Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/A6qPJumjZV5eeYcGA   

Before The Start:   My 15^th 5K of 2026 was the “Miracle for Jackson 5K”, held on March 21, 0800, at Lady Bird Johnson Park in San Antonio. Per the race information provided:  “Jackson is an eleven-year-old boy who has faced extraordinary medical challenges since birth. After years of searching for answers, doctors determined in 2023 that he needed a life-saving intestinal transplant. Following multiple complications and life-support interventions, Jackson was officially listed and received his transplant on August 18, 2025.”  He still has needs for continuing medical treatment, so this event is a fund-raiser to help with medical expenses, etc. This was an self-timed fundraiser 5K, with race bibs provided.  I arrived around 7:15 a.m. to get my race packet but did not have to wait long as one of the volunteers – who also served as our MC – recognized me, so she went ahead and got my packet together and handed it to me pretty quick; very nice. I then wandered around the start area getting some pre-start photos and, as this is also a dog-friendly event, handed out some treats to some of the dogs there, with the permission of their humans. I soon became, lol, very popular with the dogs there. Right before we started a young lady beautifully sang The National Anthem.

On The Course: Our start line was just a short way down from the park pavilion where a banner with the race name was posted overhead.  We had a view of the parking lot from where we started so, having done several 5Ks at this park during my running life, I thought this 5K might end up just a tad short. We did a short jaunt around part of the park’s traffic circle and then went onto a downhill paved trail that took us to the main paved trail of the park, making a left turn that took us in the direction of the Los Patios Shoppes. For the most part, this course is pretty flat with just a couple of not-too-steep long inclines along the way, and a pretty short steep hill – down on the way out, and up on the way back – that took us on a short bridge that was above Salado Creek. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. After going past the Los Patios Shoppes on our right, we went to a turn-round that was at a water-station; however, from previous 5Ks I’ve done here, I knew the actual turn-round should be the pole just before the 410 frontage road, so I did my turn-round there, and then headed for the finish, still doing my run/walk thing, and getting some more photos on the way to the finish. When I hit the Mile 2 marker, I then just ran steadily. When I came to the turn to go up the hill we had come down to get to the main trail, I went straight instead – on the trail that leads eventually to McAllister Park – and did a turn round father down, so as to get in a full 3.14 miles; after all it is a 5K, so I always feel like I’m cheating, lol, if I don’t get in the actual 5k distance. I did a turn-round at some poles on this trail and then went back to the incline we had come down on, climbed up that and then went to the finish, ending up with 3.14 miles in 47:03, averaging 15:02 per mile, with positive splits of  14:22 for mile 1; 15:02 for Mile 2:  and 15:30 for Mile 3, in which I stopped for a couple minutes to help a lady walking – not a participant- pick up some items that had dropped out of a pack she was carrying.   After that, non-stop back to the finish.

After My finish:   I got some water, did a short, cool-down walk, and then it was off to mingle with the other participants, volunteers, etc., and get some after-photos. Also, if I remember correctly there were prizes given to the first overall male and female, and there was a ‘bib number” drawing from some gift baskets. I was pleasantly surprised when my name got called for a nice gift basket that included basketball tickets for a Spurs game, nice.

Epilogue:  I don’t remember if this is the inaugural race for this event or if it has been done before. Either way, it is very nicely organized with a not too difficult good course that just about any runner or walker can handle well and he trails are also user-friendly for participants with disabilities; some of the younger kids doing the course were quite speedy too, wow. I saw some of them already heading for the finish before I had even reached Mile 2. I want some of their energy, lol.  There were two water stations on the course and the volunteers at each of them were great. The race-day pickup volunteers were also great and very quick in getting our packets to us. Also, as anyone who has ever run, walked, or biked at LBJ Park know….the restroom facility at this park – a big, smelly, not-too-tidy porta-potty near the trailhead – is pretty awful, so it was nice to see that the organizers had provided nice, clean working port-a-potties.  There was quite a variety of post-race snacks too, such as fresh fruit – primarily bananas – and various cookies, energy bars, and so forth, as well as water, coffee, etc. The race shirt is very nice quality. There was also a table where some young ladies were selling various items to help raise funds for the cause.

Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for us participants:  all the race organizers, the many volunteers; our MC – Vicki, if I remember her name correctly; the older I get the more terrible I am with remembering names, lol; our DJ sound-and-music guy – this day happened to be his birthday; the lady who sang The National Anthem for us; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!
Whatever your passion is, may you always enjoy it safely and have much success. If you’re a fellow runner/race participant and see me at an event, give me a shout-out; love chatting with my fellow runners, and if you are so inclined, we can get a photo together for my race report I do for each of my events.  Next 5K up for me is The Strides for Sight 5K on March 28 at Comanche Park in San Antonio. Wanted to do one on March 22 but nearest one I could find was in Johnson City and don’t want to drive that far, lol.

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/t6cuFJwAPgTyd7y79

Before The Start:   My 14^th race of 2026 was Freda’s Run 5K: A 5K Run/Walk for the Arts.  Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was a Mexican painter and cultural icon known for her self-portraits and works inspired by Mexican nature and artifacts.   This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend after doing the St. Paddy’s 5K the day before this one at Landa Park in New Braunfels, Texas.  This event was held at McAllister Park in San Antonio, Texas, with a start time of 9:30 a.m.. As I live very close to McAllister Park, I got to sleep in a bit. I got to the park with about an hour to go to start time, got my packet, and then got a few pre-start photos as I wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, supporters, and volunteers. Also, as this is a dog friendly event, I handed out treats to the dogs that attended.  Per posted results there was a total  228 finishers – walkers and runners – for this event. Several were in “Freda” costume, some of them very imaginative and colorful.

