Despite a rainy forecast, clear skies and thousands of fans and participants made Sunday’s Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon go off without a hitch. The 31st annual event begins with a mile and a half swim in the Bay, followed by a meandering 18 mile bike ride through the Presidio and Golden Gate Park and finishing with an 8 mile run, ending at the Marina Green.
Winning this year’s Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon was Colorado Springs man Andy Potts, with a time of 1:59:45. The 33-year-old had previously won the triathlon three times, from 2007-2009. Thanks to his recent success, which includes winning last weekend’s Capital of Texas Triathlon, Potts is setting his sights on the upcoming 1/2-Iron Man Championships in Las Vegas and the Ironman Hawaii Triathlon in Kona. Potts is even thinking of competing in the Olympics again.
This year’s female winner happened to be a newcomer who’d never even been to SF before. 28-year-old Nicky Samuels of New Zealand came in with a time of 2:13:13.
Samuels had been in Santa Cruz two weeks prior for a training camp and only surveyed the course the night before the race.
Says Samuels to the Ex, “I didn’t know the course, I didn’t know the competition, I didn’t have anything to lose.”
Samuels finished over four minutes ahead of second-place finisher and three-time Escape from Alcatraz champion Leanda Cave.
According to the Chron, John Dahlz of South San Francisco was the top local finisher, coming in sixth with a time of 2:06:12.
You can see all of the results for the 2011 triathalon here.
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