Escape from Alcatraz (triathlon)

Escape from Alcatraz is the name for two different triathlons held in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the West Coast of the United States. The Escape from Alcatraz originated in 1981 as a private club event, beginning in San Francisco and ending in Marin County. The race split in 1983 with a separate commercial event open to the public, which is now held on a shorter course entirely within San Francisco. [ [http://www.alcatrazchallenge.us/about.html "About the Alcatraz Aquathlon & Swim"] , based on an article written by Katherine Vaz in the 1983 summer edition of "Triathlon Magazine," accessed April 11, 2007]

Original Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

The first Escape from Alcatraz was proposed by Joe Oakes after the 1979 Ironman. The race was held in June 1981, with members of the Dolphin Club testing the course, starting with a swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco, a bike ride to Mill Valley, and a Double Dipsea over Mount Tamalpais to Stinson Beach and back.

A close course compared to the original was the course used from 1990 Until 1993, which saw only two different winners on each of the professional sides of the competition.

That course was a swim from Alcatraz Island to Aquatic Park, a mile run to warm up to Fort Mason. Fort Mason bike ride along the great highway with a Sloat Avenue turn around point and a ride back down the great highway to the Golden Gate Bridge, riders would ride alongside on the sidewalk and then get off the bridge and ride down to Fort Baker. The run would take people though a total of sixteen different trails in the Presidio and finally make their way across Rodeo Beach. The runners on the run course would run up an 850 foot ascent up Wolf Ridge and head back down to the finish. Next to the Fort Baker Transition.

The winners on both sides were Mike Pigg 1990-1991 and 1993, and Greg Welch 1992, Welch held the record on that course with a time just over 2 hours and 54 minutes.

Terry Schneider-Egger won in 1990 with Paula Newby Frasier winning 1991-1993, she held that course record with a time around the 3 hour and 24 minute mark.

Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon (IMG)

The annual public Escape from Alcatraz takes place in early June. It consists of a one-and-a-half mile swim starting from Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, a half-mile run from the bay to the transition zone at Marina Green, an eighteen mile bike ride, and an eight-mile run. The run portion includes a notorious section called the "sand ladder" at mile five, a climb from Baker Beach back up to the road that is a combination of sand and 400 uneven log steps.

The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon was ranked as the number-one triathlon by "Inside Triathlon Magazine" for 2006.Fact|date=April 2007

Notes

External links

* [http://www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com/ Event Website]