Michael to Make His Escape From Alcatraz ; Triathlete Ready for Two-Mile Swimming Challenge in San Francisco’s Treacherous Waters

TWO intrepid adventurers are to brave shark-infested waters and violent currents in an audacious bid to escape from Alcatraz.

Michael Pepper, 55, and pal Keith Rothwell, 56, are to swim from the island, immortalised in countless films, to the San Francisco mainland.

They hope to cross from one side to the other – some two miles – in around 45 minutes, overcoming some fearsome difficulties in the process.

‘The tides are so unpredictable out there that the organisers ask a few volunteers to go in first and, if they seem to be doing OK, then the rest get the go ahead,’ laughed Michael, an optician in Caernarfon.

‘Some 500 are expected to take part so it’s bound to get a bit rough at the start, as enthusiasm gets the better of common sense.

‘My strategy for the race is to get it over with as quickly as possible as I don’t want to be in the water any longer than I have to.

‘In fact, it is crucial that you do get on with it as the race has been planned for a time when the tide is at its weakest.

‘So if you hang about you’ll end up having to battle against an ever-increasing current and that will prove futile.

‘The water is particularly cold so that is an added problem, which we hope to combat by acclimatising in the sea at Dinas Dinlle near Caernarfon.

‘As for the people who mentioned the sharks, I only hope they were joking,’ said Michael, with the vitality of a man who can clearly see, and indeed revels in, the eccentricity of his actions.

Interestingly, it was Keith, who works as a chef at The Bull in Beaumaris, Anglesey and lives in Penisarwaen, who suggested they take part.

‘He’d read about it on the internet and my immediate reaction was, go away, I don’t want to know,’ said Michael, who lives in Felinheli.

‘We later came across some people who’d taken part in previous years and since they, generally, seemed to look OK following the ordeal, I yielded and decided to give it a go.

‘I know I won’t enjoy the actual swim, no way. It’s an extremely lonely place out there as you’re never able to see the coastline,’ said the father-of-two.

Astoundingly, the Californian venture merely forms part of Michael’s summer plans.

Later on this month he, along with three others, will cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money for Toe Gobaith hospice. Then, in August, he will head to Dorset to take part in an Ironman contest, which entails swimming for two and a half miles, cycling for 112 miles and then completing a marathon on foot He took part in such an event six years ago and also participated in two half Ironman events staged locally in 2001 and 2002.

‘There is a terrific camaraderie between everyone taking part in extreme challenges as we’ve all, in effect, been through the same thing together,’ explained Michael.

‘Another plus is that I feel so much better when I’m fit even though I am exerting myself much more.

‘Sometimes I might have the weight of the world on my shoulders but after running in the mountains for a while I realise that I’m worrying about nothing. ‘In a typical week I’ll also cycle around 120km and swim some 6km. I usually take part in half a dozen triathlons every year, each one equating to a quarter of a full Ironman, so that also serves as preparation for the more testing events’ I try and make the training as much fun as is possible, so being a member of Padarn Tri Club and Arfon Masters Swimming Club certainly helps. ‘

Indeed, that is how I got started some 20 years ago. I’d heard about the Snowdon Race and after wondering whether I’d be able to do it I joined the Eryri Harriers.

‘I realised that the members were made up of athletes of all abilities and that enjoying yourself was all that mattered. ‘ People often say to me that they feel breathless after running up the stairs but I’m the same.

‘I’m not superman – it’s all about pacing yourself correctly,’ said Michael.

Having completed scores of extremely arduous challenges, including the crossing of the English Channel as a team of four raising pounds 15,000 for charity, he still finds it difficult to encapsulate his desire to push himself to the limit.

‘I don’t enjoy putting myself through the mill but naturally the satisfaction arrives later when I sit down and reflect on the whole experience. ‘More than anything, though, I really appreciate the fact that I am able to do it and that is what drives me on’ I’ve come to realise, especially as I’ve got older, that it is through luck and nothing else that I have the health to be able to do such things.’ Michael will begin his cycle attempt on May 22.

To sponsor him, send a donation made out to Toe Gobaith, to Barnet Pepper Opticians, 28 Pool Street, Caernarfon