Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jnwCMp2LN7ZDGNFKA

Before The Start:  My 5^th race of 2023 was the das dries.eins 5K held on Sunday, January 29. There was also a half-marathon.  Put on by local area race/running company Athlete Guild, this was the inaugural event of this race, which raises funds for Pink Warrior Advocates, which provides grants for women undergoing treatment for  breast cancer.  Pretty nice turn out on a wet Sunday morning, with 195 finishers for the 5K and 199 finishers for the half, and a pretty darn good turnout for an inaugural event. The half start time was 7 a.m. and the 5K followed at 7:30 a.m. Both courses started and finished in Prince Solms Park in New Braunfels, Texas. This park is located near the Schlitterbahn Water Park. Prince Solms Park is one of the starting points in the summer for toobers who want to toob down the Comal River. Weather was kind of dreary, with overcast skies, temperatures in the 60s, and pretty darn humid, with the prediction of possible storms.  When I left San Antonio to go to the race site, it was raining there, but when I arrived in New Braunfels, there was just some slight drizzle, although the ground was pretty wet, so  looked like the rain had passed through.  I got there a bit after 7 a.m., so the folks doing the half had already started.  I had picked up my race packet the day before, so chatted with friends and other participants and got some pre-start photos.

On The Course:  The Half course took in Landa Park, the Gruene District and the Guada Coma neighborhood.  The 5K took was mainly in the Guada Coma area.  We went of of Prince Sohms park, took a right turn on Liberty Avenue, then made a right turn onto San Antonio Street.  We crossed a bridge, then proceeded down to a traffic circle, which we looped around, and then came back onto San Antonio Street.  We then made a right turn on Comal Street, going  down to a turn-round point, and then came back up Comal. Next, a right turn onto Tolle Street, and then down to Gilbert street, where we made a left turn.  This brought us back to San Antonio Street, upon which we turned right, and then proceeded back to the park; left on Liberty; and then left back into the park and around  part of the loop road there, which took us to the finish. I ended up 4^th  out of 5 in my 65-69 age group, with a chip time of 42:31, averaging 13:41 per mile, with all my photo stops, and had a negative split for Mile 3.  The weather actually did cooperate a bit by not raining on us, but it was still very humid (90 percentile humid) and very overcast, with no wind at all.

After My Finish  –  Got some water and did a short cool-down walk for about 5 minutes or so.  Then it was time to get some photos of the happy finishers and their supporters, chat with friends and other participants and just wind down from the race. 

Epilogue –   This is  very well-done event put on by Athlete Guild and MC Extraordinaire Mark Purnell did his usual superb job; in my opinion, he is our top local area MC – but watch out, Mark, my friend Anthony Zamora may be pulling up on you.  Well, we have enough local events year-round, I think there is room for both of them, lol. Really nice tech-tee long-sleeved race shirt; and finisher medals, and race bibs that can be ‘personalized’ for you if you register early enough.  Very nice race location, with adequate parking only a short walk from the start/finish area.  All kinds of post-race goings-on and good treats, that included post-race massage, various “flavors’ of breakfast tacos, Shiner Beer, Gatorade, water, and more. I will definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to Athlete Guild for this event, and the course setup, timing, and results; Sports and Spine Physical Therapy for the post-race massages; Two Rivers Running for doing being the site of the pre-race day packet pickup; the Pink Warrior ladies that were handing out the breakfast tacos; Shiner Beer for their great beverage; and all the other sponsors involved.  Thank you all for what you do so we participants can have this event.  Also, thanks to all the police officers out there on the course for our safety.  Also, in closing this report, I leave a personal note to my friend Amy, a co-owner of Athlete Guild, who is a fellow survivor, and one of the people  responsible for getting this event started. We both were getting treatment at about the same time, me for my prostate cancer, her for breast cancer. I recently finished my 15 months of treatment in Nov 2022. Amy has done the majority of hers and has a few more things to get through, but I am SO glad we  both made it through!  Amy truly is a Pink Warrior who daily lives Never Give Up and one of my very favorite people;, a wonderful lady with a strong spirit, good heart, and great attitude.  Her posts are an inspiration.   Please keep her in your good thoughts and prayers – and anyone else too you may know who is dealing with this insidious disease.