Park’s ‘weed run’ looks to change public image of pot smokers

To get ready for his big race in San Francisco Saturday, Chris Barnicle of Los Angeles strapped on his running shoes, pulled on his lightweight shorts and quietly sparked up a joint.

It wasn’t clear whether the marijuana helped his performance, or simply put him on the same level as the other couple hundred runners, but the 28-year-old crossed the finish line first in the 420 Games in Golden Gate Park.

“I threw up a lot. I’m finally able to take down water. I got a couple blisters, but I’m still pretty high, so I’m pretty good,” Barnicle said after collecting his prize, $500 worth of home-delivered medical marijuana.

It’s wasn’t a stereotypical crowd of stoners setting off at 8:30 a.m. near the de Young Museum for the 4.20-mile fun run. Rather, many participants were hard-core athletes, running hard and pouring sweat, doing their part to change the public’s perception of marijuana use while continuing a push to make recreational use legal in California.

With mainstream attitudes toward pot use slowly changing statewide, advocates have been working to put marijuana legalization on the 2016 ballot after California voters rejected the idea in 2010.

Since then, four states have made recreational pot legal, including Colorado and Washington, which voted in legal weed in 2012. Oregon and Alaska and the District of Columbia passed similar laws in November.

Photo: Loren Elliott, The Chronicle Runners ready themselves at the starting line for a "Four-Twenty...

‘Benefit to many people’

One person working Saturday to remove the stigma of marijuana use was 33-year-old Kyle Kingsbury, a retired mixed martial arts fighter, who battled for seven years in the UFC, and before that, played football for three years at Arizona State.

“Marijuana is truly a benefit to many people,” he said while standing with his wife, Natasha, and 4-month-old son, Bear, after the race. “Now that I’m retired, I can speak out about it.”

Kingsbury, who is 6 feet 4 and built of pure, hulking muscle, finished somewhere in the middle of the pack Saturday. But his focus wasn’t on crossing the finish line first, it was on spreading the word about what he sees as the medicinal benefits of cannabis.

Race winner Chris Barnicle of Los Angeles, Calif., catches his breath after crossing the finish line of a "Four-Twenty Games" fun run in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. The Four-Twenty Games aim to "destigmatize millions of responsible, positive cannabis users through athletic achievement." Barnicle stopped off in San Francisco to race during a marijuana-motivated road trip north to Humboldt County. less Race winner Chris Barnicle of Los Angeles, Calif., catches his breath after crossing the finish line of a "Four-Twenty Games" fun run in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. The Four-Twenty Games aim to ... more Photo: Loren Elliott, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Loren Elliott, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Park’s ‘weed run’ looks to change public image of pot smokers 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

“There is a lot of wear and tear playing football and fighting professionally,” he said. “But pain management is something everyone in the world has to deal with, not just me.”

Dominic Rea, 44, knows what Kingsbury is talking about. He uses marijuana to fight the pain from a broken right tibia and fibula that he snapped three weeks ago while roller skating. He showed up at Saturday’s race in a wheelchair.

“I would have run but I couldn’t. It just wasn’t going to work,” he said.

Instead, he was waiting for the beer garden to open, where Lagunitas provided two hours of postrace tasting for participants.

“My leg is starting to hurt and I can’t have cannabis here, so I got to tough it out - at least until I have a couple beers,” Rea said.

Photo: Loren Elliott, The Chronicle Volunteer Jess Kerr organizes a table of marijuana-themed goodies...

Pot-themed vendors

Though smoking grass was officially prohibited, weed-themed businesses set up booths around the bandstand between the de Young and the California Academy of Sciences, while reggae artist Pato Banton performed after the race.

Event organizers handed Barnicle an oversize check good for the medicinal weed as worn-out racers continued to trickle across the finish line.

But while the victory was sweet, Barnicle said he was running for his friend “Cowboy,” a former track and field teammate at the University of Arkansas who was locked up in Texas for having a half ounce of weed concentrate.

Barnicle wore a T-shirt with his friend’s face that read “Free Cowboy.”

“I’m running for him. I’m running for all of us,” he said.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky