Escape from Alcatraz Course Preview

by Jay Prasuhn

June 09, 2009
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Sand ladder? The Hornblower? The Great Highway? Beyond the scenic, the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon course is one of the most unique among events around the world for its amazing variance of challenge.

It all starts with one of the most memorable swims in all of triathlon. The morning starts off with a point-to-point swim in San Francisco Bay. While the thought of a 1.5-mile swim is daunting enough; the water is crisp and cold, taking your breath away from the moment you jump from the edge of the Hornbower boat into the bay.

Like lemmings hurling off a cliff, 1,000 athletes jump off the side of a boat (all sufficiently full of anxiety built from the boat ride to the flanks of famed Alcatraz Island) in a span of six minutes.

Once in the water, sighting skill becomes a priority. With a slack tide (or even a potential dropping tide that can aid athletes on their swim speed across the bay), athletes make their way toward the shore exit, just south of Marina Green.

Once out of the bay, competitors then run about a mile further north to the transition area on Marina Green. Some athletes smartly opt to leave an extra pair of shoes in their swim-out special needs bag, so as to not have to run barefoot over pitted roads.

The 18-mile out-and-back bike leg is fairly technical, and fairly hilly with a few steep descents and hard cornering turns throughout the ride. Athletes warm up with a couple of flat miles along Crissy Field, climb through the Presidio, descend out of the area and finally ride towards the Great Highway and Golden Gate Park.

The loop through Golden Gate Park (the bike’s turnaround point) is a bit more open than the residential areas that precede it. But be careful; the roads can be fairly pitted, so athletes are advised to take care with bike handling and stay aware of surrounding athletes.

Legs will be sufficiently battered on the return to T2, as racers are forced to ascend the same hills they bombed down on the outbound. Competitors will appreciate the nearly two miles of flat along Crissy Field as they approach T2, as it makes for a perfect time to spin out the legs to ready for the run.

Like the bike, the eight-mile run provides nearly two miles of warm-up on the forgiving flats of Crissy Field to the foot of Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point before heading up a series of wood steps through the Presidio Headlands. If the vertical ascent doesn’t get to the racers, the off-camber trails along old military gunnery outposts will. Also, runners will have to stay alert, as they will be forced to duck heads as they pass through a tunnel under the Golden Gate Bridge,

Still heading for the run turnaround, athletes will enjoy a serpentine descent along coastal bluffs before turning off the main road to a service trail onto Baker Beach. Fighting for a patch of wet, packed sand will be difficult, but it will be a breeze for the real challenge to come.

After hitting the run turn and backtracking along the shoreline, athletes will reach the flanks of the dreaded sand ladder. A series of 400 wood planks act as barriers to prevent sand from simply sliding down the steep grade. It’s this ascent that has reduced top pros to walking and grabbing for the cable rails that line either side of the climb.

Once onto the bluffs, competitors return over the Presidio, recover their legs on the flats along Crissy, and come in for the big finish.

Check back in the next few days for continued pre-race coverage of the Escape From Alcatraz.