Words to describe Escape from Alcatraz, gruelling, challenging and rewarding

Arguably one of the most challenging non-draft Olympic distance triathlons in the world, “Escape from Alcatraz” went down this weekend in San Francisco. Some of the top triathletes in the sport descended into San Francisco Bay to take on this beast of a course.

The swim began off of the San Fransisco Belle, adjacent to Alcatraz Island. In the treacherous waters of the Pacific Ocean, the triathletes battle the waves and cold waters to reach the shore. Before doing a mini transition change and run to T1. The bike is a technical ride, with lots of climbing and descending the hills in and around the bay area. The run, much like the rest of the race offers a variety of challenges for the triathletes. Including sand, trails, stairs, and some nasty climbs.

This year the race was won by Ben Kanute on the men’s side, who edge out Cameron Dye. On the women’s side, it was Sarah Haskins who edge out Alicia Kaye. Canadian Paula Findlay returned to racing following her big win at St. George a month ago with a 4^th place. The top Canadian male was Garrett Loewen, who finished in a time of 2:13:16 rounding out the men’s top 10 placings.

To get a sense of the scene at Alcatraz and this genuinely challenging race, here is a video made by a winner of Escape from Alcatraz, American professional triathlete Eric Lagerstrom.