Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/KhGmkYkMbNL7LD2c8

Before The Start:  Put on by Bigfoot Running, my 39^th race of 2026 was the Shark Week Showdown 5K held at Ladybird Johnson (LBJ) Park on Saturday, July 11^th. This event was put on byThere was also a 10K and a 1-mile walk.  Per results posted on RunSignUp website, the 5K had 257 finishers and the 10K had 160 finishers, so a nice turn-out for this one. There was also a 1-mile walk. This event had an early start, with the 10K starting at 7 a.m. and the 5K starting at 7:15 a.m.   Our race day weather was pretty muggy with a temperature of 78 degrees around start time and humidity around 87%.  It was also very cloudy  and overcast and about 20 minutes or so before the start of the events, we had some spittting off-and-on rain for about 10 – 15 minutes.  I had picked up my packet the day before race day so after arriving at the park I wandered here and there, chatting with volunteeers, other participants, and the Bigfoot Team members that did the course setup, timing, and results. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I gave a few treats to the dogs I encountered.  The 10K folks started around 15 minutes before we 5K folks began. By start time, the spitting rain had stopped and never did start back up the whole time I was on the course.

On The Course:  The 5K was an out-and-back done on the paved concrete trails of the park.  Normally, we do a loop around the park’s traffic circle and then descend a short, winding hill to get to the park’s main concrete paved trails of the course to do an out-and-back course. However, our start for this one was just at the end of the public parking area. We crossed the start and then did a short jaunt on a winding downhill that took us to the park’s main trail.  We turned left onto this trail that took us in the direction of The Los Patios Shoppes and the 410 frontage road. The course is mostly flat, with just a few up-and-down inclines, but nothing you could really call a hill, until we got closer to the 5K turn-round.  Due to my now active spinal arthritis and DDD( Degenerative Disc Disease), I cannot run non-stop anymore for the whole race distance; so I did my usual run-8-minutes/walk-2 miinutes and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks.  Because we had a different start than the usual start route done for a 5K at this park, we went a bit farther to get to the 5K turn-round point. We actually passed the turn-round arrow in chalk for the usual 5K course done at this park and went over the Loop 410 frontage road and then underneath an overpass and could hear the Loop 410 traffic above us. This course took us up a hill that is fairly long, but not-too-steep, and once we got to the top of that, there was a water station on our right with 2 volunteers there – thank you very much –  and the 5K turn-round sign on our left. We then turned round and proceeded to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out. As noted, I can’t run a complete 5K non-stop, but I did get permission from my doc and my Physical Therapist, after my physical therapy was done, to run the last half of a 5k to the finish, and just take a few ‘quickie’ walk breaks; so on the way to the finish, I made a few “quickie” photo stops, and then got back to running again, and also ran the last mile non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 46:57, averaging 15:05 per mile, with my walk breaks and photo-stops.  This was good enough for 1^st in my age group as, lol, I was the only one in my 70-79 age group, lol; which is okay; I’ll take it.  I got a Bigfoot pin for being first in my age group.  All participants who finished 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd in their respective age groups got the Bigfoot Pin. I’m not sure what award was given to the overall winners; and some of those folks were pretty darn fast.

After My Finish:  I stood for a bit near the finish line and got a few photos of others finishing, including some of my personal friends. After that I wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, volunteers, supporters, etc., and got some more after-photos that included fellow participants – both 5K and 10k people, and some that did the 1-mile walk – as well as some photos with my Bigfoot staff member friends who organized this event, and did the timing and results, as well as some of my volunteer friends who were verifying results and handing out Bigfoot pins if they placed 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd in their age groups.  I am not sure what the overall winners got but, dang, some of those people are really speedy, including some of the younger lads and ladies.  One young lady, mabye about 12 or so, wow…she was traveling, running with her father, I think. She sped right past me, lol, like I was standing still. There were a couple of more kids like that on the course also. I kept thinking…I need a transfusion frm these kids, lol.   

Epilogue:  The course change was interesting and gave we participants new things to see, as we went farther than the “usual” 5K course takes us, so that was pretty cool – although that was a bit of a climb, lol, to the 5K turn-round point. I was quite happy that I met my usual race goal – finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me, lol – and even got a place award out of it; well, since I am not a speedy runner, that’s my goal…try and outlive the competition, lol.  All-in-all a very nicely organized event and – unlike some other races done here, Bigfoot Running provided several port-a-potties for us, which was great; much better than that crappy one-seater porta-potty that is the only ‘restroom” at the park that is near the trailhead; as much as this park is used, I never understand why Parks and Recrecation doesn’t put in an actual restroom near the trailhead, or more port-a-potties.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants: Bigfoot Crew; all the many volunteers; Park Police Officer out there for our safety; the patience of patrons – other runners, cyclists walkers, etc. – doing their own thing as we participants invaded their space for quite a while; all the race sponsors; and anyone else involved whom 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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/pmUxF9XSzn3ZUY4G9        

Before The Start:  My 38^th race of 2026 was Race #3 of the e-Dragon San Antonio Summer Series. This series includes 5 races held over the summer at various local San Antonio parks. The races help provide a scholarship to a male and female student after the completion of the 5-races series event.  Race 3, held on Sunday, July 5, was at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio with packet pickup from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., and a scheduled start time of 7: 30 a.m. This was my second race of the weekend, after having completed on Saturday the 4^th of  July “Let Freedom Run 5K” in Schertz, Texas, with the route being the city’s 4^th of July Pararade route.  Per posted results, there were 116 finishers for this event. I arrived at the park shortly after 6 a.m., got my race packet and then got a few pre-start photos.    

