Runners completing the third leg of the 2022 Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon.
Escape from Alcatraz is the name for two different triathlons held in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. 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 an aquathlon (having dropped the biking section of a traditional triathlon) held on a shorter course entirely within San Francisco.[1] However, a new public triathlon, also known by the name Escape from Alcatraz, is now run by IMG.
The first Escape from Alcatraz was proposed by Joe Oakes after he participated in the 1979 Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. The first Escape from Alcatraz race was held two years later in June 1981, with members of the Dolphin Club testing the course. The course started with a swim from Alcatraz Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay to the city of San Francisco, a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Mill Valley in Marin County, and an out-and-back running course over Mount Tamalpais to Stinson Beach and back. The running course followed the course of the Dipsea foot race, but by making it an out-and-back run rather than a one-way course, became known as a Double Dipsea. The course has remained the same over the years and celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2015. Participants are limited to members of the Dolphin Club and The South End Club. The Dolphin Club is the host and sponsor of the event.[2]
Athletes on a beach section of the running part of the triathlon.Athletes on the cycling part of the triathlon.
The annual public Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, organized by IMG, now takes place in early June. The current course consists of a one-and-a-half-mile (2.4km) swim starting near Alcatraz Island, a one-half-mile (0.80km) run from the bay to the transition zone at Marina Green, an eighteen-mile (29km) bike ride, and an eight-mile (13km) 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 about 400 uneven log steps. The event had about 1700 participants in 2009. Entry is by Lottery process for most of the slots and the remainder is through qualification, which done through a good rank in the previous Escape from Alcatraz, or in four other triathlon races held during the preceding year.
While entry is via lottery, they give preference to previous entrants.
The one exception to the June timeframe was when the Americas Cup sailing event came to the Bay Area. The resulting shift to March resulted in colder than normal conditions (swim) and more challenging tides than the normal date. The impact of this was a 3 fold increase in swimmers 'rescued' from the water, many more than normal were pulled out and transported to shallow water. They were allowed to continue the event and receive medals for finishing.
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς, 'three', and ἆθλος, 'competition'.
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
The Wildflower Triathlon was a triathlon held at Lake San Antonio in Central California from 1983 to 2019, the first winner being Dean "The Machine" Harper. It was held the first weekend in May each year.
World Triathlon, previously known as the International Triathlon Union (ITU), is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. It is recognised as the international federation for the sport of triathlon and its derivatives by the International Olympic Committee, and it organises Olympic triathlon events on behalf of the IOC.
An aquathlon is a multisport race consisting of continuous run and swim elements. Competitors complete a swim immediately followed by a run over various distances. Athletes compete for fastest overall course completion, including the time transitioning between the disciplines.
The Dipsea Race is a trail running event in California, United States. It is the oldest cross-country trail running event and one of the oldest foot races of any kind in the United States. The 7.5 mile (12 km) long Dipsea Race has been held annually almost every year since November 19, 1905, starting in Mill Valley, and finishing at Stinson Beach, in Marin County. Since 1983, the race has been held on the second Sunday in June. The Dipsea celebrated its 111th running on Sunday, June 12, 2022.
Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics, except when it is part of multi-sport events, which are governed by the World Triathlon.
South End Rowing Club is an athletic club and social club in San Francisco, California.
Walt Stack was a hod carrier by trade and an icon of the San Francisco, California running community. Stack ran approximately 62,000 miles (100,000 km) in his lifetime. Even in his 70s and 80s, Stack ran many more marathons and 50-mile (80 km) ultramarathons than all but a few of his running peers. Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement that debuted on July 1, 1988, when he was still running at 80 years of age.
An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments is half the distance of that segment in an Ironman Triathlon. The Ironman 70.3 series culminates each year with a World Championship competition, for which competitors qualify during the 70.3 series in the 12 months prior to the championship race. In addition to the World Championship race, Ironman 70.3 championship competitions are also held for the European, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America regions.
Biathle is a sub-sport of modern pentathlon invented to create opportunities for training the run and swim parts of pentathlon in real race conditions. It is a sport in its own right. It bears close resemblance to aquathlon which also contains swimming and running but comes from triathlon sport.