On The Course:  I did my usual run-8-minutes/walk-2 minutes and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks and also handed out treats to dogs I met – including some of the dogs of non-event park users who were out walking their dogs.  The last mile I pretty much ran non-stop.  The majority of the course was a loop course on paved trails that gave us a nice tour of most of the park, followed by an out-and-back on one of the park roads before heading to the finish line.  We started on the street where the park’s lower soccer fields are, passing by the youth baseball field before we turned onto the paved trails of the park.  The first trail took us behind the soccer fields.  We could also see the baseball diamond to the right.  We made a left turn onto another trail and this tool us to one of the park roads, just down from Becken Pavilion.  We crossed over this street and then looped around another trail that took us generally in the direction of the police sub-station near the park.  However, we did not take the substation trail; we stayed left and went across a park road, passing by a course water station. This trail looped us around until we came back to the original trail we’d started on, where we had first entered it.  We made a right turn and then went to a turn-round point. After making the turn-round, we then headed in the direction of the finish line, once more passing by the baseball field and then the soccer fields before entering the start/finish chute. Whew!  My garmin showed a finish time of 44:55.  The timing chip had my finish time at 44:45, good enough for 2^nd in my 70-99 age group as, lol, there were only two people in my age group.

After My finish: I was handed my finisher medal and then stood out of the way at the back pf the finish chute and got a few photos of others coming in. After that, I wandered around again, like I had before the start and got some “Happy Finisher” photos; I call them that, lol, because you ever notice more people are smiling after the race than before and during?  I also continued to hand out treats to my dog friends. I was very popular with the dogs, lol.  A few of them even tried to follow me around. I ended up 2^nd in my age group.  I guess #1 had already left, as I was the only one in my age group on the podium. Well, I sat on the podium, jokingly telling our MC, and my friend, Anthony, that I got a bit of vertigo if I stood on things that made me be in “high” places.  There was also a “Freda Costume” contest which was pretty entertaining with the winner-by-applause getting a nice prize.   After that, stayed a tad longer, getting some more photos and chatting with others and then it was time to head on home.

Epilogue: This is a very nicely-done event orchestrated by my friend and iaap co-owner, Ceci Iniguez; she did a great job with this event – and she had a pretty nice costume herself. The course was really nice and well-thought-out and had two water stations, if I remember correctly. We also had a nice day for it; very little wind; ample sunshine; and the temp at start time was 71 degrees; a little warm and humid for some, but perfect for me, lol. I much prefer warm temperatures. The finisher medals are really nice and the race shirt is also really well done.  The age-group awards are really unique and themed for the event; there were various types of dolls; and my 2^nd place age group award is this box with a clear plastic front and inside is what looks like a hand-drawn picture of Freda and showing some  of her art:  panoramic view of some city buildings, water towers and a church; pretty cool. I’m assuming this panorama has something to do with Freda’s personal and career history. Post-race there were various kinds of drinks – including beer – and various food goodies.  The race shirt is really good quality and nicely designed, with Freda on the front; no printing on the back; and the finisher medal is really nice.  I would do this event again and would recommend it to others. 

Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for us participants:  Ceci, of course, along with the whole iaap crew that did the course set-up, timing and results; our course marshals and the volunteers at the two water stations on the course; the bike lead guy for the faster participants; all the race-day packet pickup volunteers and all the finish line volunteers handing out the finisher medals and water to those who wanted it; the two Park Police officers and the EMT folks there for our safety; and a thank you to all non-race patrons of the park as we invaded their space for a while; also thanks to our MC, Anthony, doing his usual great job, and our music-and-sound lady who was cranking out some tunes for us before-and-after. If I missed anyone, my apologies.

Whatever your passion is, may you always enjoy it safely and have much success. If you’re a fellow runner/race participant and see me at an event, give me a shout-out; love chatting with my fellow runners, and we can get a photo together for my race report I do for each of my events.

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/vrPmi8xk1HYVbomY8     

Before The Start:   My 13^th race of 2026 was the St. Paddy’s Day 5K held on March 14 at the Dance Slab at Landa Park in New Braunfels.  There was also a Kid’s Leprechaun Run. Since I’m directionally challenged, lol, I left San Antonio pretty early and took some back roads to avoid ongoing construction in San Antonio on the I-35 and got onto I-35 via the Schertz access road. It did not take me long at all to get to the park.  One nice thing for directionally challenged people like me is that Ne Braunfels has these “directional posts” that have signage that has on them the names of things like parks, museums, etc., so basically all I had to do is follow these things until I got to the park.  Very convenient. I arrived around 7:15 a.m., got my packet, and also had a very nice chat with a very nice guy who was a team member of the medical folks that were there for us. After that, I wandered around, chatting with volunteers, participants, etc., and as this is a dog-friendly event, I handed out some dog treats. During all this, of course I did get some pre-start photos.  Several of my running friends also attended this event, so got to chat with a few people I had not seen in a while.

On The Course:  If I remember correctly the Kids Run went first, and then we started right on time.  The weather was pretty nice for this one:  a bit overcast, with lots of cloud cover, just about no wind, and a temperature in the 60s; fairly humid, but not too bad.   I did my usual thing of run 8 minutes/walk 2 minutes and took photos during my walk breaks.  We started in the park in the area where the dance slab is and then made a left turn as we exited the park. The majority of the 5K was done on paved roads that took us through a neighborhood area near the park. After we exited the park, we followed a paved park road that took us past the park’s train station and then made a left turn that took us up a pretty good-sized hill. After we crested this hill, the majority of the park was fairly flat for a while.   The streets along the course were very wide, so we were able to spread out quite a bit, each running or walking to his/her own fashion; plenty of room for everyone.  At one point I saw the lead women runner coming back, and the lead male runner was about 50 yards or so behind her. Those two were really moving.