On The Course:  The 5K was an out-and-back done on the paved concrete trails of the park. We started by going around the park’s traffic circle, and then went down a paved incline that took us to the park’s main paved trails. After my Saturday race on the parade route, which had a 9:15 a.m. start and had virtually no shade at all along the course, making it feel very hot – temp of 81 degrees at the start, with a “feels like temp” of 91 and a heat index of 101 –  I appreciated that this park had lots of shaded areas along the way.  I did my usual thing of 8-minutes-run/2-minutes walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks.  At the bottom of this incline we made a left turn that started us heading in the direction of the Los Patios Shoppes area. We did a couple of up-and-down inclines on this route, but nothing that could be called a serious hill. Our longest incline, up on the way out and down on the way back, was just a bit past Mile 1 on the way out and before Mile 2 on the way back, was just after we crossed over a bridge on the way to the turn-round.   Overall, I felt pretty good, and as usual ran my “sedate” running pace, lol, averaging a 14:37 pace per mile.  My speedy walking friend, Peggy, was near me for just about all of the course, sometimes passing me by when I took my walk breaks and then me catching up to her and passing her by after my walk breaks were over.  We do a lot of the same events over the year and have this “leapfrog” thing going on at most of them. After making the turn-round, which was near the Loop 410 frontage road in the Los Patios area, I pretty much ran almost non-stop to the finish, with just a few quick stops of less than a minute to take a few on-course photos of some of my friends that I saw and of some of the course, like the bridge we crossed twice, and the incline we came down at the start and had to climb up as we went to the finish. After cresting that last incline, I ran around the traffic circle, and crossed the finish line with a time of 44:06, averaging 14:12 per mile; per my Garmin, my last mile was a negative split, nice.   

After My Finish:  I did a short cool-down walk while sipping some water and then stood near the finish area, getting some photos of others finishing, including friends at this event.  I did not have to wait long for my friend Peggy to come in, lol.  After the turn-round she had pretty much been close behind me for most of the way back to the finish. She is a very talented and strong walker and finished only about a minute and some change behind me.   After that, I wandered here-and-there, getting some more photos, and also got an award for being 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group. I got a nice ‘award coin” and all participants also got a nicely-done small pin too with the race name on it.

Epilogue:  This is a really nice event, organized and put on by e-Dragon Productions, owned by my friends, Erik and Kristine Burciaga.  They are a family of very talented runners too. When I was on the course – not even close to the turn-round yet – I saw Erik and one of his young sons already heading toward the finish; then as got closer to Los Patios area, I think I saw another son of his, younger than the first son I’d seen running with Erik, also heading to the finish and he was also way ahead of me, lol; Kristine, who today was doing packet pickup and more, is also a very talented runner.  Hmm, I think I need to get a transfustion, lol, from these family members.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., the Burciaga family; our MC, Anthony Zamora doing his usual great job for us as our MC; all the many volunteers that helped with packet pickup and the setup and takedown of the  start-and-finish-line area; manned the course water station; the J&B photography folks that took all the ‘official’ event photos; race management company iaap that did the timing and results – primarily my friend Rafa Iniguez with iaap, who was the only iaap timer there for this event; 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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers

Photos are here:          https://photos.app.goo.gl/wUJj6ke2qqcqBygF9

Before The Start:  My 37^th race of 2026 was the Let Freedom Run 5K held on July 4 in Schertz, Texas. This event started and finished at the Civic Center just off of Schertz Parkway. There were 2 categories of participants: the 5K run/walk, which had 294 participants and the 5K active military/veteran, the category which I was in. which had 96 finishers.  Since Schertz Parkway would be closed starting at 8 a.m. because of the parade, I got to the race site pretty early, going down FM 3009 and them getting onto a road that took me past a high school and then to a lower part of Schertz Parkway. After passing the Schertz Library, I was able to turn onto Schertz Parkway and find parking in the city’s huge parking lot near the city’s municiple offices and the Civic Center. I got there pretty early – just under 2 hours before the 9:15 a.m. race start – and got my race packet, as the packet pickup volunteers already had everything set up for that. The Athlete Guild crew was busily getting the start/finish line set up; putting out water near the start/finish line and so forth; and several of the representatives of the race’s sponsor company were also setting up their booths an tables. After getting my packet, I wandered around the area getting some pre-start photos of sponsors, other participants, supporters, the Athlete Guild Crew, etc., and handing out a couple of dog treats to a few dogs that were there, as this is a dog-friendly event. Participants and supporters continued to arrive, so the parking began to get busy, but the parking area across from the start/finish area is huge, so there was ample parking; and there were also several spaces in front of the 3 city office buildings that are in this area. Also nice was that there was a restroom building with indoor facilities – so no porta-potties. Finally, it was time for us to get started.  All categories started together. The National Anthem was played and then we got going.  There was some cloud cover when I first arrived but by start time that was gone. For this one we had bright sunshine, a temperature of 86 degrees, humidity of 70%, with a ‘feel like’ heat-index temp of near 90. There was virtually no shade at all on this course, until we got to Mile 2 that took us through a residential area, and even that shade was pretty skimpy.