Ultraman is a three-day, 515 km multisport race modelled on the one held annually on the Big Island of Hawaii which is now called the Ultraman World Championship. "Ultraman" is a branding for events affiliated with the Hawaii original. Each race is divided into three stages over three days: The first is a 6.2-mile (10-km) ocean swim from Kailua Bay to Keauhou Bay, followed by a 90-mile (145-km) cross-country bike ride, with vertical climbs that total 6,000 feet. Stage two is a 171.4-mile (276-km) bike ride from Volcanoes National Park to Kohala Village Inn in Hawi, with total vertical climbs of 4,000 feet. Stage three is a 52.4-mile (84-km) double-marathon, which starts at Hawi and finishes on the beach at the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area. Each stage must be completed within 12 hours or less. The swim portion of stage one must be completed in 5.5 hours or less. Competitors who do not reach the finish lines within the time limits are disqualified, but encouraged to continue racing each day as participants.
The London Triathlon is an annual triathlon event in London, England. Until 2015 it was the largest triathlon in the world. It is the only triathlon to take place in central London following the relocation of the International Triathlon Union London event to Leeds.
The World Triathlon Aquathlon Championships is a aquathlon championship competition organised by World Triathlon. The competition has been held annually since 1998. The championships is a continually timed race containing a swim stage and either one or two run stages. Typically, the race consists of run—swim—run segments. When the water is less 22 degrees Celsius, a wetsuit is required and the race starts with the swim stage, followed by a single run stage, so that participants do not have to put on a wetsuit mid race. The total run distance is around 5 km and the swim is between 750m and 1 km. However the distances have varied during the event's history depending on local circumstances.
The Ironman World Championship is a triathlon held annually in Hawaii, United States from 1978 to 2022, with no race in 2020 and an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification races held throughout the world. From 2023, the Men's and Women's Ironman World Championships were separated with one at Kona and the other hosted at another venue.
The Beijing International Triathlon is a world-class, Olympic distance triathlon in the Fengtai District of Beijing. The race features a 1.5 km swim in the picturesque Qing Long Lake, a challenging 40 km bike race from the Park to Qian Ling Mountain and back, and finally a fast 10 km run through the beautiful trails and pathways of Qing Long Lake Park.
The Beijing International Triathlon is the newest international event to be added to the Escape TO Alcatraz Triathlon Series. The top 50 finishers across all divisions will qualify for an entry into the next year's Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, CA.
The Embrunman is a long distance triathlon held on August 15 each year around Embrun in the Hautes-Alpes, France. It is an equivalent triathlon consisting of a swim of 3.8 km, a 186 km cycle ride and running a marathon (42.195 km), but is not affiliated with the World Triathlon Corporation which owns the brand Ironman, so is not promoted as such. The French newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré described it in 2012 as the hardest triathlon in the world. The men's record time for the event is 9 h 28m 18 s by the Frenchman Léon Chevalier on August 15, 2021 and the women's record is held by Carrie Lester from Australia at 10 h 46 m 26 s. The men's record number of victories in this event is held by spanish triathlete Marcel Zamora Pérez with six wins, and women's record by Briton Bella Bayliss Commerford with 3 victories.
The Dolphin Club, also known as the Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club, is an athletic club in San Francisco, California. It caters to open water swimming, rowing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, and 4-wall handball.
The 2021 World Triathlon Cross Championships was the 10th edition of the World Triathlon Cross Championships organized by World Triathlon. It was held in Guijo de Granadilla, Spain, from 29 to 31 October 2021. Medals were awarded in Elite, Under-23, Junior, Group age and Para-Cross triathlon. World Triathlon organized the 2021 Aquathlon World Championships in the same date and venue. It was the 3rd edition on Spanish soil and second on El Anillo circuit. The race included a 1 km (0.62 mi) swim, 21 km (13 mi) mountain bike race and 6 km (3.7 mi) of trail running.
The Dipsea Trail, in Marin County, California, is the route of the annual Dipsea Race. The trail itself is approximately 7.5 miles (12.1 km) long, running from Mill Valley up and over a ridge and down to the Pacific Ocean at Stinson Beach. Runners in the race are not restricted to follow just one pathway; especially towards the endpoint some runners diverge along less traveled paths which they may have practiced and deem advantageous. For the majority of the route, almost all competitors follow one main path which climbs and descends stairways and is otherwise well-defined.
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