Alcatraz 2011

 Brian Kelly raced the Alcatraz Triathlon earlier this year. It is widely regarded as one of the epic races on the triathlon calendar and a race that every triathlete dreams of racing in.

Read on for his full race report.

I thought I might never do it. I may never get the opportunity again. This report is about what happens when you roll some dice just to see what might happen.

At the beginning of June the Escape from Alcatraz tri took place in San Francisco which Eamonn Rogers and myself made the trip to (him from his base in Phoenix, me from D13). There was a definite "you’re a bit far from club HQ" moment on first meeting as neither of us knew the other was in it! We got over it and an Irish flag spotlit a place to meet for a bit of banter afterwards. 

The story begins on a paddle steamer – a large one rocking side to side. Its tilting just enough to shift your perception and lets you know that this isn’t the normal start to any race that you’ve ever been in before. Packed to the gunnels with athletes its quiet until the engines rev for the first time and then the atmosphere sizzles, electrified with shouts and hollers. Whoo Whoo hooo hooo hooo!!!! The one way tickets to Alcatraz are about to be punched. "The Escape" is on and we’re in it. By some freak of good fortune. Chances have a tendency to arrive unexpectedly – grab them whilst you can.

The occasional body has been known to be found floating in the bay near the Island. None dressed in suits that make you resemble a stranded seal though. The sharks bag those. Alcatrazes myths are varied. You might know them: how no one ever escaped from it when it operated as a jail, how the frigid water will chill your bones before you make it to shore, how the raging currents will sweep you away, da de da… Did Scotty "Machine Gun" Barker have a good 50 free time? I ask ya.

Breaking myths is an attractive inducement to enter. What really sells it is this. To participate in this race is to stake a claim to a small piece of history … and not in a commemorative sense. You’re given the chance to rewrite it! You get to do what most people think can’t be done. You get to swim from Alcatraz and at the end you get to say "I escaped". That is, if you do.

The atmosphere is special over the whole weekend and people travel from all across the States to it. A communal sense of "the island looks very far away" helps it build. The race briefing brought that home to me because as I stood there I started (for the first and last time ever at a race briefing) to get this sudden tingling in my fingers. That was adrenalin kicking in and realisation striking that yep this was really on. The girl standing beside me had started to cry.

The pressure cooker atmosphere was not a problem… but if you want to give me a big big hug the next time you see me… you go right ahead! 😉 (Hold back on the fancy cheek kissing unless you’re French and go by the name of Juliotte).

The race is: Swim 2.5K, Bike 29K, Run 12K. Its basically a turbo charged Olypmic on hilly terrain. If you love long flat bike courses… the likelihood is you will be having a hard day. If you love hills and a nice long paddle this is the place for you.

To prepare I made a concerted effort to actually do most of the swim sessions I had mapped out. The extended distance was a slight concern and I wanted to be relaxed about it. I also set myself the following tasks in the days and hours preceding the race:
1. Taper – by visiting a local winery in the Napa valley. I recommend it!
2. Work on the Alcatraz karma – I (might have/allegedly) broke every redlight on Stockton Street as I biked down to the race at 5.30am on Sunday morning. Needed a criminal record to have the law on my back as I busted out. Karma baby. Karma. This isn’t a triathlon race its a jail break. 🙂
3. Look for gels. More on that later.

The race.

Swim. Bike. Run.

Actually. Swim. Run. Bike. Run.

The swim starts from the boat and 2000 people offload within 6 minutes. There were two tiers and I was on the upper deck with what appeared to be 2 gates from which we could disembark. With a neat step, and a double back flip pirouette I exited – via a 15ft drop to hit the water. We’d been told not to torpedo in (i.e legs together) as it took longer for you to come back up which delayed the next swimmer getting in. Jump in doing scissor splits like a scuba diver. First to the edge of the boat, first in the water. The race is on when you hit the water. Go!! Go!!!

Yeah – go if you can. Conscious that this could be a once in a lifetime paddle I swam steadily but nothing near race pace for the first ten. The single thought in my head actually after jumping in was "I’m here!". And what happens when you arrive somewhere? Well you want to stop for a minute and go… yes I have actually arrived. This is a problem at the beginning of a race.

Swim sub 35 minutes was the goal at the outset and that was accomplished but it wasn’t a super fast swim. I rolled onto my back to look disconsolately back toward the Rock at one point. Doing my tourist bit. The Golden Gate bridge looms large on your right hand side with every breath. Scenic but damn hard to put the blinkers on and race for the same reason.

As you may have guessed, a current helped to pull us in. Sighting shifted with time to account for it. Every 10 minutes shift to a different landmark. I’ve a tendency to go to the left in open water which suited this course. Eamonn overshot on his paddle a little due to the currents along with quite a few others. The bay in front of you is a slick of swim caps and its an act of faith to know which way to paddle.

I reached shore in race mode, looking forward to the bike leg for a change (hills!) and focused on pushing hard for the rest of the race. The first run was between water exit and bike transition. Estimated at a mile at race briefing we had been advised to leave a second set of shoes here. Little placards grouped race numbers (and shoes) in the 200s indicating where your runners were located. I couldn’t find my placard. When I did find it I couldn’t find my shoes!! We had no view of this area prior to race start. My heart rate had almost hit resting level at this point. I made it to the bike eventually but not a happy bunny.

Bike – very hilly and technical. Tri-bars can be used but only occasionally as control and line are needed on the continual descents that appear and re-appear on the horizon. Anyone schooled on the Wicklow hills should be at ease. The bike went great for me as I love hills. I copped a bit of air time on the crest of one I was going so fast, just like McQueen in Bullet (Would I make that up?). Run – this was composed of trail running for stretches with no space to pass. Definitely worth getting out early if you can. The run was brilliant fun with the varied terrain (beach, mountain running, road hills, road flats) – its like a condensed adventure race inside a tri (except no canoes). Unbelievable. Definite highlight. Gel fueling was a problem. The preceding few days had been a quest for non-concentrated gels and North America doesn’t stock them. That equated to no gels and a bit of "digging in" at the end. I handled it though… (please see earlier statement re: hugs).

To conclude: I won a lottery to get in… I may need to win another lottery before I even think about doing it again. The atmosphere on the boat, on the course, at the finish was exuberant and positive and makes this race. What underpins it I think is a mindset thing. You won’t hear those Irish platitudes of "Well done" and "Keep going". What you will hear is "Keep it strong", "Push it harder", "Push it to the max" mannnn!!. Competition and performance are dual virtues that Americans extoll above all else. Its no wonder they do so well at so many things. Those two values are really championed by them in a very vocal way and they apply to EVERY aspect of EVERYTHING.  It wasn’t until after this race that I properly understood the extent to which that is true. Downsides were evident in respect to it in lots of other ways on the trip and theres a debate to be had if the balance they have is the right one but definitely in sporting terms, if you’re willing to give it a lash they pull behind you. I was surprised. I’d say even a little impressed.

This is a great race in a great city. Entry (by lottery) opens September.

I escaped. So did Eamonn.

Thanks to the following:
Elena / Jack – for the swim advice and sets.
Bike and Roll – for bike rental and service.