After they got by us, we made a right turn onto another wide street.  Some of the residents in these homes were flying the colors, so as is my custom when I run and see a flag flying, I did quick stops to salute the flag in memory of friends lost during and friends I served with during my Air Force career.  After getting through this part of the course, we made another turn and ahead of us I could see a train ahead.  Thankfully, the course had us turn left, and we ran parallel with the moving train on our right.  One lady I ran beside for a few minutes said to me, wow, a train along the way. I jokingly told her “Yes, and we’ve had cars too, so now we just need a plane to fly over and then we’d have Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.”  After the train, we then turned left into another part of this neighborhood area and, wow, another pretty good-sized hill to climb.  Once we crested the hill, the rest of the course was pretty much flat, until we got back onto the road that took us to the finish; so of course we then had to do a downhill on the road we had started on and then up a hill that had been a downhill on the way out. After cresting that, the route was flat all the way back to the finish.  I finished 6^th out of the 10 participants in my males 70-79 age group with a chip time of 43:54, averaging  14:08 per mile. My fastest mile was the last one as I pretty much ran the last mile non-stop. I was pretty happy with that, as I’d made my two primary goals: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me, lol.

After My finish:   Cool-down walk and then enjoyed some post-race Gatorade and a few snacks as I wandered here-and-there getting some post-race photos and handing out more treats to the doggies. Mark Purnell, our MC for this one, started the awards ceremony with the overall winners and then ladies announcing the ladies who placed, starting with the youngest first.  Mark, Mark, Mark…always start with the senior folks first….we have to get home to get our naps after a race, lol.   Since I already knew I had not placed, I continued to wander around taking some more photos and cheering on those who had placed, especially my friends, like my speedy friend Sammy who was first in his age group.

Epilogue:   This is a very good event, done very nicely by the Athlete Guild team.  The route is mostly flat, with just a couple of hills along the way, but at least they were not giant hills like those in San Antonio at such places as The Rim, Eisenhower Park, or Helotes. There were all kinds of post-race goodies, including beer, water, some kind of spicy food dish which I could not have (darn cancer side-effects I’m still dealing with), some really tasty cookies, and lots more. The age group medals were this button/pin things and all finishers got a really nice finisher medal.  The race shirt is really nice quality with the event name on the front, beside a running leprechaun. This is also a very nice park and area to run in. I haven’t been at Land for a few years, so had forgotten how nice this park is, with some nice water views, indoor restrooms, and really nice adjacent neighborhood areas. I would certainly recommend this even to others and will surely do it again.

 Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful and stay healthy and injury-free to keep on doing it. If you’re a fellow runner, maybe I’ll see you at a future event; love chatting with fellow runners and we might even get a photo together.  Stay happy, stay safe.    

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/9UWjknySusdBPjTJ6

Before The Start:  My 12^th race of 2026 was the Zebra Trot-A-Thon 5K starting and finishing at a pavilion on Brackenridge Park Golf Course near the Clubhouse, with a start time of 8 a.m. Per the description of this race:   “This event raises money for rare diseases. All money raised will go to help Texans with rare diseases/disorders to pay for meds, copays, whatever other reasonable expenses they need help with.” After a 2-week hiatus from running due to my bladder biopsy on February 19^th – no running for 2 weeks after that procedure, but I was able to walk two 5Ks. The timing and results were done by event company Athlete Guild. I arrived around 7:30 a.m., I got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos. This was a pretty small race with 17 finishers showing in the results, so kind of felt more like a group of friends were gathering for a kind of fun-run/walk.  I think the turn-out for this one was kind of low since it was held on the same day the very popular San Antonio Roadrunners Prickly Pear trail runs of 50K, 15K and 5K.

On The Course:   There was a slight delay with the start as our Athlete Guild guy corrected a timing problem with the computer, and then we were off.  The course was done primarily on the paved trails of the golf course. The route pretty much kept us away from the active golfers who were doing their thing on the golf course. The majority of the course was pretty flat, but we did go up and down a couple of fairly good-sized hills, but they were not very long; nothing like the hills at The Rim or Eisenhower Park. I did my usual thing of 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some photos during my walk breaks. With so few participants, I was pretty much running on my own for most of the time, especially at my pace, lol. The course was marked on the pavement with directional arrows; however, I missed one of them and got to a point where there were no more arrows, so I figured I missed a turn somewhere; so back I went and then saw the arrow pointing to go up and across a bridge, which I did.  After that, I saw other participants with race bibs coming back toward me – including my friend, Deborah, who I knew would finish before me for this one, since I had missed that turn – , so knew I was on track again. I also knew that my missing that turn was going to make this course more than a 5K for me, but that was okay too.  I came to turn-round #1 and got a photo of some of turn-round volunteers there and then started back the way I had come out.  We pretty much went back toward the finish the way we had initially come out. I made the turn to go to the finish. I looked at my garmin time and thought this can’t be right, so did not cross the timing mat so as not to screw up my final chip time. The timer guy told me instead of turning, I should have gone straight to a second turn-round point, and then after that I would come back and come into the finish. So back on the course I went, and started heading for that second turn-round point.  This part of the course took me down to Mulberry Street, where I made a left turn and then proceeded to the 2^nd turn-round point on the course, which was just down the street from a golf driving range on Mulberry and from one of the Brackenridge Park roads. Whew! Back I went on the paved trail, going in reverse of the way I’d come out to Turn-Round #2.  For this part of the course, I pretty much went nonstop for almost the whole way.  I did encounter some walking participants heading to Turn Round #2.  I also intersected with some non-participant runners doing their thing and, if they had dogs, made a couple of quick stops to hand out treats to the doggies; one of the dogs wanted to follow me after that, lol.  Finally, I could see the golf course parking lot and knew I was almost done. Made the turn to go to the finish and finally crossed the timing mat and was done. Per posted Athlete Guild results – with the extra distance I had due to my missing that turn, my  chip finish time was 1 hour and 45 seconds.  My garmin showed a time of 59:54, but I think Athlete Guild time is correct, as I bumped my garmin when I was handing a dog a treat and it stopped for very short time before I noticed and started it again. Well, with my missing that turn, I sure got my money’s worth for this event, lol, with a nice tour that included some scenery the other participants did not see, since I missed that turn.

