Race photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/odDiY1dTRkaY244N8

BEFORE MY START:   My 20^th race of 2021, held on June 20^th, was the Run To Remember 5K and 10K, an event raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Association. This was an event done in conjunction with The Longest Day 5k, held on June 19^th, also raising funds for Alzheimer’s, and part of the fund-raising Beards vs Beans friendly rivalry going on between brothers Matt and Miguel. As with The Longest Day event, this event was also held at Wheatley Heights in San Antonio. Wheatley Heights is a very nice events facility that has a football field and running track with stadium seating, and nearby off-road paved trails that are part of San Antonio’s Greenway Trails System.  10K start was at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K followed at 7:45. After the main events, there was also a .5 beer run, in which participants had to run or walk, or both, .5 miles with a full mug of beer, trying not to spill any of it.  I arrived on-site with about 40 minutes or so before my 5K start time and got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:  Starting behind the stadium bleachers we proceeded out a back gate, did a short jaunt through the parking lot and then made our way to the trailhead of the paved trails. Both the 10K and 5K were out-and-back.  Weather felt a bit more humid than Saturday’s 5K, and I could tell I was going a bit slower for today’s 5K, as my walk break starting points were a bit less far out than my walk breaks for Saturday’s 5K had been.  Also, I made a couple of ‘unscheduled’ walk break stops to get a couple of extra photos, so that may have had something to do with it too. Yesterday’s event was bright and sunny, today’s event had a bit more cloud cover, and the temp, around 79 or so, was a couple degrees higher than yesterday at this time, and it felt a bit more humid today too. The trail is pretty nice with lots of shade along the way.  The majority of it is pretty flat, with just a few inclines along the way, nothing you can really call a hill.  Yesterday I finished this course in 37 minutes and change.  Today, it took me 39:18 chip time, and I had positive splits for this one, instead of negative splits like yesterday’s event.  Also got a tad dizzy at the finish after I stopped; but with my A-Fib heart, this happens once in a while, so I am used to it.  Found myself a shady spot – thanks to the Beer folks who let me sit on the cooler under their tent – and drank some water, ate a banana and watched my heart rate numbers start lowering pretty quickly as my pacemaker went to work getting me back to normal.

AFTER MY FINISH:  After rehydrating and eating the banana and just sitting a few minutes, felt much better and was off to do my usual thing of getting some post-race photos.  Several of the 10K folks were still out on their course. I saw a few of them coming in, including my friend Don, and the guy who carried the US Flag for the whole 10K course, something he had done for Saturday’s 10K too.  Also enjoyed watching the .5 Beer Run contestants do their thing. And even though today I was slower than a turtle’s spit dribbling down his shell, somehow I managed to place 3^rd in my age group.

Epilogue:  Originally scheduled to be done the last Sunday of Fiesta in 2020, this was delayed quite a while due to the pandemic.  So long that I actually forgot I had registered for it, until Miguel sent me a reminder, lol. Glad he did.  This is a nice quality event with a really nice quality race shirt, Fiesta finisher medal from each race, and a coupon for a Whataburger free Taquito.  I am probably one of the few Texans – well, I am a transplanted Texan – who actually does not like Whataburger burgers, but I love their taquitos, good stuff. Lots of nice post-race goodies, including fresh fruits, sausage-on-a-stick, choice of spicy (with jalapenos) or not spicy; and Lone Star beer.  The Beans vs Beards brothers put on these two really great quality events, well worth doing. I definitely will do them again in the future and would certainly recommend them to others. MUCHO THANKS TO: Brothers Miguel and Matthew for putting on a quality event and always making it fun; all the organizers and sponsors, including e-Dragon productions for doing their usual great job; River City Produce for the fresh fruits; Wingstop;, Network Funding, Alzheimer’s Association,, and e-Dragon Productions. Also thanks to iaap race management company for the timing, results, etc.  Thanks to any others I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!