Tri-California Events announced the return of its San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz to be held August 21, 2016. The 1.5-mile swim, 20-mile bike, and 7-mile run event was held in the summers of 2010 and 2011 but was put on hiatus in 2012 due to the priority given the America’s Cup sailing races, which concluded in 2013.

The revival of the Terry Davis-produced event in San Francisco Bay coincides with the announcement of a recent $300 hike in entry fees to $750 charged by the IMG-owned Escape From Alcatraz triathlon held in late spring.

Tri-California stated that they will charge $395 for the first 500 entries and $450 for the next 400 entries, holding to a cap of 900 athletes.

In 2014 and 2015, Tri-California made requests to San Francisco officials for permits to renew their Alcatraz triathlon. “As we waited patiently for the city to approve several submittals for permits for our bike course, we knew the time would be clear about when we should re-launch this great event,” said Davis. “And this seems like a very clear sign that the market has a need.”

Davis explained that one of the reasons Tri-California was not able to obtain permits for the last two years was because Golden Gate Park scheduled several concerts which precluded use of the old bike course route through the park.

“This time we re-routed the bike course south past Golden Gate Park down The Great Highway and back,” said Davis.

Davis believes he can make a profit while charging athletes significantly less than IMG. “This is an expensive race to put on with the boat, water safety, SF Permits and Police and so many more elements,” said Davis. “However, we value our relationship with triathletes that have supported us over the years and wanted to provide a premier destination, top quality event at a reasonable price.”

Besides price, the Tri-California San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz limit of 900 triathletes is in sharp contrast to the 2,000 entries for the IMG event.

Terry Davis and his Tri-California organization put on the classic Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon for a dozen years until IMG changed course and hired Bill Burke to handle race direction duties for the 2010 event. That same year, Davis and Tri-California put on their own San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz event later that summer.

Davis and Tri-California have had a long relationship putting on athletic events in San Francisco. In addition to triathlons, Tri-California also puts on the Alcatraz Challenge Aquathlon and Swim, the Nike Women's Marathon, and the San Francisco Giant Race.

“We are proud to have a close relationship with the many triathlon clubs in our tight knit community of endurance sports and a 33-year history of top notch triathlon productions,” said Davis. “After hundreds of emails asking to reopen our San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz, we couldn’t deny that there is a place and need for the race we launched in 2010, but had to put on hold for the America’s Cup.”