Race photos are here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ccXf8qQmqCghhW6y7
BEFORE MY START: On Sep 26, I did my 21st “live” race of 2020. The Mutt Strutt 5K was put on by the Wilson County Roadrunners in support of the Wilson County No Kill Shelter. Event location was the Helton San Antonio River Nature Park in Floresville, a small city about 22 miles from downtown San Antonio. Race start time 8 a.m. There was also a 2K fun walk. I arrived fairly early, got my race packet and then get a few pre-start photos. The weather was pretty nice; very little wind, cloudy and overcast, and about 71 degrees. This was a fairly small event that had 40 finishers, 14 male and 26 female. Everyone got a finisher medal. Race award was given only to the overall male finisher and overall female finisher. This is also a dog-friendly event, so there were several 4-legged participants too.
ON THE COURSE: I’ve done this event a couple of times in the past so was somewhat familiar with the park. The 5K course was 2 loops through the park on its roads and trails, most of which were a mix of dirt-and-gravel. Course was mainly flat, with one short hill we went down on the way out and up on the way back. Tough terrain to run on in some spots along the course as the surfaces were pretty uneven. Nice park to run in though; very peaceful and scenic. There is a trail that also takes you down to the river for some nice water views, but the course did not include that trail; I think it may be a dead-end trail, if I remember correctly. My friend Albert and I were pretty much in close proximity of each other for most of the time we were on the course. Our speedy friend Woody was long-gone from both of us, lol, way ahead on the course, just as our speedy friend Lynette was too. When I finished the 2nd loop, my garmin showed the course as 3.25, and a couple of friends had that too, so just a small tad long, but that was okay, it was an enjoyable course. I ended up with 40:10, averaging about 12:24-minute miles. Mile 3 was a negative split for me, though, at 12:08. Mile 1 was 12:33 and Mile 2 was my slowest, at 12:45. One thing about being a slower runner, you have a lot more time to enjoy the scenery. 😊
After My Finish. Some light refreshments available after the finish, various fruits and water. I had brought some of my own so enjoyed my post-race drink and a small protein bar, just relaxing a bit. After that, wandered around chatting with people, getting some post-race photos and providing a couple of treats to the doggies, with the permission of their humans, of course.
Epilogue: Small but very nicely organized event with Athlete Guild doing their usual good job of providing timing, results, etc. Nice course – but I need to remember for this event to wear my trail shoes, I keep forgetting to do that every time I do this event, lol – nice finisher medal and nice quality race tee. This is a very ‘peaceful’ event in a very peaceful atmosphere and location. Will definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others. Great cause too, supporting the animal shelter. In talking with the participants that had their dogs there, the majority of them were rescues. Mucho thanks to the Wilson County Roadrunners, Athlete Guild, all the sponsors that helped this event happen, and all the volunteers who were out there for us, and anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!
Scottydog Reports 