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.