Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/urVGwD9iXGuQPLXL6

Before The Start:  On August 26, I completed my 46^th 5K of 2023. Held in Seguin, Texas, at Max Starcke Park, the Seguin First Responders Fit For Duty 5K put on by the Seguin Fire Department at Patricia K. Irvine-King Pavilion the event had a 5K and a 1-mile walk. Start time was originally 7 a.m., but changed to 7:30 a.m., which was lucky for directionally challenged me, lol, as I drove right past the park a couple of times before figuring out where it is.  The drive from where I live in San Antonio to the park is just a bit over 40 miles, so just under an hour, what with ongoing road construction – that I-10 east is crazy –  but it took me longer, lol. I believe this was the inaugural event for this 5K and 1-miler.  It was fairly small, with 62 finishers. I got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos, including one with my friend Jill, who had let me know about this event.  She walked the course, pushing a stroller with her small dog Rooster in it.

 On the Course:   The course was done on the paved trails and roads of the park. I’ve never run in this park so this was a new experience for me. The course was mainly flat with a couple of mild up/down inclines in a few places, but nothing you could really call a hill. The course also gave us some nice views of the Gaudalupe River and of parts of the golf course that is in the park. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min walk intervals and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks.   I also stopped occasionally to get a few other photos outside of my walk breaks. This did not help my finish time at all – that, plus I only have two running speeds, slow-and-slower; some snail just past the halfway point was yelling at me to move 😉.   Our turn-round point was actually just shy of 2-miles; I thought, what the heck, did they fool us and make this a 4-miler instead, lol.  No, they did not. For the route on the way to the finish, we pretty much went the same way we had come out, but diverted a bit near the finish line, taking a different way to the start/finish area.  We ended up with 3.4 miles instead of 3.1, so just a tad over 5K distance.  Between my run/walk method, my stopping to take a few extra photos, and just being plain darn slow anyway, I ended up with a chip time of 48:37, averaging 15:39 per mile, finishing 5^th out of 7 in my 51-99 males age group.   I also made my two primary goals: finish standing up and no ambulance specifically waiting for me. Anything I get after that is a bonus, lol.  I did get a finisher medal, as all participants did.

After My Finish:  Being Texas summer, this was a pretty humid and warm outing, so after I finished, I sat in my vehicle for a bit with the a/c full-on as I rehydrated.  Felt much better after that.  Jill saw me and said she and Rooster were heading home. Told her I’d be there in a bit, as he had kindly invited me to her place post-race to shower and change clothes so I did not have to drive back to San Antonio all sweaty; very nice of her to do that. Post-race I enjoyed some of the race goodies – fresh fruits, water, Gatorade, etc. – and chatting with the other participants and getting some “happy finisher” photos; I call the after photos that because it seems more people are smiling after they are done than before the start and on the course. Award medals were given to the top male and female runners and to the top young male and female finishers. Also, a guy from an online media site asked me for a short interview, which was pretty cool.  Not sure where that will be, but enjoyed chatting with the guy.

Epilogue:  This inaugural event had a fairly small turn-out but was nicely done.  Finisher medals and really nice race shirts to all participants. The course  and the park are really nice.  I enjoyed this park a lot and may even go to it once in a while  on occasion just to run on my own there. Athlete Guild – co-owned by my good friend Scott Wood – did their usual great job of timing and results.  Co-participants I encountered are all great people, really enjoyed meeting and interacting with them. There were also several veterans, so being retired Air Force myself, that was another nice bonus, having some entertaining chats with fellow veterans. I will certainly do this one again sometime and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all the people that made this one happen for we participants: Athlete Guild, the Seguin Fire Department, all the many volunteers and all the race sponsors, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Also a big shout-out my friend Jill and her husband, Scott, who hosted me at their house post-race, where I got to meet all her other dogs. Good thing I carry dog treats with me, lol.