On The Course: At my age, my two primary race goals were as usual:  finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting specificially for me, lol. After going through the timing chute, we then made a left turn onto the Schertz Parkway, heading in the direction of FM 78. Our 5K route was also the parade route. We started at 9:15 a.m. and the parade started at 9:30 a.m., so we had to run to stay ahead of the parade, or else hitch a ride on one of the floats, lol, if the parade caught up to us. .  As we went along the course, our closest parade spectators, waiting for the parade to start were on our right. I did my usual run/walk thing (8-minutes-run/2 minutes walk) and, since I had 2 pockets full of dog treats, I kept checking for any dogs with their humans among the spectators and if I saw one, I stopped for a few seconds to hand its human a treat for the dog, and got a lot of nice comments and thank-you’s on this; it was quite a lot of fun. Also nice, is that in this part of Schertz, there is not a hill in sight, so it was a very nice, flat course, with just a few very minor inclines.  As we got closer to FM 78, we made a right turn on the last Scherzt road that is right before going over the railroad tracks to get to FM 78. This road took us onto a road that headed us in the direction of Pickrell Park. If I rememer correctly, I think this road is where the parade ended, so the spectator crowd thinned out a bit here, but still quite a few people out there cheering us on.  We got to a point where we could see Pearsall Park on our right. At the next intersection, we made a right turn onto Aviation Boulevard and hit Mile along this stretch of the course. This part of the course took us through a housing area. One lady was out in her yard with her hose, offering a ‘wet spray” to anyone who wanted it to help cool off a bit. In the housing area, we hit Mile 2 and after that I just continued steadily on, ignoring my garmin beeping at me for walk breaks. Aviation Boulevard brought us back to the Schertz Parkway, where we made a left turn and then went the last ½ mile back to the finish line in reverse of the way we had come out.  The parade was still ongoing, so I made a quick stop to get a photo of a covered wagon and some horse riders, and then got going again. I crossed the finish line. I ended up 3^rd in my active/veteran military category with a chip time of 46:04. My old-time Garmin 35 – which is just a tad off of actual time but I love it anyway, lol – had me at a chip time of 46:11, averaging 14:51 per mile and listed my splits as Mile 1: 14:21. Mile 2: 15:53, Mile 3: 14:23.

After My Finish: I stood near the finish line – away from the timing devices – and got some photos of others finishing, including some personal friends.  After that, I did a short cool-down walk;  got some water and found a shady spot to just sit and do nothing for a while. After rehydrating a bit, I then began wandering around again getting some after photos, and enjoying chatting with friends/other participants; volunteers;  representatives with the sponsor companies; my friends with Athlete Guild; the guys who did the awards ceremony for us;  and also enjoyed chatting with others I had not met yet.

Epilogue:  This race certainly has a late start and it sure can be a warm one, but it really is a very fun event with, as noted, a mostly flat course, and  very “cool’ interacting with some of the spectators and having them cheer us on.  I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Athlete Guild – and thanks to my Athlete Guild friend, Sherry Purnell for finding my race bib number for me; all the many volunteers at this one for us, as well as the law enforcement officers along the course for our safety, and the EMT folks out there for us, just in case; and, of course all those spectators cheering us on and interacting with us. This is a very fun event I will certainly do again and would recommend it to others.    

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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/knysCErH7d4c4dY68

Before The Start: My 36^th race of 2026 was the Cerveza 5K held on Sunday, June 28, 2026 at Mission County Park.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after doing the Big Red and Barbacoa 5K at Comanche Park on June 27^th.  Race start time was 7:30 a.m. with the course being the San Antonio Riverwalk paved trails near the park. Per the results posted by race management company iaap that did the timing and results for the 5K, there were 448 finishers; 172 males and 276 females. The largest age group was 40-49 females, with 53 participants. I arrived at the park with just over an hour to start time, got my packet and then got some pre-start photos. I saw at this event several of my friends who, like me,  had also done the Barbacoa and Big Red 5K. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I handed out some dog treats too, and was very popular with the dogs there, lol. Prior to the start of the main event, there was a Kids Run, and a pre-start warmup and the playing of The National Anthem.

On The Course:  I knew I would not be placing today because of 2 reasons:  (1) I saw several of my speedy friends at this event who are in my age group and (2) Andiamo only gives age group awards to the overall male and female winners and the Top Finisher in each age group; I don’t remember the reason why they do that for each age group, but no big deal for me; at my pretty sedate running pace, lol, I usually just run against myself and my previous times. We got started right on time. This is a VERY hilly course. The flattest part of this course is when you cross the the timing matt and then again when you get to a flat part of the course just before the 5K turn-round and then after you cross the finish line. Right after we went through the timing area, we immediately made a left turn and right off the bat went down a hill. We then had a level part of the course for maybe 50 yards and then began climbing uphill. I did my usual thing of run-8-minutes/walk 2 minutes, since with my spinal arthritis, I can’t run a whole 5K non-stop anymore,  and took some photos during my walk breaks. On the way to the turn-round, we had some nice views of the river on our right, and on our left on the way back to the finish. We also went beneath several very tall bridges – 3, if I remember correctly – that had active vehicle traffic going over them at times. One of our longest climbs was the hill that took us up past a water station. After passing the water station, we then went down a very long hill that took us underneath a very high bridge and then a long downhill that took us onto a flat part of the course – mabye about ¼ mile that took us to the 5K turn-round by a bridge that crossed the river. We did not cross over the bridge; the turn-round was in front of the bridge. After that, we then went back to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out -with the river now on our left – and we now had to climb up to that bridge we went under on the way out, and then back up to the water station; this was the longest hill on the course.  With this many participants it did get a bit crowded at various spots, and as usual for the San Antonio public parks, it was also open to other users – walkers, other runners, and cyclists – who were not race participants, but from where I was at any given moment, I never saw anyone get impeded;  everyone out there was mostly really good about it, calling out when bikes were back; making way for faster runners along the course, and so forth. I’ve been doing training runs, where I’ve been practicing running non-stop most of the last half of a 5K course and I mostly did that for this event, with just a few really quick photo stops for less than a minute, and then was running again. Finally saw the start/finish area and ran up that hill non-stop and crossed the finish line, ending up with a chip-time of 43:54, averaging 14:08 per mile, with, per my Garmin,  splits of 13:56 (Mile 1), 14:23 (Mile 2) and 13:22 (Mile 3). I ended up 7^th out of 9 in my 70-99 males age group and, LOL, met my 2 primary race goals: Finish Standing Up and no ambulance specifically waiting for me.      

