 12-minute mark.

The runners — many of whom were completely sober — extolled the physical and mental benefits of marijuana. Modzelewski, who had vaped before running, said the drug helps her focus and, in general, keep depression and anxiety at bay.

Aaron Flynn, who served as a Marine sergeant before founding a cannabis cultivation company, said a gummy with 5 milligrams of weed before the race was the perfect amount to relax his muscles and prerace jitters.

Tyler Baker, 22, a cafe manager in San Francisco, said it’s particularly helpful for relieving aches and pains that follow intense workouts.

“It’s just clarity,” said Baker, who was among the first finishers, sporting a joint behind his ear. “I don’t have to listen to music. I can just listen to things around me.”

Baker said getting a medical marijuana card was life-changing, and he hopes that Prop. 64 passes so that people like his grandmother would be willing to try cannabis without as intense a stigma surrounding it.

“Your brain is a house, and it puts a new room in your mind to sort things out,” he said, explaining how weed treated his fatigue and depression.

Much like the industry at large, many at the 420 Games were split on Prop. 64. The event’s founder, Jim McAlpine, said parts of the proposed law are flawed, but he’ll still be casting a “yes” vote.

McAlpine, who’s opening the world’s first cannabis gym and health center later this year in the Mission District with former NFL player Ricky Williams, said Saturday’s race was about changing the minds of “nonbelievers.”

“Whether I’m lifting weights, swimming, mountain biking, skiing, (marijuana) gives me an extra degree of focus,” he said. “My reactions are quicker, and I have a flow state, if you will.”

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov