Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/sxGV389z4NHbWtmZ9  

 Before the Start:  My 47^th race of 2024 was the San Antonio Roadrunners Whine Run 5K, held on Labor Day, September 2^nd at the Tuscany Wedding Venue on Old Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio. The location was quite near the 1604 frontage road, La Cantera Shoppes, UTSA, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse, etc. .  Tuscany Wedding Venue campus at this location is a great place with lots of room, indoor restrooms and port-a-potties, a very nice raised stage, picnic tables, indoor rooms, and more.

The main event was a 5-miler and there was also a 5K.  There were 328 finishers for the 5K and 180 finishers for the 5K, so a very nice turnout at this popular event. Start time for the 5-miler was 7:30  with the 5K following at 7:35 a.m.  .  Our MC, Anthony Zamora was keeping us apprised of all that was going on and our Music Man Paul was cranking out some tunes.  There was also a race-day packet pickup so those volunteers were pretty busy.  I arrived with about 45 minutes before the start time and got a few pre-start photos.  Unfortunately, my old-time push-button Canon camera does not like taking photos when it’s still dark, so the first few photos look like I was wandering around in an alcoholic daze dream, lol; sorry about that to the folks in these photos.

On the course:  Weather folks had predicted it may rain on us, but it did not happen while we were on the course.  Courses were out-and-back mostly done on the paved trails of what is the Salado Creek Greenway, if I remember correctly.  San Antonio has done a good job of renovating and connecting several of the greenway trails, so you user can now get in a very long run, walk, cycle ride, etc., if they are so inclined.  We started on the Tuscany Grounds, going across a short gravel path and then making a left turn, going down a short slope in the direction of the 1604 frontage road. We did not go that far, making an almost immediate left turn onto the greenway trail. The majority of the course was mostly flat, with the 5k having just a few inclines to go up; the longest was the one right before we got to the 5K turn-around. I think the 5-mile folks got the bulk of the more steeper hills.   There was a construction area on part of the course – not being worked during this event since it was Labor Day holiday – which did not impede our progress.  I did my usual 8-minutes running/2 minutes walking, taking photos during my walk breaks, and trying to just do this one nice-and-easy as I had pushed myself a bit at a 5K I’d done the day before this one, which had several climbs. My goal for this one was just to kind of relax and run easy and maybe get positive splits.  Saw the first 5K runner heading for the finish and got photo; looked at my watch and figured, wow, this guy is doing 6-something minute miles.  I found out later in the results he was doing that, jeez. I made the turn-round and started heading for the finish. By now, at my slow pace, the crowd had thinned out pretty good, and I had lots of maneuvering room.  A number of the 5-mile participants also now started showing up around me as they too headed for their finish, and there were still people going to their turn-round points.  Lots of camaraderie along the way, with participants calling out words of encouragement to each other.  From Mile 2 I did run most of the way toward Mile 3, but did stop and talk a shorter walk break before finally going non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 44:21 averaging a 14:17 per mile pace, but I did behave myself – for once, lol – and got my positive splits. I was third in my 70-74 males age group, mainly because there were only 3 in my age group.  I’ll take it.  My 3^rd place award was a vert nicely done Whine Run coaster, which I like much better than the wine glass given to first place people. I will definitely use that coaster a lot more than a wine glass.  I am more of a beer guy than a wine guy.

After My Finish:   Got some water, did a short cool-down walk and then went to find a place to just sit down and relax for a while, since I think I was just a tad dehydrated – forgot to drink some water before the start. Found some picnic table seating and ended up sitting with two fellow military veterans, so we had a nice chat about what we did, where we were stationed, etc; good people, very enjoyable talking with them.  After that, I wandered around chatting with known running and non-running friends and  making new running and non-running friends – we all have a story, so it was enjoyable hearing some of the experiences of others. I also got several after-race photos. Our sound-and-music guy was still blasting out a variety of tunes for us from a variety of eras, resulting in a lot of dancing going on, which was fun to watch.

Epilogue: Very nicely done by the San Antonio Roadrunners, with a well-thought-out course, challenging, but not too challenging – like those crazy Helotes hills courses, lol – and plenty of room on the course for all.  Post-race goodies included wine, Shiner Beer, Force water, various fresh fruits provided by my friend Gilbert, and some various food items provided by the sponsors. Post-race massages were also offered, and the sponsors had several small give-away items. Nicely done and good quality race shirt – I got one for my wife – and lots of post-race fun things; at one point, our music guy Paul had some people ‘dancing in the streets’, lol.  I would definitely do this one again – did it last year too – and would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, e.g.,  our MC, Anthony Zamora; our Music Man Paul; all the many volunteers there; all the sponsors; the staff of Tuscany Wedding Venue, who took good care of us; our bike lead guy for the event; Pushbutton Photography folks for their ‘official’ photos; and thanks for the patience of the other users of the trail – cyclists, walkers, non-race runners, and so forth – for their patience with us as we invaded this space for a couple of hours.  Thank you all!  Whatever your passion is, I hope you have much success at it.  Stay safe and stay active.