After My Finish: I stood near the finish line – away from the timing devices – and got some photos of others finishing, including some personal friends. After that, I got some water and then went and sat in my vehicle for a while with the a/c on full blast, lol, for about 5-10 minutes as I rehydrated; ahhh, that felt much better.  After that, back to the race area, where I enjoyed a banana and a tasty electrolyte drink, and wandered here-and-there  getting some post-race photos of other finishers, supporters, vendors, etc., and handing out some more dog treats. There were all kinds of post-race goodies; tacos, palettas (popsicles), some kind of fresh-squeezed lemon-ade drink, and lots more. One lady did the 5K dressed in a white “wedding-type” outfit as she and her husband were celebrating their 30^th anniversary on this race day;  I saw her on the course and she was running pretty good too in that outfit; she went zipping right by me, lol, and finished way ahead of me. Congrats to her and her husband, who also ran the 5K.

Epilogue:   Andiamo does put on some good events and all finishers get a really nice finisher medal.  The race shirt is really nice quality and “clean” – no sponsors listed on the back of it.  The course, as noted, is challenging, but also rewarding as you really do get some very scenic views or the river and surrounding area, unlike some of the city parks where riverbeds or creek beds tend to be pretty dry.  From what I personally saw, the race-day packet pickup crew was very efficient; the volunteers were all great; and our MC not only did a great job announcing for us, she also ran the 5K herself, and then continued her MC duties after.  Nice to have actual indoor restrooms – there were 2 sets, one on each side of the park’s pavilion – and there was this ‘photo thing’ where you stood on a platform and the camera circled around you; it made me dizzy just watching that darn thing, lol. Mucho thanks to ALL who helped make this one happen for we participants:  all the Andiamo staff members and the many volunteers there; our MC who did a great job for us; the law enforcement folks there for our safety, as well as the medical folks – and that poor-guy EMT who had to cycle up-and-down that hilly course, bet he got a workout too; all the race sponsors, of course, helping to make this event happen 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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/pPsQy7ehTkkQW3ZG7

Before The Start:   My 35^th race of 2026 was the Big Red and Barbacoa 5K held on June 27^th at Comanche Park in San Antonio, with a start time of 8 a.m. The company partnered with my friends of iaap that did the course set-up, timing and results. There was a total of 453 finishers for this event, 172 males and 276 females.  There was also a Kids Run before the start of the main event. It was a warm-and-sticky day for this one with a temp at start time of 76 degrees and humidity at 88 percent; sunshine, and very little wind at all. I arrived at the race venue with just over an hour to go until start time.  I’d picked up my race packet on Thursday so after arriving I wandered here-and-there chattinng with friends, volunteeers, and other participants and getting a some pre-start photos. This is a dog-friendly event so I also handed out some treats to the doggies there.

On The Course: We started about 10 minutes late.  There are primarily two different routes that can be used for races here. One takes you to the left, which is pretty darn hilly, and you end up going down a long hill, then across a bridge and then up a pretty steep hill that takes you under an overpass on your way to the turn-round; and then you have to do go back to the finish in reverse, which makes for a darn long uphill climb, before you finally reach level ground and go to the finish. The other course takes a right turn out of the start chute and then a left turn onto a trail that goes past a parking lot on the right. This trail has much more relatively “flat” parts than the other course does, so I was happy that after the start we turned right and did the course on this trail, as this is my personal preferred course for this park. I did my usual run/walk thing of 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some photos during my walk breaks.  We crossed over two bridges on this course; the one closest to the start/finish was pretty stable and hardly shook at all.  The second one we did, which was closer to the turn-round was pretty darn shaky, especially when several people are on the bridge at one time; good grief. I’ve never understood why the engineers who help build these parks can’t figure out how to ‘stabilize’ the park bridges; gee, they ARE professional engineers, right? You’d think they’d figure something out, good grief; maybe it has something to do with how much that would probably cost. Anyway….I felt pretty good the whole way – except for the few minutes on that one darn shaky bridge, lol.  There was a downhill – not very steep at all though and not nearly as long or as steep as the one on that OTHER course – on the way to the turn-round and when we got to the turn-round we then, of course, went uphill, but it went pretty quick, and then we pretty much had a fairly flat course all the way back to the finish, with just some vey mild inclines – nothing you could really call a hill –  including one very short one as we went back to the finish.  With about maybe ¼ of a mile to go, I fell into place beside a young lady and we pretty much stayed with each other to the finish; she momentarily stopped to walk a bit and I got slightly ahead of her, but she soon caught up to me and we were neck-and-neck right near the finish line, until she just edged me out, finishing about  3 – 5 seconds ahead of me, good for her, and that was kind of fun; got photo with her after we finished.    My age group was 70-99 male. Since I had seen 3 of my speedy friends there – all in my age group, I knew I was not placing today, lol. I ended up with a chip time of 43:54, averaging 14:08 per mile. Per my Garmin, my mile times were 13:19 for Mile 1: 14:18 for Mile 2: and 13:43 for Mile 3, ending up 7th out of the 9 participants in my age group.

