Question:
I understand there are two Alcatraz
triathlons -- the "Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon" that seems to garner
most of the attention, which is held memorial day weekend, and a plain
ol' "Alcatraz Triathlon" that is held in June. What's the difference. Is
one better than the other?
Answer:> Another Alcatraz question: I understand there are two Alcatraz
> triathlons -- the "Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon" that seems to
garner
> most of the attention, which is held memorial day weekend, and a plain
> ol' "Alcatraz Triathlon" that is held in June.
Those are the scheduled dates for this year; that doesn't necessarily
hold every year.
> What's the difference.
Well, one is on Memorial Day . . . (sorry - I suffer from CSD;
Compulsory Smartass Disease)
> Is
> one better than the other?
That's a matter of opinion. At one time, I would have said that the Tri-
California event (the one w/ all the press, which this year was
sponsored by an anti-fungal agent, and in previous years by 24Hr
Singles Bar, er, I mean 24hr Fitness) was the 'Escape from Pier 39',
due to a history of not starting their swim near 'The Rock'. However,
CLM will pummel me fiercely if I make that assertion (and she's a
kickboxer, so I'm wary) so instead I'll attempt to give a brief history
- TriBaby usually does this every year about this time, but I'll let
her just correct me where I'm wrong.
so several years back, there was only one 'Escape From Alcatraz'
race, put on by Envirosports. Race grew, acquired media coverage, and
thru some legal screwing, the company producing the race for television
in cooperation w/ Envirosports acquired the rights to the 'Escape from
Alcatraz' name. Henceforth, said production company found somebody else
to run the race for them (Tri-California) and there have been two
Alcatraz triathlons - the Envirosports one and the 'Escape From
Alcatraz'.
I believe the consensus is that the old Envirosports course was more
challenging than either of the current courses, but the two courses are
currently about the same in difficulty. Tide conditions in The Bay make
it difficult to actually start the swim at 'The Rock', and so sometimes
the swim for one of these events starts the same distance from shore,
but nowhere near Alcatraz. Either race is a good challenge, and one of
these days I plan to do one of them. Maybe. If I ever learn to swim.
