escape from alcatraz

51 or 49... it's still brutally f'n cold.

Fantastic race.

To ME, the hype of the cold was worse than it really was.  I got a squid lid and my wetsuit and felt fine after a minute or two of swimming.

The ONLY part that sucks the all the down time race morning.  You set up in transition then take a bus to the ferry.  So you wait in line for a bus, then wait for an hour to get everyone by bus to the ferry, then board, then sit on the ferry for an hour for the race.  It's packed and hard to find a place to sit and COLD...  Probably 3 hours of down time freezing waiting for the moment to jump in after setting up in transition.  But after you jump in?  One of the best races ever.

The race was much colder this year as it was in March.  2014 is 3 months later.  Still cold, but I've done the swim 3X and it's not that bad. 

Use map view and look at anything close to Marina Green.

I've done this race twice and would go back again in a heartbeat.

Getting in:  If you enter before the first lottery draw your chances are pretty good.

How hard is the race:  Well, people *think* of this race like an Oly but it's more like long course (so, harder than an Oly but not quite as bad as a HIM).  The bike is "only" 18 miles, but it's a lot of hills.  The run is 8 miles and has stairs, sand, tunnels, trail, etc.  The water is cold, but manageable.  The currents USUALLY help you though the first year I did this race they were not as helpful as we would have liked.  One year the water was 51 and the other year it was 59 (balmy for San Fran).

The hardest thing about this race is the cost and logistics.  This race is NOT cheap.  The entry fee is steep (I mean, they shut down San Francisco Bay for an hour and rent a ferry...), hotels are pricy (San Fran is pricey), and most people end up having to fly there with their bike (also pricey).

All that being said, it is WELL worth the bucket-list entry.  I want to go back for more, but I may wait a few years.  San Fran is fabulous and last time (2013) I did a little mini vacation in wine country after the race which was really fun.

This.   One of the best races I've done for the experience.

Hotels, we stayed in Fisherman's Wharf, easy bike over in the am, and walk or bike back after.  Used the road bike as it's a very crowded and technical course, there were lots of tri bikes there but I was there for the experience, and frankly did not see a ton of spots where being in aero was an advantage (or even wise).

There were a few folks at Sports Basement picking up some decent rentals.   I don't think it would be a bad idea.   But I shipped mine from L.A. with TBT because it wasn't that expensive.