After My Finish: I stood near the finish line – away from the timing devices – and got some photos of others finishing, including some personal friends. After that, I got some water and then went and sat in my vehicle for a while with the a/c on full blast, lol, for about 5-10 minutes as I rehydrated; ahhh, that felt much better.  After that, back to the race area, where I enjoyed a banana and a tasty electrolyte drink, and wandered here-and-there  getting some post-race photos of other finishers, supporters, vendors, etc. I did not get to enjoy any Big Red or Barbacoa, as I don’t drink soda anymore and, because of stomach issue side effects from one of the cancers I had, the “spiciest” thing I am allowed to eat is….plain yellow mustard; nothing spicier than that.

Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event – in spite of that humidity, lol – with a very nice finisher medal to all finishers and a very nice quality race shirt; there were lots of post-race goodies; they even had palettas (popsicles) of various flavors and those I can have, lol, so I enjoyed a cold one post-race and I also had this very good electrolyte drink – forgot the name of it – which was pretty tasty. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants: iaap for the course setup, timing, and results; all the race day volunteers out there for us; our MC – whom I’ve known for a while, but his name went right out of my idiot-old-man-brain; the law enforcement officers there for our safety; all the race sponsors of course; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much.  Oh, also, as the park, during races, is still open to the general public – other runners, cyclists, etc – thanks to them too for their patience as we participants invaded their space for quite a while.

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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/jhh2ANjJsU8jKDKt7

Before The Start:   My 34^th race of 2026 was the Big Kahuna 5K held on June 20^th at Southside Lions Park. There was also a Kids Run and a 10K. Posted race start time was 7 a.m., but that was changed to 7:30 a.m., as part of the 10K course was flooded due to heavy rain the night before the event, so race folks had to check that out for safety reasons. The result was part of the 10K course was impassable so the 10K participants ended up doing 2 laps on the 5K course.  I had picked up my race packet the day before the even so upon arrival I found some parking – which took a while as this event was sold out.  I found a spot about a 10 minute walk away from the start/finish area, which was nice, and  after getting to the pavilion where everthing was happening, I  wandered here-and-there, getting a few few pre-start photos and chatting with race day volunteers, friends, and supporters of particicipants. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I handed out a few dog treats too.   

On The Course:  Before the main events started, there was a Kids Run.  After that, since the 10K folks had to do 2 laps of the 5K course, they started about 5 minutes before the 5K folks started to spread all the participants out a bit, which was nice  for this one, so that staggered start between the events at least got we participants spred out a bit on the course., which was helpful, as per RunSignUp, 556 total participants were resgistered; however, after the 5K one of the Bigfoot volunteers who was tabulating the results told me there was a total of 400+ showing in the results for 10K and 5K, so I guess there were some no-shows for the race. We did get a few sprinkles of rain  and no downpours on us at all, thankfully. It was pretty humid though, with a temp at start time of 74 degrees, no wind and humidity at a whopping 83%.  I did my usual run/walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. It had rained pretty heavily the night before this event, so there were some muddy areas on the course, as well as some small puddles of standing water. The course was done on the paved off-road trails of the park. The first part of the course was pretty flat, with just a couple of mild inclines, nothing you could really call a hill. The first part of the route took us on an off-road paved trail heading in the direction of the lake that is adjacent to the park. At about the ½ mile point, we crossed over a park road and this took us on another set of paved trails that headed us in the direction of Comanche Park on Rigsby Road.  We did not go all the way to that park, but the route took us underneath an overpass; then down a hill, and over a stone bridge – and we could see the creek bed water was VERY high and swift-moving – and after the bridge we then made a left turn and went up a very long and fairly steep hill – not as steep as, say, the hills in Hilotes or Eisenhower Park, but still a pretty good climb – to get to the 5K turn-round point. After making the turn-round, we then went back to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out. I took a couple of quick photo stops on the way back to the finish, but for the most part ran the return-to-the-finish half of the 5K non-stop.  Per my Garmin, I ended up with a finish time of 45:32, averaging 14:30 per mile and my last mile was a negative split. This was good enough for me to finish first in my age group; however, when I checked the race results on RunSignUp website, it noted that my name – I register as Scotty Dogg – and results could not be found, so don’t know what’s up with that. One of the volunteers at the race did look me up on her phone in the results and she told me my chip-time finish was 44: 18, so don’t know why I’m not in the RunSignUp results, but no big deal.

After My Finish: I did a short cool-down walk and got some hydration into me. After that, I enjoyed wandering here-and-there, chatting with participants, supporters, volunteers, handing out some more dog treats, and getting some after-photos. It was still very humid, but Mother Nature was kind and did not pour rain on us.  About all we had was just a few light sprinkles off-and-on. Finally it was time to head out. I tend to stay quite a while at the race-site post race, which is okay because then, by the time I leave, most people have already left, so very little traffic to deal with when getting out of the park.  Also nice to be a veteran, as JBSA Fort Sam Houston is not that far of a drive from the park, so I was able to go to the gym and take nice relaxing shower and get into some dry, clean clothes and not have to drive home all soggy-sweaty, very nice.   

Epilogue: This was a really nicely organized event by the Bigfoot folks and all their volunteers. Packet pickup the day before the race was a breeze, it took me a total time of less than an hour to get down there, get my packet and then get back home, probably because it was Juneteenth Day, a holiday in San Antonio, so there was very little ‘rush hour’ traffic out. The race route is very nicely thought out and can accommodate a lot of participants. The race shirt is very good quality and the finisher medal all finishers receive is really nicely done. I would certainly do this one again and would recommend it to others.    
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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/soKsZZ7sFnW5QxVF7

Before The Start:  My 33^rd race of 2026 was the Texas Sun Showdown 5K held on Sunday, June 14^th at McAllister Park in San Antonio. This event included a half marathon, team relay events (2-person and 4-person teams, if I remember correctly), and the 5K.  The half marathoners started first, followed by the relay teams, and then the 5K was the last to start. This event was put on by e-Dragon Productions. The timing and ressults were done by iaap, a top-notch San Antonio-based race management company. Per iaap results, there were 144 finishers for the 5K; 44 finishers for the half-marathon; 18 teams for the 4-person half-marathon relay (72 total participants); and 7 teams for the 2-person half-marathon relay (14 total individuals), so a very nice turn-out for this one.