After My finish:    First, got some water, and then just sat down for a while and relaxed. After a bit the volunteer ladies began calling the age group winners and I was first in my 60-99 males age group; there were only two of us and the other participant was a walker; very nice guy whom I chatted with post-race. The overall male and female finished in 28 minutes and change, zowie. The two overall winners got this really nice carved wooden plaque. We age group winners got a blue ribbon.   

Epilogue:    There was also a post-race raffle of these really nice baskets – very large baskets full of various items, and you could buy raffle tickets prior to the start and right after the finish, and also when you registered.   The goodie bag also included a ticket for free entrance to the San Antonio Zoo. When I register I don’t usually get a race shirt because I do many races during the year, I pretty much don’t have any drawer space left.  The race shirt for this one is very cool, though, so maybe they have some left over and I can just buy one from the organizers. The Zoo ticket in my packet I gave to another participant to give to his grandson, who apparently loves the zoo. As noted, this was a very small event, but it also was pretty nicely done, with a very nice course – even if it was long for me, lol. I felt pretty good the whole way and it was nice to be running again.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us., all the volunteers and sponsors; Athlete Guild for the timing and results; and, as this was an open course, the patience of  the golfer sout there doing their thing, and all the other users along the course doing their thing, walkers, other runners, and cyclists; they were all very patient with us.   I also want to thank the two lady employees in the clubhouse who were so polite  in giving me directions to the restroom – something I definitely need, lol, at my age, and especially after bladder surgery.  They also kindly let me take a photo of them for my race report; two very sweet and helpful young ladies.

 Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful and stay healthy and injury-free to keep on doing it. If you’re a fellow runner, maybe I’ll see you at a future event; love chatting with fellow runners and we might even get a photo together.  Stay happy, stay safe.    

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/UBfrYUtG7beauL4CA

Before The Start:  My 11^th race of 2026 was the University of Texas at San Antonio Diploma Dash 5K held on Saturday, February 28^th at the UTSA main campus.  As a UTSA staff member, I have done this event for several years.  I have not done them all, as it started in 1985 and I started with UTSA in 1996; but I sure have done a lot of them over the years.  This event raises funds for The UTSA Alumni Association student scholarships. Events included the main 5K; a team 5K; and a 5K with dog category. My friends of top-notch race management company iaap did the course set-up, timing and results. For the 5K, the results show a total  was a total of 1,464 finishers, with females in age group 20-24 having the most participants with 242 finishers in that category, wow.  I saw on-line that the time for this race was listed as 7 a.m., which I thought was the start time, so I got up very early, had some breakfast and then headed to the campus.  When I got there, around 6:30 a.m.,  my timing friends told me the start was actually 8 a.m., but the alumni posted it as 7 a.m., so everyone would arrive early before the course marshals and police closed off the roads for the course; ok, I get it, makes sense; but now I had plenty of time before the start, lol. I wandered around chatting with some of the volunteers and other participants already there, and when it got light enough, I began getting some pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event so, with permission of their humans, I handed out some dog treats to our 4-legged participants.  This is how I got my race/running name of Scotty.  I was doing a race with some friends and stopped to treat some dogs that were in there yard barking at us as we went along. One of my friends shouted at me “Darn it, Scotty, we’re doing a race here! Get back here you darn Scotty Dogg!”  lol.  And the rest, as they say, his history.  People started calling me that, so I took it as my race name. Also, being one of the early arrivals, I did not have to wait in any line to use the restroom, got immediate access, nice. We had access to the Convocation Building restrooms as the start and finish was in front of that building.   Finally, it was time to get going. 

On The Course:   We started right on time. For this one, this was the second 5K I did where I had to behave myself by walking only – no running – as I had a bladder biopsy on February 19, and my urologist that did the procedure told me NO RUNNING for 2 weeks, which would be March 5 from the date of the surgery. I am pretty slow anyway, even running and I do a run/walk method because of my spinal arthritis, so I asked her if that would be okay.  She told me if I did run, it risks the healing procedure because it could cause  a significant bleeding increase in the area where they took the tissue sample, and I probably wouldn’t even know I was bleeding and could end up even passing out and then would have a whole new set of medical issues. Umm, okay….I think I’ll behave myself. When I can run, I normally do 8-min-run/2 minute walk break. For this one I walked 8 minutes and then when my Garming beeped to walk, I kept walking but also used this 2-minute time-frame to get some on-course photos. We started in front of the Convocation Center, turned onto the road in front of it, went to a stop sign, made a right turn, and went past the campus Recreation Center on our left. We then passed some campus tennis courts and went up a fairly long hill, heading in the direction of the Loop 1604 frontage road. At the top of the hill, we made a right turn onto Cook, and this took us down a short hill and past a water station. This part of the course took us past the Main Building on the campus and then onto the road that took us up the very long hill that went up to the campus parking area adjacent to Valero Way.  After getting up the hill, we made a left turn and went down to a turn-round point. After the turn-round we did another short jaunt in the upper parking lot area that took us to the 2-mile marker. We then went down the hill and made a left turn that took us toward UTSA Boulevard. We did not go that far, however; we made a right turn that took us past a parking lot on our left and toward one of the campus bus stops. We then turned left, going up to a campus road that was parallel to UTSA Boulevard. We made a right turn onto this road, and that took us down a hill, where we made another right turn, and we were on a campus road – with UTSA Boulevard behind us –  that took us toward the convocation center. We then turned left into the convocation center parking area, and that took us back to the finish. I noted the time on the race clock and then on my garmin and was surprised that I finished walking this 5K 7 minutes sooner than the first 5K I had walked after my biopsy; nice. I guess I am getting stronger as a walker, lol; but I still am going back to doing my run/walk thing as soon as I am allowed It was also helpful that I did most of the last mile with a very nice couple, and we all just chatted away about this and that as we went along.  With a chip time of 1:06:07, I was dead last in my males 70-99 age group; even so, I was quite happy with this, as I had walked this event almost 6 minutes faster than the last 5K I’d walked after my surgery, nice. Even so…I will be so happy to be running again soon.

