Three Alcatraz-related triathlons?
Entry to one of the most desirable and toughest venues in triathlon just got a little easier to obtain after a shakeup in race direction has resulted in three – count ’em! – three triathlons totaling 3,500 entries for scenic Alcatraz-related races in 2010.
Recently giant sports promotion agency IMG announced that it had installed Premier Event Management veteran race director Bill Burke to run its May 30 Escape From Alcatraz event, ending a 12-year relationship with Tri-California’s Terry Davis. Burke, who has an extensive track record of race directing prestigious events such as the New York City Triathlon, the US Olympic Triathlon Trials, the Hy-Vee Triathlon, the Los Angeles Triathlon and the ITU World Championship Series event in Washington D.C, was hired after Davis’ contract ran out this past year. As usual, the Escape From Alcatraz will limit entries to 2,000 – which go extremely quickly when open to online registration early in the year.
Shortly thereafter, Davis announced that Tri-California had secured permissions and rights to hold a new event on a very similar course – the inaugural Alcatraz Triathlon to be held August 29. Davis says he will offer a professional prize purse “from $40,000 to $50,000” and will limit the field to 1,800. Davis has added the Alcatraz event to the Tri-California race Series which includes the Avia Wildflower Triathlon April 30-May 2, the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island July 9-11, the Triathlon at Pacific Grove September 10-12, and Scott Tinley’s Triathlon in San Luis Obispo October 1-3.
Maintaining his unbroken string of producing triathlons starting with a swim from the waters near the infamous former Federal prison in San Francisco Bay, race director Dave Horning of Envirosports will hold The Ultimate Escape on June 20. Horning’s event is limited to 700 entries.
“I’m excited to get the opportunity to form a partnership with IMG and we will do our best to produce a world class event that will give a great experience for all triathletes,” said Burke. Burke added that he was contacted by IMG before the 2009 Escape From Alcatraz to find out if he might be interested in producing the event. “I told them I had no interest whatsoever in coming in unless and until their contract with Terry Davis was up. I said that race was well established and had years of history and tradition. I told them Terry Davis is a friend of mine who was very capable and qualified in his own right and I had no interest in coming in until that situation was cleared up.”
Burke, who was busy last year producing the Washington D.C. ITU event in late June, said he made a scouting trip to the 2009 Escape From Alcatraz event to make notes for a possible assumption of race director duties there in 2010.
Davis said he had “a great experience with IMG producing Escape From Alcatraz for 12 years,” but was excited to have full control over his new race after working on a contract basis as race director for IMG.
“We want to provide our triathletes the full Tri-California Events experience,” said Davis, “from online registration, to an incredible and safe course, to the latest technology in timing, to a memorable finish experience for all.”
Davis said that while demand for entries would surely exceed the supply, he felt that 1,800 triathletes starting within six minutes was the most that safety crews and the bike course could handle safely.
“After producing some of the largest triathlons in the world, we understand what it takes to provide a level of service that surpasses the expectations of the athletes and spectators.” Davis added that Tri-California will now be able to provide more support for our charitable groups, such as the Challenged Athletes Foundation, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team-N-Training, FCA Endurance, and local youth and service groups.
While all three races will start with a dive off ferries stationed near the Alcatraz shore and a 1.5 mile swim in San Francisco Bay, there will be differences in the length of the courses, the layout of the bike and runs, television and media coverage, and most especially in the entry fees.
The Escape From Alcatraz will retain its now traditional course which follows the 1.5-mile swim with a half mile run from the St. Francis Yacht Club to the bike and run back to the transition area on Marina Green. The 18-mile bike course travels west past the Golden Gate Bridge, then out to the Legion of Honor and past the Cliff House south to Golden Gate Park and back again. The 8-mile run goes along the promenade to Fort Mason, up the mesa and under Golden Gate Bridge, south to Baker Beach, up the 400-step Sand Ladder and back to Marina Green. The Escape From Alcatraz will once again feature a taped one hour show broadcast on NBC. Entry fees last year were $400.
The Alcatraz Triathlon will follow much of the same course as Escape From Alcatraz. But Davis plans to eliminate the half mile run from the yacht club to the bike transition by erecting a pontoon-style swim exit right at Marina Green. The big difference will be the addition of six miles to the bike course – making it a full 40 kilometers — by extending the bike down to Great Highway to Skyline Boulevard and back through Golden Gate Park. The 8-mile run will closely mirror the Escape From Alcatraz course, including a turnaround at Baker Beach and include a climb up the infamous Sand Ladder. Davis plans to offer web coverage on the Tri California website. The entry fees for the Alcatraz Triathlon will be $320, said Davis.
Triathlon pioneer Dave Horning touts his June 20 race as The Ultimate Escape. It begins with a 1.5-mile swim from the vicinity of Alcatraz to San Francisco’s Aquatic Park. Triathletes then run 2.5-miles transition at Crissy Field near Fort Point at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. That is followed by a hilly, multiple loop 13-mile bike in the Presidio starting and finishing at Building 937 at the west end of Crissy Field. The race wraps up with a 10k run out to Baker Beach, up the Sand Ladder, and back to Crissy Field for the finish. One of Horning’s selling points is the costs are roughly half of his rivals’ — $175 for early individual entries, $150 per person for early entrants for a two –person relay and $100 per-person for early entry for a three-person relay.
