I absolutely flew on this swim course. Getting out of the water was the one time I was up there with the pros.

Calm down and relax about sighting. Navigation isn't as hard as you think, but it does feel like your wetsuit is choking you when you lift your head straight up. I ended up sighting to the left and right and just made sure I was in between more swim caps, and only occasionally looked up.

I haven't ever really tried to run right out of a long swim like that, and it was just awful. I kind of took my time on this one. I was also trying to process the fact that I had just swam from Alcatraz.

There's nothing that can really be done about this - it's a half mile run after scrambling to find your shoes amongst everyone else's stuff, then through the grass to transition.

As a side note, renting a bike from Blazing Saddles was a great choice. Cheap rental fee for the weekend and not enough can be said about what a great bike and great people they are. Highly recommend.

I didn't train this very well and I knew it. I'm not a climber and this is not a race for amateur cyclists.

I took my time on this transition, too. I figured I wasn't losing the race in transition so much as the hills, so I tried to give myself enough to drink and eat when I could.

Not much.

The clouds came out just as we started running, which was great. I loved this run and I felt good the whole time. I pushed just hard enough that I was comfortable but my legs stayed under me. Also, all you had to do if you wanted to quit was look around - the Golden Gate Bridge is right there, the cliffs are beautiful, and Alcatraz is in sight the whole way back.

Not much. 10:18 miles sounds slow, but the terrain and crowded conditions are iffy. I felt like I was running closer to 9:00 miles if it had been flat and less complex.

Wandered, collected gear, hauled ass to the airport to get home.


Training and lack of familiarity with the course.


Overall, my favorite race I've ever done. It was expensive but worth it, and everyone there was friendly and sharing such an amazing experience with you, so it felt welcoming and supportive. I feel so fortunate to have been able to run this one and I'd do it over and over - not many people can say they've done something like this.