After My finish:   I got some water and ate a banana and then I wandered here and there chatting with other participants, volunteers, people from the sponsor companies and people there supporting friends/family members who had done the 5K,  etc., handed out more treats to the dogs there – most of them recognized me, lol, from handing out treats before the start, so I had quite a lot of doggies ‘talking at me” since they knew I had treats.  I ended up getting lots of post-race photos, and lots of people asked to get a photo with me, lord knows why, but I gladly accommodated them – especially the ladies, as photos with them make this old wrinkled dog look good, lol.   I also watched the placer awards being handed out and noticed several of my speedy runner friends placed in this one; congrats to them all.

Epilogue:    As long as I am able to run – or walk if I have to, lol – I will continue to do this event, which is one of my very favorites of the year, and I’ll have lots more time soon as, after 29 years as UTSA Staff, I will be retiring from UTSA at the end of March.   This event is always well-organized; a very nice course that gives you a good ‘tour” of the campus; really nice finisher medals; lots of post-race goodies; indoor restrooms – sure beats porta-potties; very nice quality race shirt; and the camaraderie between all the participants, volunteers, sponsor representatives, etc., is just tremendous; also, dog-friendly, which is a big plus for me, lol.  I would certainly recommend this one to others.

 Many thanks to all who made this one happen for us participants, e.g.,  the Alumni Association for organizing it all; the many volunteers and sponsors it takes to put this event on; all the law enforcement folks out there for us to help keep us safe; iaap for the course setup, timing, and results; the patience of all on campus not doing the event, as we ‘flooded their space” for a few hours; our DJ-and-Sound Guy who did a great job for us, as did our MC too; members of the UTSA Band who were out there  for us; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!

Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful and stay healthy and injury-free to keep on doing it. If you’re a fellow runner, maybe I’ll see you at a future event.  Give me a shout-out; love chatting with fellow runners and we might even get a photo together.  Stay happy, stay safe.   Maybe I’ll see you at a future event sometime, or maybe you’ll see me, if I don’t see you; whichever, give me a shout-out and we’ll get a photo together for my race report.    

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/vsnU18ntznQwFozP7

Before The Start:  My 10^th race of 2026 was the Aidan Alexander Memorial 5K for Stillborns and Infant Loss. Held on February 21 at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio, with a start time of 9 a.m. This event is an annual 5k held in memory of Aiden Alexander, an infant who passed away unexpectedly due to issues with his umbilical cord. His family started this event in Aiden’s memory, with proceeds going to stillborn and infant loss organizations. I got there  around 8:40 a.m. before the 9 a.m. start time and got a few pre-start photos before it was time to get started.

On The Course:  The course was the usual 5K course at LBJ Park, a pretty simple out-and-back. We started at the park’s traffic circle, walked around that, and then went down a steep but short hill to the park’s paved Greenway Trails.  The course took us out to the Los Patios Shoppes area and then to a turn-round point at the Loop 410 frontage road and then back the exact way we had come out. After having a bladder biopsy on Thursday, February 19^th, my doc gave me permission to do this one, but only if I walked it – no running for 2 weeks after the biopsy.  So I walked it, REALLY slowly, lol.  I am a very slow walker, not like my speedy walker wife who really moves when she walks. As I walked along, I took several on-course photos and cheered on other participants. The course was mostly flat with just a few up-and down inclines and one fairly steep but short downhill on the way to the turn-round and uphill on the way back.  After making the turn-round, I then picked up the pace a bit – I went into ‘marching mode”, lol, like I was back in Air Force basic training and that had me going slightly quicker. Per my Garmin, I ended up finishing in 1:13:04, averaging a really slow 23:44 per mile.  I looked at the results, but I was not listed in the iRun Texas 5k results, even though I did find myself listed as a participant on RunSignUp, which did not have my results either, so maybe iRun stopped the timing at a certain point. I made the mistake of not going over to talk to iRun about it and gettiing it resolved, and went home in a bit of a hissy fit, so my apologies to iRun for that.

After the finish:  RunSignUp initially listed 161 participants for this event, but in its results, iRun shows a total of 88 finishers, so there must have been a lot of no-shows for this event; too bad, because it really is a nicely put on event by the Alexander family.  It’s a fairly nice course that accommodates participants at all levels; very nicely designed race shirt; lots of post-race goodies, nice medal to the overall male and female placers and first overall in each age group; and for an excellent cause.     

Epilogue:  This is a regular event on my annual race lists, as I know what it’s like to lose a child; my first wife and 4-months-old son were killed by a drunk driver. You never really get over it, you just learn to live with it day-by-day. I appreciate so much what Aiden’s surviving family members are trying to do with this event, giving help to organizations that can help other people who have experienced the loss of an infant child. Aiden’s family really does a good job with this one. I will continue to do this one as long as I am able – and hopefully next year I will be running it again and then maybe get onto the results list.

 Many thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., all the many volunteers out there for us; Aiden’s family who initially started this event; all the sponsors who helped pay for it all; the patience of all the other users of the park doing their own thing as we invaded the park space for a while; and anyone else involved that I did not mention here.

Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful and stay healthy and injury-free to keep on doing it. If you’re a fellow runner, maybe I’ll see you at a future event.  Give me a shout-out; love chatting with fellow runners and we might even get a photo together.  Stay happy, stay safe.   Maybe I’ll see you at a future event sometime.  