On The Course:  All event courses were on the park’s paved roads and paved off-road trails. Because of some rain the day and night before, the start times were delayed a bit as the course was checked for standing water and other possible course impediments (debris, etc).  For the majority of the event, we did have a pretty clear day with bright sunshine, a temperature of 78 degrees, and due to the possible threat of more rain, the humidity was a whopping 90%, making it feel VERY muggy for this event. The park roads and trails for the most part, thankfully, do have a lot of shade cover so that helped a bit. e-Dragon folks and race volunteers had marked in chalk the various paths to be taken for each event.  I did my usual thing of 8-minutes-run/2 minutes walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks.  The 5K marked directions were pretty easy to follow, as we basically just made a big loop through the park.   The 5K route took us from the start past some soccer fields on our right, then past a youth baseball stadium. We then went straight up an asphalt park road heading in the direction of Becken Pavilion. Just past Mile 1, we made a left turn onto a paved trail that looped through some woods on either side and then took us near a police sub-station adjacent to the park.  This trail eventually did take us past Becken Pavilion. We went by that and then crossed an asphalt park road, going by a water station on the course, and then back onto an off-road paved trail just past the water station. This trail looped us through the park a bit, eventually taking us onto a trail that put the lower soccer fields on our left. After following this trail, we came out onto the first paved road we had gone onto after the start. We made a left turn on this road, and then went back to the start line in reverse of the way we had come out, passing by the baseball field and soccer fields again and then into the finish chute.  I ended up with a chip-time finish of 43:40 averaging a 14:03 pace, and ended up 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group, as there were only 3 in my age group, lol.  I’ll take it. 

After My Finish: I got my finisher medal and then stood well back from the finish line so as not to interfere with other race participants – especially the relay folks who were making the baton exchanges as they came into the finish area and got a few photos of others finishing and got a few more photos in that area. I then wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, volunteers, supporters, etc, and got a few after-photos.   There was also some very nice post-race goodies, including 2 types of beer, and also pulled-pork sandwiches, which were pretty good.  I can’t drink alcohol anymore (darn cancer side-effects I am still dealing with), but the Shiner Bock folks there had a really good non-alcoholic beer and, wow, that stuff really does taste like actual beer, very nice.

Epilogue:  This is a well-done event put on by e-Dragon Productions – and their second one of the weekend too, as they also oversaw The Longest Day 5K that I did on Saturday, the day before this one. Kristine Burciaga, if I remember correctly, served as Race Director for both, and did a great job with each. All the many volunteers there also did a great job for we participants; from what I saw, race-day packet pickup went pretty smoothly; the Awards ceremonies for each event were nicely done; and lots of post-race goodies from the sponsors and vendors. The finisher medal with ribbon is huge and very nicely done, and the race shirt is really nice quality. Our MC, Anthony Zamora did his usual great job for us, as did iaap and all the many volunteers there. Also, thanks to the law enforcement officer out there for our safety; and, as the park was still open to all park users, including non-participants, thanks to the non-racing patrons for their patience as we participants invaded the park for quite a while.  Iaap, as usual, also did a great job for us. Thanks, also to any others involved that I may not have mentioned here.

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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/PQYusjRgbgFp374X8  

Before The Start:  My 32^nd race of 2026 was The Longest Day 5K, held on June 13 at Comanche Park in San Antonio, Texas.  There was also a 10K and a 0.5K beer run. This event, started as a friendly rivalry between brothers Matthew “Beard” Skinner and Miguel “Beans” Martinez as a way to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research to help find a cure.  It’s personal for them.  The event was inspired by their grandmother, Elvia Gonzalez, who battled Alzheimer’s for over 20 years. Each puts on a race – “The Longest Day” for Matt and  “Run To Remember” for Miguel.  Whichever brother’s race raises the most funds, then the other brother has to overcome some type of challenge set by the brother whose event raised the most funds.  All proceeds from each event go to support the cause. This is a very popular event that has grown quite a bit over the years.  I try to do each of their events every year, as I have family members who dealt with Alzheimer’s.  They usually get a nice turn-out for this race, which has grown over the years.  Per the posted results of race management company iaapThere were 198 finishers for the 5K and 67 finishers for the 10K. The 0.5K Beer Run after the main events, was a ‘fun run’ with the winner being the one who spilled the least amount of beer while running or walking with a full glass of beer.  I had picked up my packet the day before the event so after arriving at the race site I wandered around chatting with participants and supporters; handed out some treats to dogs there, as this is a dog-friendly event; and got some pre-start photos.

