Build your Escape from Alcatraz plan
Your coach opens with the Escape from Alcatraz set for June 6, 2027, asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 30 weeks to go.
Start your Escape from Alcatraz plan- Formats
- Escape From Alcatraz
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Taper starts
- May 28, 2027
Escape from Alcatraz distances
- Escape From Alcatraz 1.5 mi swim, 18 mi bike, 8 mi run
Course
The Escape from Alcatraz course
Athletes jump from the San Francisco Belle near Alcatraz Island and swim 1.5 miles through strong currents to Marina Green Beach. The 18-mile out-and-back bike climbs through the Presidio to the Palace of the Legion of Honor and on through Golden Gate Park, with no aid stations.
Read the full course notes
The 8-mile run passes Fort Point below the Golden Gate Bridge, follows the Coastal Trail to deep sand at Baker Beach, climbs the 400-step Sand Ladder and finishes at Marina Green.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Formats
- Escape From Alcatraz
- Race-day conditions
- The course page cites 55 degree water temperatures with strong currents and recommends wetsuits and hoods.
What to train for
Prioritize cold open-water swimming and sighting in current, since the swim is the defining challenge.
Add hill repeats on the bike and trail running with stairs and sand to prepare for the Sand Ladder.
Sample week
A sample Escape from Alcatraz training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Swim, 45 min: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 1 h with climbing repeats
- Wednesday
- Swim, 45 min: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 40 min
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 40 min with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 1 h 30 min, then a 20 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 1 h easy
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Escape from Alcatraz
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course is hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on June 6, 2027, your taper starts around May 28, 2027.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add Athlete Space to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a triathlon season for the Sokin Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon on June 6, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Escape from Alcatraz training questions
How long should I train for the Escape from Alcatraz?
Most athletes give a triathlon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The coach counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
What is the Escape from Alcatraz course like?
Hilly. Athletes jump from the San Francisco Belle near Alcatraz Island and swim 1.5 miles through strong currents to Marina Green Beach.
How cold is the water at the Escape from Alcatraz?
The course page cites 55 degree water temperatures with strong currents and recommends wetsuits and hoods.
When should I start tapering for the Escape from Alcatraz?
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course is hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on June 6, 2027, your taper starts around May 28, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Escape from Alcatraz training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.