Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vvUXex8AaaJ568uy6

Before the start:   My 25^th race of 2024 was the Run To Remember 5K held on April 27^th at Comanche Park in San Antonio. This event, established by two brothers, Miguel and Matt, raises funds to help find a cure and better treatment options for Alzheimer’s.  Why the name Beards and Beans? OK, if I remember correctly, because one brother does not like beans, and they both have beards.  So, say the Beans brother raises the most funding for the cause. Then the other brother who does not like beans, has to eat a plate of them. If the Beards brother wins, then the beans brother has to shave off his beard.  The results, done by iaap, a top-notch San Antonio-based race management company, showed 265 finishers for the 5K, and 65 finishers for the 10K. There were also several untimed walkers for the 5K walk. There was also a 10K and a .5 Beer Run/Walk. The 10K had  a start time of a little after 7 a.m. with the 5K start around 7:20 after the 10K folks got started. There was also a Kids Run that began at 7 a.m. before both the main events started. There may have been some no-shows as, per one of the Race Directors, there were a little over 500 who registered and/or donated to the cause. I picked up my friends Carolyn and Lucy Dog and we then arrived very early; it was still dark, so we were almost the first participants to get there; we got great parking, lol. The volunteers, iaap staff, etc. got there even earlier than we did and were in the process of setting up the start/finish line, the photo backdrops, preparing eats for after, and so forth.  I wandered around getting a few pre-start photos and chatting with people there and helping just a tad with some of the start up prep.

On the course:  We started near the park’s main pavilion and then proceeded to do a loop on the access road of the park that went around the grounds of the park. We then diverted on the park’s paved greenway trails and each event went on those trails to a specified turn-round point.  We then headed back to the finish the way we had come out.  When we got back onto the trail that was adjacent to the park road, we then made a turn onto that and went to the finish line. The course did include a few up-hills and downhills, with the longest one being a downhill on the way out, so that was an uphill on the way back. My friend Erik, of e-Dragon Productions – another really good race company – laid out the course; if you’ve ever done any of his Dragon’s Den events, then you know that for Erik “flat” is a 4-letter word, lol, not to be used in race events. I felt pretty good the whole way and did my usual run/walk thing, taking some on-course photos during my walk breaks. I ended up with a chip time of  39:43, averaging 12:36 per mile, good enough to be first among the 4 of us in this age group.

 After my finish:  Water and banana first and sitting and relaxing for a bit after my cool-down walk around.  Then I was up-and-at-it again, going around to get some after-photos; chatting with participants, supporters, sponsors, etc.; and, of course, handing out treats to the doggies there. We also watched the Beer Run, and event where the participants had to carry a full glass of beer and try to finish, spilling as little as possible, and then had to drink what was left of the beer in the glass. It was fun seeing some of the ways these participants tried to make that happen. The guy who did win actually had almost a full glass of beer when he crossed the finish line. I enjoyed talking to a lot of people and made some new running community friends. 

Epilogue:   This is a nicely done event by Matt and Miguel – the Beards and Beans brothers – for a very good cause.  Alzheimer’s is a very insidious disease and a sad one too for both the recipient and the family. I think probably everyone knows personally of a friend, family member, or someone in their family-and-friends circle that may have dealt with this disease, so a big thanks to Matt and Miguel for starting this. Much thanks also to all the sponsors; volunteers; iaap, e-Dragon Productions; the officers out there for our safety; our MC, Anthony, and our sound-and-music-man Paul, our Grill Masters that did up the Kiolbassa sausages on a stick for us; and the other folks that provided goodies; our Fruity guy, Gilbert – best fruits around! – and there was even post-race beer – Modelo, I think, but apologies if I am in error on that – and all kinds of other items.  Apologies if I missed anyone.  Thanks to all involved.  This one is definitely a ‘keeper event’ for me, one that I will continue to do as long as I am able. Happy and safe exercising to all, whatever your passion in that area may be.  Hope to see you at a race sometime!