On The Course:   For this one, it was a bright, sunny day, with a temp at start time of 78 degrees with the humidity at 83%.  It did ‘spit’ rain on us for all of about a minute or so, and then stopped. The start time of The 10K participants started first a 0730, with the 5K starting after them at 0735. The course started on pavement as we made a loop through the parking area and then proceeded onto the off-road greenway paved trails at the park. I did my usual thing of 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The start of the course was fairly flat for about the first ½ mile or so, and then we went on a long downhill on the way to our turn-round points. After that downhill, we then crossed a short bridge with a view of Salado Creek that flows through some of the park. After that bridge we then had a pretty good uphill climb, then went underneath an overpass and had another pretty good climb that leveled out as we neared a water station on the course. After the water station, we then had a downhill to the 5K turn-round point.  The 10K participants, of course, had a longer downhill to their turn-round point as they were going farther than we 5K participants.  After the turn-round we then did the course in reverse, which meant that long downhill we did to get to the bridge on the way to the turn-round point was now a long uphill for all participants, 5K and 10K. After finally cresting this hill, we then had flat trail ahead of us. We passed by a couple of course marshals and that put us on the trail on which we had first come out  We did not do the loop around the parking lot that we had done at the start. We went in that direction but instead of looping through the parking area, we made a right turn near another course marshal, and then proceeded along the outer edge of this parking area and that took us to a right turn where we then headed for the finish, and then made a left turn that took us to the finish line. Whew!  Per iaap results, I finished with a chip time of 43:26 averaging 13:59 per mile, and I was dead last, lol, out of the 5 in my age group, which is okay; at my age I made my 2 primary goals for every race I do: finish standing up, with no medics waiting specifically for me.

After My Finish: I stood  back from the finish line so as not to interfere with others crossing it, and got a few photos of some others coming in. I also got a few photos in the finish area of some friends and other participants who had finished, including my friend Sandy, who did the 1OK on her 80^th birthday; wow,  impressive and awesome  She and I got a photo togther and she jokingly told me “We sure have been doing this a long time, haven’t we?”  lol.  Yes we have; her a little longer than me as I’m 72. She rocks.  

Epilogue:  The two brothers are awesome, putting on these events for such a good cause. They have a lot of fun with these events and always keep their sense of humor. I’m curious not to see which brother will win the challenge and what the other brother will have to do.  These two are, lol, very inventive in tasking the losing brother with a unique challenge. These races put on by Matt and Miguel are very well done, and will always be on my race calender each year. Very nice finisher medal to all finishers; lots of post-race goodies, including water; beer; various fruits; grilled sausages; and more. The race shirt is very nice quality, although I did not request one, as I have done so many races over the years – I started my running life on April 15, 1983 – I am running out of drawer space, lol. I did wear a past Run To Remember 5K shirt for this one, which displays Miguel and Matt on the front of it.

Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen: Matt and Miguel for starting this and making it happen each year, along with all their many volunteers and race sponsors;  iaap for doing the timing and results; the official photographers out there for us; law enforcement officers there for our safety; and, as this course was still open to non-participants who were doing their own thing in the park, thanks for their patience as we invaded their space for a while; also big thanks to e-Dragon Productions, who did their usual great job with course route selection, and keeping us all informed; also thanks to our MC whom, if I rememer correctly was friend Tony; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Also, special thanks to my friend, Stephanie aka Super Volunteer, who is a volunteer each year at more races than I run in a year; she is awesome; and to 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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/JkUjT9c1jziSKnRdA

Before The Start:  My 31^st race of 2026 was the Aid The Silent 5K held on June 6^th in Boerne, Texas, as the Boerne Main Plaza.  Aid the Silent is “a Texas-based nonprofit that helps deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teens receive equal access to opportunity by providing financial assistance to enhance communication methods; gain access to education resources; and to improve their overall health, both mental and physical, that leads to individual growth socially, educationally and spiritually.”   I always try to do this one every year, as I had surgery for a cyst behind my left ear and that left me a bit ‘hard of hearing’ in that ear.  Since this event started, I’ve done them all, except for one, when I had a slight foot injury and had to take some time off to recover from that.  This event always has a nice turn-out. Per the results posted by my friends of iaap, the company that did the timing and results, there was a total of 739 finishers for this 5K.  I had picked up my packet before race day, so after arriving at the race site I wandered here-and-there around the plaza grounds getting some pre-start photos and chatting with other participants, volunteers, vendors/sponsors, personal friends that were there, and so forth. As this is also a dog-friendly event, handing out some treats to the dogs that were in attendance. I was soon very popular with all the dogs there, lol.  Prior to the main start, a Kid’s run was held.

On The Course:  We started right on time at 8 a.m,.  I did my usual thing of run-8-minutes/walk 2-minutes, and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The weather for us was overcast, with some dark clouds, and just a bit of light, spitting rain, which did not amount to much at all. Our start temperature was 78 degrees, with virutally no wind at all, and humdity of 84%, making it feel quite muggy.  The course for the first couple of hundred yards was pretty flat and then we wend down a fairly short hill. This put us onto level ground for a while as we all surged toward our first turn-round on the course.  After making the Turn-Round #1, we then went back the way we had come out, heading in the direction of the start/finish line, but did not go that far.  We turned right onto a street that took us into another nice neighborhood, and this area had us going up-and-down some hills on the route; they were not very long hills, for the most part, but some of them were pretty good climbs, up-and-down. We had a second turn-round point in this area, and then turned onto another street that took us through another nice area. After winding through here, we then went down a fairly long hill that took us over a bridge that crossed Cibolo Creek, with some nice views of the water on each side of the bridge. After the bridge, we then climbed yet another hill – a short one, thankfully, lol, and that took us onto an off-road paved “greenway” trail, with views of Cibolo Creek on our left, and also took us under an overpass. We continued on the greenway trail, went down a winding part of the course and then crossed over a wooden bridge, from which I could see the hotel that was near the Boerne Plaza, so I knew we were almost done.  The last part of the course had us winding upward on the paved trail as we made our way back to the Boerne Plaza. We came out in front of the hotel, made a right turn that took us past the plaza restrooms and some port-a-potties. That took us back to the road we had started on, where we made a left turn and then could see the finish line ahead of us.  I ended up with a chip time of 44:17, 44:59 gun time, and finished 19^th out of 36 in my 60-99 males age group.