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/KQFazx1yxUpzfYjLA     

Before The Start:  My 9^th race of 2026 was Be My Valentine 3.4 miler held on February 15^th at McAllister Park, with a 9:30 a.m. start.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after having done Cupid’s Chase 5K the day before at the San Antonio Zoo. I liked that 9:30 start time as Cupid’s Chase had us reporting to the Zoo very early, so  I got to sleep in a bit for this one as I live very close to McAllister Park. Put on by Hurache Turbo, an affiliate company of San Antono-based race management company iaap, this event featured a 6.9 mile relay run or walk, 2 team members per team, or one could choose t do the 6.9 miler individually; and a 3.4 mile run or walk.  Iaap did the timing and results.  My friend, Paul, was also at this one as our ‘sound man’, doing his usual great job of playing some tunes for us and more. For this one, I decided to have fun with it and do it in costume.  I arrived at the race site with just over an hour to go to the start time; got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos of some of the volunteers, attending sponsor representatives, and some of the participants that were also already there, as well as race supporters of the participants, e.g., their spouses, friends, etc.  As participants and supporters continued to arrive, I chatted with some of them and continued to get some pre-start photos until it was time to get going on the course.  The weather was really nice, with bright sunshine and blue skies, and a temp of 61 degrees at start time. The wind was blowing pretty good, but the course had us between several wooded areas, which made for a nice windbreaker. 

On The Course:  All the courses were out-and-back starting and finishing near the lower soccer fields at McAllister Park.  All participants started together. The course took us parallel to the soccer fields, then down a short paved trail that went past the park’s youth baseball field.  After exiting this path, we then went onto one of the park’s paved roads. This was a very long road that took us in the direction of Becken Pavilion and we went past the Mile 1 marker on this road. We did no go all the way up to Becken Pavilion. Instead, we made a left turn off the road onto a paved trail that took us in the direction of the police sub-station location on Jones Maltsberger Road near the park.  For us 3.4 miler participants, our turn-round was on this trail, and to our left we had a view of part of the police sub-station across a field on our left. After making the turn-round, we went back to the finish exactly the same way we had come out. I did my usual run/walk thing of 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. I was running in-costume, so got lots of cheers and whistles, lol, as I went along.  After the turn-round I got ambitious and pretty much ran non-stop back to the finish.

After the finish:  There were 125 finishers for the  3.45 miler; 46 for the relay run; and 43 who did the 6.9 miler individually. For my 3.4 miler I ended up with a chip time of 48:11, good enough for 3^rd out of 5 in my 70-99 males age group. For this one, awards were given only to the top 3 overall males/females in each category, which was fine with me. There was also a post-race costume contest, which I won “by applause” which was pretty cool. I got a very nice bottle of wine – which I gave to my wife after getting home as I am not much of a wine drinker – and also got a cash award of $100, nice; that I kept, lol. On the way home, I made a stop at H-E-B  – still in costume, lol – to pick up a few things and got quite a few laughs and smiles as I went along; it was pretty funny, and all good.

Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event, well managed by our Race Director, Ceci Iñiguez, Our MC was Lana Hernandez, who did a great job for us.  The course is very user friendly, with room for all and, as noted, we had some really nice weather for it. All participants got a really nice finisher medal.  The ‘race shirt’ is actually a really nice light-weight sweatshirt of really good quality. I would certainly do this one again and recommend it to others.  BTW, Lana also manages the upcoming Street2Feet 5K, training program that promotes spiritual, mental and physical health among individuals experiencing homelessness. It’s a well-done event for a good cause, so I’m giving it a plug here.

Many thanks to all those involved who made this one happened for us.  This includes all those out there for we participants, including iaap doing the timing and results, our sound guy Paul, doing his usual great job for us; the law enforcement officers there for our safety; all the vendors/sponsors who supported this event; medical folks there for us, just in case; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!

Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful and stay healthy and injury-free to keep on doing it. If you’re a fellow runner, maybe I’ll see you at a future event.  Give me a shout-out; love chatting with fellow runners and we might even get a photo together.  Stay happy, stay safe.    

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/UgK1LJYH9Xs9sWfq9      

Before The Start:   My 6^th race of 2026 was the Scallywompus San Marcos 5K, held on Sunday, February 8^th at the Tanger Outlet Mall in San Marcos.  There was also a half marathon; a 10K; a competitive 5K walk, and a kid’s run.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after completing the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Stampede 5K on February 7^th. When I arrived at the race area, the half-marathon was just starting.  I saw my friend Jorgina going by and gave her a shout-out, but don’t think she heard me.  I found some pretty good parking close to the start/finish area, got my race packet and then wandered here-and-there in the race area, chatting with friends, volunteers, other participants, vendors and sponsors, etc., and getting a few pre-start photos.  This is also a dog-friendly event so I was, as usual, popular with the dogs after giving them treats. The Competitive Walk 5K  and the 10K participants started together at 8:15. We 5K participants were scheduled to start at 8:35 a.m. but had a slight delay. It was still pretty close, though, we started only about 5 minutes later.

On The Course:  As usual, I did my 8-min-run/2-minute walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk break. After crossing the start mat, we then made a left turn and went down a mall outlet road, passing by several store-fronts. This was the flattest part of the 5K course, lol.  This took us to Center Point Road, and the hills began almost immediately.  Center Point Road is just about all hills. Out of curiosity, I looked up the elevation of this road when I got home and ai gave me this information:  “The elevation on Center Point Road in San Marcos near the Tanger Outlet Malls is approximately  570 to 580 feet above seal level”.  Oh yeah, it was hilly. We crested the first long hill, had a bit of flat for about the length of a long driveway, lol; went down a fairly long hill, and then climbed a really long hill to get to the turn-round. Then, of course, we went back to the finish line in reverse.  After getting to the 2-mile marker – which was on an uphill for us – I told myself, okay, time to get this done, and ran this last part of the course almost non-stop, ignoring my Garmin beeping for walk break,  with just a couple of really quick photo stops. I saw my friend Mary Kaplan ahead of me. We do a lot of the same events and sometimes I finish ahead of her, but not today, lol, she was moving pretty good. After finally making it down the last hill, we did not go back to the finish line we came out. Instead, we made a turn that took us down a service road behind the stores.  At the end of this road, we then made a right turn onto a short service road and at the end of this made a left turn, and then a quick right turn to cross the timing matt and finish.  I ended up with a chip time of 42:43, which was good enough for 2^nd in my 70-74 males age group, as there were only 3 in my age group. There were 315 finishers for the 5K. My friend, Mary, finished 17 seconds ahead of me, so I almost caught up to her, lol. Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t, though; she and I are both retired military veterans and she outranks me.

