Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/QTMZgDwrLbnH7tvr6

Before the start:   My 12^th  race of 2024 was the Couples Shuffle 5K, held on February 25^th at Pearsall Park in San Antonio. There was also a 10K and a Kids Runs and an untimed 2-mile run/walk. . This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after having done the Diploma Dash the day before at The University of Texas at Antonio.  This event was put on by Bigfoot Running.  The event supported Bodies Race Company, which supports local nonprofits in the communities in which it has races; the recipient nonprofit of this event was Rosedale International, which provides materials to help teach those in need basic skills, such as sewing; home supplies such as bedding, mattresses, etc, and for other needs.  . There were 87 finishers for the 5K participants and 15 finishers for the longer 10K. The start time was at 9 a.m. and it was already getting warm, with plenty of sunshine, no wind, and a temp of 61 degrees.  I had found this race online late Saturday night and saw it was still accepting registrations, so what the heck, I went ahead and registered. I arrived around 8:15 a.m., got my packet from my friend Ralph, who was running the 5k also – and he, too, had done the Diploma Dash 5K the day before – and was also helping out as a registration volunteer before start time.  After that, enjoyed chatting with other participants, supporters, and the Bigfoot crews members while I also got some pre-start photos.

On the course:  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took a few photos during my walk breaks. Well, this is Pearsall Park, so it did have some hills. We started just down from the parking area near the main restrooms and the playground area. The course was a mix of paved and dirt trails.  To start off, we went down a short asphalt part of the course which then turned into dirt-and-rocks surface and then went down a long hill leading to a paved trail below. Once down the hill, we then went into a wooded flat area running on a mix of pavement and off-road.  This brought us back to the hill we had come down after that start, but we did not climb it again – yet.  We made a left turn onto a paved trail and then proceeded to a turn-round point.  After the turn-round point, we then did the course in reverse of the way we had come out. Both the 5K and 10k had the same turn-round point, which meant those poor 10K folks had to do the course twice, including that long hill done after starting.   Ouch!  I ran pretty steadily and was feeling pretty good.  After getting back to Hellacious Hill,  I got a phot of it from the bottom, then ran about half-way up it and then walked the rest of the way to the crest.  Once I topped the hill I was on level ground again and ran nonstop to the finish. Well, it was almost level, lol. I think the only truly level ground in this park is in the parking lots.  I ended with a chip time of 42:16, and first in my 70-and-up males age group because I was the only one in that age group, lol. I’ll take it!

 After my finish:  I drank some water and some Gatorade I had brought and then did a short cool-down walk. I also took a few photos of others coming to the finish line. I then enjoyed chatting with participants and supporters and getting more photos.  All 5K and 10K finishers got a pretty nice finisher medal too, and the age-group placers got a nicely designed  little award pin.   There was no “official” awards ceremony, but the BigFoot Running Director called out the names of the placers as the results became apparent so those people could come up and claim their award placer pin.Epilogue:  This event felt more like a ‘meet-up’ of friends gathering together to enjoy each other’s company and get in a run or walk together. Very nice running atmosphere for this one, lots of smiles, laughter and people making new friends.  Pretty nice quality race shirt – pink in color – with a touch of humor in the design. The finisher medals are very nice; shaped like a heart with a ribbon that reads “Life is like a box of chocolates” and the medal actually opens to reveal a collection of sculpted chocolates, very cool; metallic of course, so please don’t try and eat them. 😉 The age-group award pin is designed like the shoe worn by Greek Messenger of the Gods, Hermes aka Mercury, with a wing on the shoe. Very nice.    For a smaller event, this one was very well done, so kudos to the organizers.  I would recommend this to others and would do this one again. Now, if they could just figure a way to put an escalator on the side of that darn huge hill after the start…  😉.  Mucho thanks to Bigfoot Running; all their race day volunteers; our MC and our timing guy; the bike lead guy that had to bike that darn hill – probably twice! – and thanks to all the other patrons of the park not doing this event for their patience with us invading their space for a few hours; my apologies if I missed anyone; thanks to all who were involved in making this one happen for we participants. Hope to see you at some future events.  Next up for me is Viva San Antonio 5K on March 2^nd at Missions Park in San Antonio, with a route that goes along the San Antonio Riverwalk.