Race photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/BY5dQHKnLvB7X6sb6

BEFORE MY START:   On October 24, 2017, I did my 25^th race of 2020, the Warrior Dash 5K, held at the Community Center of Floresville, Texas.  This was a fundraiser put on by members of the local Anytime Fitness and friends of a very nice guy named Jerry, to raise funds for Jerry and his family as he battles liver cancer. I registered online a couple of days before the start date, after I found out about this event from my friend Lynette, so thank you Lynette! Start time advertised as 9 a.m. I arrived about 8:15 or so, got my packet and then wandered around chatting with other entrants and supporters and getting a few photos.  The event actually started closer to 9:30, as more people showed up to get registered.  I did not mind the delay at all, this was for a good cause, and extra time just let me get to meet more people, which I enjoy.   Also gave me time to explore the grounds of the community center area – and find the restrooms pre-start, always a good thing for old men, lol.  The community center is actually quite large and the grounds are extensive, with playing fields for soccer, etc.  The same day this 5K was going on, there was some kind of youth activity taking place at the fields, with flag football and soccer matches for kids of various ages.  My friends Woody and Ralph and Ralph’s son also did this event, so I did have some familiar faces there for me.

ON THE COURSE:  Weather conditions for this one was: chilly. On Friday in our area, it had been in the 80s.  Then we had a “cold front” move in for Saturday and at race time, we had a drop of 30 degrees, with the temp in the 50s.  Crazy Texas weather.   The wind was blowing pretty good too, making it feel even chillier.  I had two shirts on, planning to take the top one off when I ran, but instead just used that bottom shirt as my base layer, with this darn wind blowing, and that worked fine.  I was comfortable for the whole route. The course started us in the community center parking lot, with a short lap around the lot, then onto the road that went to the back of the center where the playing fields were located. Here, we got onto sidewalk and did a loop near the playing fields.  Then onto a dirt/gravel road that took us to the adjacent City Park.  Here we did a couple of circuits around one of the park roads, then a lap around a dead-end park area, and then made our way to the finish at a pavilion in the park.  It was a very nicely laid out route, but a little short of 5K distance, around 2.45 is what I had on my Garmin.  I checked with some others and that’s about what they had too.  Even so, nicely done event, lots of fun, and my old-man legs did not mind the shorter distance at all, lol.  

After My Finish.  Walked the short distance from the pavilion back to my car to get my post-race drink and protein bar and dry off with a towel I had –  since even in cold weather, when I run, I sweat like crazy – and then back to the pavilion to get some post-event photos and chat with other participants.  The pavilion was a pretty nice area; covered pavilion with restrooms, a couple of tables, a playground nearby, and parking area in front.   This event, of course, was for Jerry and family, so they had a nice little post-race event that included some photos of him and with him.

Epilogue: This is one of the nicest events I have ever done, mainly because of the people that were there.  One of the friendliest groups of people I have ever met.  The event was well-organized, the course was pretty nice – I plan to go back there occasionally and run on my own and do some exploring in that area, so I appreciate this introduction to the park, etc – and everyone got a really nice finisher medal.  The race shirt is pretty darn nice too, but I registered too late to get one.  All good though…as many races as I  do in a year – my all-time high was in 2018 when I did 91 races for that year – I think my space for race shirts is beginning to run out, lol.   With the purpose of this event, I guess this is a one-time event, but if they ever decided to turn it into a regular fund-raiser for the club or whatever cause, I would definitely do this one again.  This was a dog-friendly event too, so I did get to hand out a few treats.

Mucho thanks to the Anytime Fitness members that got this one organized and thanks to any and all sponsors who may have supported this one.  Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers who were out there for us, and thanks to anyone else I may not have mentioned here that had a part in getting this event put on.   A really big HEART-FELT HUG AND PRAYER for Jerry, one of the nicest guys I have ever met, who also has a great sense of humor.  It was really a privilege and an honor to meet you, sir. I wish you every success in your personal battle.  I hope we can meet again sometime.  Never give up!