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

Before The Start:   On December 17, 2023, I completed my 70^th race of the year.  The Santa Antonio 5K was held a Alamo Beer brewery in San Antonio, Texas, with a start time of 9 a.m.  This event was put on by the San Antono Road Runners (SARR), the oldest established running organization in San Antonio, celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. Instead of a race shirt, participants get a Santa Suit.  Lots of participants also come costumed as various holiday season characters. Even some of the dogs were costumed, as this is a dog-friendly event. This is a very popular annual event which had 509 finishers.  The event had a start time of 9 a.m.  I arrived fairly early, a little past 7  a.m., to get good parking, and then just napped in my car for a bit before it was time to go mingle and get some pre-start photos.  Prior to the start, there was also a very nice performance done by a music/dance entertainment group.

 On the Course:   There was a Kids Run done first and then we all lined up for our start. The 5K was an out and back, starting and finishing on Burnet Street, a road behind the Alamo Brewery grounds.   Right out of the gate, we immediately began climbing up the Burnet Street Hill, which was no baby hill, that’s for sure.  It was a steady uphill climb.  Burnet Street was a dead-end at the top near Lockwood Park.  We went through the small pillars at the top of Burnet Street and continued downhill on the pavement on the other side. When we got to New Braunfels Avenue, we made a left turn, and then another left turn onto Hays Street. This took us up yet another hill, and then down one, and then we went up and over the historic Hays Street Bridge to a turn-round point.  After doing the turn-round on Hays Street Bridge, we went back to the finish exactly the way we had come out, so we got go have twice the fun with those course hills, lol.  I had done a 5K the day before this one at Morgan’s Wonderland and that one also had hills on the course, so I just took it fairly easy for this one, taking a few more walk breaks than I usually do and getting some on-course photos.  After I made the turn-round on Hays Street Bridge, I  took one more walk break to get some photos and then pretty much ran non-stop  from Mile 2 to the finish. I ended up with a chip-time finish of 41:23, averaging 13:19 per mile, with Mile 2-3 negative split of 12:39.  I was 7^th out of the 12 in my 65-69 males age group.

After My Finish: Got some post-race photos and enjoyed talking to the two medical guys near the finish line, both of whom were fellow veterans.  I then wandered around getting more photos, chatting with friends, other participants, and supporters, and enjoying some post-race goodies that included breakfast tacos, Alamo beer, water and other various drinks some of the vendors had.  There was also a contest for participants with pets; kids costumes; and participants in costume, no pets. This is a very lively after-party with lots going on. Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus were also there, with participants getting photos with them. There were even a couple of Grinch-costumed participants and one dressed up in a costume like the kid in A Christmas Story; and, by the way, he did not shoot his eye out, lol.

Epilogue:  This event goes back several years when friends Darlene and Adrian established it to raise funds for research for kids cancer.  It has always been a very popular annual event for a great cause.  The course has varied over the years, depending on road construction and road closures, location availability and so forth, but it used to be held quite regularly at Alamo Beer, so it was nice to be back at this location this year. Thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants and/or were out there for us:  Alamo Beer staff, San Antonio Roadrunners, all the many volunteers; iaapweb for the course setup, timing and results; the official event photographers; law enforcement and medical folks there for our safety; the music folks and dancers that were there for us; all the doggies who gave me face-kisses, lol, after I gave them treats; Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus; all the people in costume who gave us lots of smiles; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; personal note to Adrian and Darlene, thank so much for founding this event, it’s a winner. I hope you two are doing well and will have a great holiday season.  Next 5K for me:  Frosty Five and 5K at Pearsall Park on Dec 24. See you there, if you are registered.  Happy and safe holidays to everyone!