Escape from Alcatraz (triathlon) by "Inside Triathlon Magazine" for 2006. Escape from Alcatraz (triathlon) Escape from Alcatraz is the name for two different triathlons held in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Escape from Alcatraz originated in 1981 as a private club event, beginning in San Francisco and ending in Marin County. The race split in 1983 with a separate commercial event open to the public, which is now an aquathlon (having dropped the biking section of a traditional triathlon) held on a shorter course entirely within San Francisco. However, a new public triathlon, also known by the name Escape from Alcatraz,
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Robert Franklin Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz"), George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. "Doc" Barker, Whitey Bulger, and Alvin "Creepy" Karpis (who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate). It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons' staff and their families. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts during the 29 years of the prison's existence, the most notable of which were the violent escape attempt of May 1946 known as the "Battle of Alcatraz", and the arguably successful "Escape from Alcatraz" by Frank Morris, John Anglin, and