After the finish:  I got my finisher medal and some water and Gatorade and then wandered around, chatting with other participants, and also sponsors, volunteers, and supporters, and getting some “after” photos.  I also treated some more dogs with the remaining treats I had.  Some of the  dogs who have humans that do lots of races are starting to recognize me now and when I show up at an event, and they see me, some of them often start heading for me, knowing I have treats.  The dogs of my friends Carolyn and Bill are especially good at this.  If Bill and Carolyn are not paying attention,  suddenly their “leash arm” will start straightening out as the dogs begin to head for me. The awards ceremony started with the men first, with the “most senior” men placers betting their awards first, so I got mine pretty quickly. After that, I enjoyed chatting with lots of people there, including swapping experiences with several fellow veterans, and getting some more after-photos. 

Epilogue:  The motto of Scallywompus is “Come For The Race. Stay for the party.”  They are not kidding, either.  There were all kinds of food and drinks, including water, Gatorade, beer, and several mixed drink combinations.  There were also all kinds of goodies at the vendor/sponsor booth too, from various types of snack items like chips, pretzels, etc., fresh fruits from the booth of my friend, Gilbert, and much more.

The award is a really nice Scallyompus drinking glass. I got a photo with mine and then donated it to someone.  I’ve gotten several of these glasses at past Scallywompus events and am running out of cupboard space to put them. The race shirt is very nice quality. Since I do so many races in a year – I did over 80 in 2025 – I’m running out of shirt drawer space too, so these days, I usually get kid-size shirts and then donate them to the disabled kids at Morgan’s Wonderland or to kids currently fighting cancer, since I was a disabled kid for a while, and am also a cancer survivor. 

Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  all the many volunteers it takes to make these races happen; our MC, Anthony Zamora for doing his usual great job for us – the post-race “dance contest” he got going was fun and hilarious; iaap race management for the timing and results; the law enforcement officers there for our safety;  Pushbutton Photography for being the “official” photographers of the event; the patience of all the Tanger Outlet Mall customers and store employees as we invaded their space for a few hours; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! If you see me at an event, give me a shout-out  and we’ll get a photo together.  Whatever your exercises passions are, may you always stay safe doing it and be successful in reaching your goals.

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/Kwhjpmqt3SLf7jpFA

Before The Start:   My 6^th race of 2026 was the Scallywompus San Marcos 5K, held on Sunday, February 8^th at the Tanger Outlet Mall in San Marcos.  There was also a half marathon; a 10K; a competitive 5K walk, and a kid’s run.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after completing the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Stampede 5K on February 7^th. When I arrived at the race area, the half-marathon was just starting.  I saw my friend Jorgina going by and gave her a shout-out, but don’t think she heard me.  I found some pretty good parking close to the start/finish area, got my race packet and then wandered here-and-there in the race area, chatting with friends, volunteers, other participants, vendors and sponsors, etc., and getting a few pre-start photos.  This is also a dog-friendly event so I was, as usual, popular with the dogs after giving them treats. The Competitive Walk 5K  and the 10K participants started together at 8:15. We 5K participants were scheduled to start at 8:35 a.m. but had a slight delay. It was still pretty close, though, we started only about 5 minutes later.

On The Course:  As usual, I did my 8-min-run/2-minute walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk break. After crossing the start mat, we then made a left turn and went down a mall outlet road, passing by several store-fronts. This was the flattest part of the 5K course, lol.  This took us to Center Point Road, and the hills began almost immediately.  Center Point Road is just about all hills. Out of curiosity, I looked up the elevation of this road when I got home and ai gave me this information:  “The elevation on Center Point Road in San Marcos near the Tanger Outlet Malls is approximately  570 to 580 feet above seal level”.  Oh yeah, it was hilly. We crested the first long hill, had a bit of flat for about the length of a long driveway, lol; went down a fairly long hill, and then climbed a really long hill to get to the turn-round. Then, of course, we went back to the finish line in reverse.  After getting to the 2-mile marker – which was on an uphill for us – I told myself, okay, time to get this done, and ran this last part of the course almost non-stop, ignoring my Garmin beeping for walk break,  with just a couple of really quick photo stops. I saw my friend Mary Kaplan ahead of me. We do a lot of the same events and sometimes I finish ahead of her, but not today, lol, she was moving pretty good. After finally making it down the last hill, we did not go back to the finish line we came out. Instead, we made a turn that took us down a service road behind the stores.  At the end of this road, we then made a right turn onto a short service road and at the end of this made a left turn, and then a quick right turn to cross the timing matt and finish.  I ended up with a chip time of 42:43, which was good enough for 2^nd in my 70-74 males age group, as there were only 3 in my age group. There were 315 finishers for the 5K. My friend, Mary, finished 17 seconds ahead of me, so I almost caught up to her, lol. Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t, though; she and I are both retired military veterans and she outranks me.

