Ricardo, who claims to have won the 2000 Bay Club "Indoor Triathlon," felt inspired to write a little entry on the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon that happened Sunday in San Francisco. He didn't want to risk ruining his record by participating in Escape but he did get filmed for a television spot that will air when the tri shows on nbc. Maybe, if he's this excited to write about it, we can get him racing next year...Here's his take from the sidelines.


Ok readers of the Blah Blah Blog…this entry requires you to lower your voice like the booming baritone of the movie voice guy. Ready? Here goes…

From the creators of Clif Bar… comes an escape like no other. A hero will rise from the fog… and a city will cheer. This summer…only the toughest will survive… The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.

Ok..seriously..no cheesy Hollywood movie to promote here. Just a super-cool weekend in the outdoors with the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. You’ve probably seen one of the many movies about the Rock. Clint Eastwood, perhaps, in Escape from Alcatraz? Or Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock?

How many of you know about the race that involves swimming 1.5 miles from the island back to shore (thus the name Escape), hopping on your bike for a 18-mile spin through the Presidio (another Sean Connery movie), then ditching your bike for a final 8-mile run along the coast to the finish line (I’m sure there’s a movie about THAT)?

As is customary for this time of year, the water was frigid, the fog thick and the air cold and moist. That didn’t keep the some 1800-odd Triathletes from a happy day of triathleting.

Here are some highlights:

• 
  The winner of the Escape to Clif Bar contest—Teresa Tinsley from Orlando Florida—came out with her training partner Fran to train for and participate in Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. She placed twelfth in her age group. Go Teresa!
  
  


• Half-a-dozen Clif Bar employees competed this year, including our very own Pod Mate, Amy. Go Amy...it’s your birthday!


• It took LUNA Pro Triathlete Linda Gallo 26 minutes and 28 seconds to swim the 1.5 miles in the 57-degree water.


• For the third year in a row, Clif Bar partnered with the event organizers to make the event climate neutral, meaning the event had zero-net impact on global warming. Very exciting.  

For more photos of the race, check out flickr.com.

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