After My Finish: I stood  back from the finish line so as not to interfere with others crossing it, and got a few photos of some others coming in. I also got a few photos in the finish area with some friends and other participants who had finished.   After that, I wandered around the plaza area again, enjoying some of the post-race treats and drinks offered by some of the vendors and race sponsors while continuing to get some more ‘after’ photos, and chatting with friends and other participants who had done the 5K, as well as supporters, sponsors, etc, and also handed out some more dog treats. There were awards for the top 3 in each age group, and all participants got a very nice finisher medal.  I do so many events during the year that I get a lot of finisher medals, which I usually give away to kids, which I did this year too. I was chatting with a couple who had done the 5K while pushing their daughter in a stroller so, hey, I gave my finisher medal to the young lady, as she ‘participated” also in her own way. 

Epilogue:  Well, my ‘streak” of doing every one of the Aid The Silent 5Ks was broken due to that recovery period I had to take one year, but I still did okay by doing every one of them but that one, and I will continue to keep this event each year on my race calendar.  It’s a very well-done race for a good cause. The course this year was certainly different from the other years – and a bit more challenging too, lol, with some of those up-and-down hills;  but it was also lots more ‘scenic’ than the old course, with some nice views of the creek, and also going on that greenway trail.  All finishers get a really nice finisher medal, and the race shirt is very nicely done too.  Another reason I like this event is that I am a member of the YMCA, so post-race, I was able to go to the Boerne YMCA and take a shower and get into some dry clothe, so did not have to drive home to San Antonio all sweaty-wet; very nice.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Aid The Silent; all the vendors and sponsors that help pay for it all; all the volunteers out there for us, as well as the law enforcement officers along the course for our safety; the bike lead guy who led the up-front runners – and that guy had to work too, cuz the first overall guy ran a 5:36 pace, zowie!  Also, thanks to all the residents of the neighborhoods we went through for their patience and understanding as we invaded their space for a few hours.  I would certainly recommend this event to others, and I most certainly will continue to keep it on my race calendar each year.

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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.  

Photos are here:

Before The Start:  My 30^th race of 2026 was the Andiamo El Taco 5K held on May 31^st at Mission County Park in San Antonio.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after doing Fishers Faithful 5K on May 30^th at Retama Park.   I got an early start and arrived at Mission County Park around 6:30 a.m and got some good parking.  I picked up my packet and then wandered around getting some pre-start photos and also handed out treats to some dogs there, as this is a dog-friendly event, and chatted with some of the vendors, volunteers, etc.    This event sold out, with a nice turn-out of 373 finishers per the results shown by race company iaap who did the timing and results. We had a sunny day for this, although it was a bit warm with a 73 degree temperature at the 7:30 start time and the humidity was a whopping 93%.  Prior to the start, there was also a “stretching warm-up before the start.  The National Anthem was played and then we all got lined up to go. Because of so many participants, we crossed the start line in ‘waves” with groups of participants crossing the starting mat about every 15 to 20 seconds.

On The Course:  The course was on the paved greenway trails alongside the river.  This is a very hilly course. We started with a downhill, with the river on our right, then had a very short flat part of the course and then began climbing in earnest. The course took us South along the paved trails and after about a half-mile we began the hills in earnest, both uphills and downhills, and did have some nice views of the river on our right on the way to the turn-round. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-minute walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The turn-round was a stone bridge that we did not cross over. We turned around at the bridge and then returned to the finish the way we had come out, with the river views on our left on the way back, and did all those hills again in reverse of the way we had come out. Since we had gone downhill when we started, the finish was an uphill climb and we only got to level ground after we crossed the timing mat.  I ended up with a chip time of 42:28, finishting third in my 70-99 males age group.

After My Finish: I stood a little back from the finish line so as not to interfere with others crossing it, and got a few photos of some others coming in. I also got a photo with a lady and her friend, with whom I was in the same proximity on the course for most of the way back to the finish. After that, I headed to my vehicle to get the iced-down water and gatorade I had brought with me and found a nice quiet spot on the park pavilion where I relaxed a bit and got rehydrated. The vendors/sponsors did have some drinks and eats, for a price, but kind of costly in my opinion – $12, for example, for a freshly squeezed lemonade; I like lemonade, but not for $12 a glass, so was glad I had brought my own drinks.  However, one good thing Andiamo made arrangemens for  was  free tacos post-race and that was very popular; so popular the line in front of the taco truck was pretty long.  After rehydrating, I then wandered around some more, getting some post-race photos of other participants; supporters; and some of the vendors who help pay for the races; and also handed out some more dog treats.

Epilogue:  This is a nicely done event put on by Andiamo; a hilly, but nicely thought-out course, very well done, with a staggered start that spread us out a bit. The whole time on the course, at any given time where I was, I never saw anyone impeded. There were also professional photographers on the course taking photos of participants – much better than my photos, I am sure, lol.  Mission County Park is also a nice venue for a race. It has 2 pavilions there; a playground for the kids; indoor restrooms and water fountains on both sides of the park; there is also plenty of places to sit and relax for a bit post-race.  All finishers got a very nice finisher medal; and the race shirt is nice quality.  I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others.   Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., all the many volunteers there for us, doing race-day packet pickup; my friends with iaap race management who did their usual great job with the timing and results; our MC who not only did a great job for us, but also ran the 5k, and then continued her MC duties after she finished. Also thanks to all the vendors/sponsors for their support in helping make this event happen.

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 I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.