After the finish:  I got my finisher medal and some water and Gatorade and then wandered around, chatting with other participants, and also sponsors, volunteers, and supporters, and getting some “after” photos.  I also treated some more dogs with the remaining treats I had.  Some of the  dogs who have humans that do lots of races are starting to recognize me now and when I show up at an event, and they see me, some of them often start heading for me, knowing I have treats.  The dogs of my friends Carolyn and Bill are especially good at this.  If Bill and Carolyn are not paying attention,  suddenly their “leash arm” will start straightening out as the dogs begin to head for me. The awards ceremony started with the men first, with the “most senior” men placers betting their awards first, so I got mine pretty quickly. After that, I enjoyed chatting with lots of people there, including swapping experiences with several fellow veterans, and getting some more after-photos. 

Epilogue:  The motto of Scallywompus is “Come For The Race. Stay for the party.”  They are not kidding, either.  There were all kinds of food and drinks, including water, Gatorade, beer, and several mixed drink combinations.  There were also all kinds of goodies at the vendor/sponsor booth too, from various types of snack items like chips, pretzels, etc., fresh fruits from the booth of my friend, Gilbert, and much more.

The award is a really nice Scallyompus drinking glass. I got a photo with mine and then donated it to someone.  I’ve gotten several of these glasses at past Scallywompus events and am running out of cupboard space to put them. The race shirt is very nice quality. Since I do so many races in a year – AI did over 80 in 2025 – I’m running out of shirt drawer space too, so these days, I usually get kid-size shirts and then donate them to the disabled kids at Morgan’s Wonderland or to kids currently fighting cancer, since I was a disabled kid for a while, and am also a cancer survivor. 

Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  all the many volunteers it takes to make these races happen; our MC, Anthony Zamora for doing his usual great job for us – the post-race “dance contest” he got going was fun and hilarious; iaap race management for the timing and results; the law enforcement officers there for our safety;  Pushbutton Photography for being the “official” photographers of the event; the patience of all the Tanger Outlet Mall customers and store employees as we invaded their space for a few hours; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! If you see me at an event, give me a shout-out  and we’ll get a photo together.  Whatever your exercises passions are, may you always stay safe doing it and be successful in reaching your goals.

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/QbvRpUATnppKKxju9

Before The Start   The Stock Show and Rodeo 5K, held on February 7^th, was my 5^th race of 2026.  It should have been my 9^th race of the year, but in January I missed one due to illness;  because of crazy weather, one was postponed to be scheduled at a later date; one went virtual; and one I slept right through my darn alarm going off.  Hope to make it up a bit in February;  I have 6 more races scheduled for February. This event supports the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship Fund. This is a very popular event that had 700 finishers this year. The start and finish was at Milam Park in downtown San Antonio, which is fairly close to the UTSA Downtown Campus.  The start time was 9 a.m.  I arrived at race site with about an hour to go.  I had already gotten my packet at the packet pickup day before race day so I wandered here-and-there, chatting with friends, other participants, volunteers, etc., and getting some pre-start photos before the 9 a.m. race start time.

On The Course:   We started by the grounds of Milam Park, and the course gives you a nice tour of the downtown San Antonio area, passing near the UTSA Texas Institute of Cultures; going along part of the San Antonio Riverwalk, where we came to the Mile 2 marker, and went through part of the King William District that has some historic homes and mansions. We went down a short part of Main Avenue, then turned onto Houston Street that took us back to the finish. I did my usual run/walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks.  I caught up and passed my speedy friend, Ralph, which never happens at the same races we do – he is usually much faster than I am – so I knew he must be having some kind of issue; asked him if he was okay and he told me he was fighting a cold. The last mile, he began walking and told me to go for it. I pretty much ran the last mile non-stop, crossing the finish line with a chip time of 43:44 and a mileage of 3.3, as I tend to walk back a bit at times when I’m taking my on-course photos, so that puts a tad extra on my mileage. I averaged 13:11 mile, and my last mile was done in 13:20. My fastest was Mile 1 in 12:58.  I need to reverse my first and last mile numbers, lol.  

After My Finish:  I stood a bit back from the timing mat and got a few photos of others finishing, including Ralph who finished not that far behind me. After that I wandered around chatting with other participants, supporters, vendors, etc., and got a few after-photos.  Per my Garmin, I ended up with a chip time of 43:44, and this would have made me 2^nd in my age group, but I am not listed in the 70-79 males results posted by iaap, and I figured out why; this is not on iaap, it is on me. I normally put my race bib on a bookcase right near my garage door, and pin it on right before I head to the race site. I did the same thing on this race day…but the bib I had up there was the one for my race that went virtual because of the weather. I didn’t even notice that, so that is why I am not in the results, because that bib, of course, was not registered with iaap or the race, duhhh.  Oh well, it is what it is, and I have no heartburn about it. I actually think it’s kind of funny…me and my idiocy at times, lol. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this event and had a great outing, so no regrets.      

Epilogue: This is one of the most fun and entertaining events I do each year and the course is great; wide street so accommodate all participants;  I even had my name on a poster board that thanked all the ‘loyal’ people for doing this one for so many years – in my case 7 years. I thought that was a nice touch done by the organizers.  The age group medals are really nice, the race shirt is a very nice quality – I got a small and asked the organizers to donate it to a kid; I do so many races, I’m running out of race shirt drawer space, lol, so I get medium or small and then donate them to kids.  There was an array of various snacks and goodies post-race, and I believe there was food truck nearby too.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one possible for us participants:  all the many volunteers out there for us; the sponsors, vendors, etc., who helped pay for it all; the medical people there for us if needed; the police officers on course for our safety; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all.  The only bad time I had was after the race; I missed a turn on my way home and ended up roads that were under construction that had several detours, so I was driving downtown for quite a while, until I finally figured out how to get to 281 to get back home. Yes, lol, I am directionally challenged.

Anyway…whatever your passion is, may you always stay healthy enough to do it, and may you always meet your personal goals. If you are a runner/race, maybe I’ll see you at a future event.  As for me, I am going to be lazy tonight as I have another 5K to do this weekend – the Scallywompus 5K in San Marcos on Sunday, February 8.  Umm, I will make sure wear the correct race bib this time, lol.