Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/MUgoRNkcTJUJYbD29

Before the Start:  My 9^th race of 2025 was The Diploma Dash 5K on February 2, 2025 at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Hosted by the UTSA Alumni Association, this event was ‘presented’ by primary sponsor North Park Subaru.   The event started and finished in front of The UTSA Convocation Center, a physical ed building where UTSA teams play basketball, volleyball, and more. There was some concern that this event might have to be postponed to a later date, as San Antonio was expected to receive some freezing rain the night before and possibly on the morning of the event. After discussion, the event went on as planned. For having some bad weather predicted, there was still a very nice turn-out, with the 5K having 1,187 finishers, wow.  The weather was a bit chilly – around 37 degrees – but Mother Nature was kind; there was no rain and very little wind. Also, the Convocation Center had been opened for restroom use and lobby use, so it was nice and warm in there for people to get out of the cold for a bit.  I arrived just after 7:15 a.m.   I had picked up my packet a couple of days before Race Day, so enjoyed pre-race chatting with volunteers, other participants, my friends from iaap, the company that did the timing and results for this one; and also handing out treats to the dogs that were there; hence my nickname and race name of Scotty Dogg, since my first name is Scott. I carry dog treats when I run; if one chases me, I toss it in the opposite direction I am going and the dog usually chases that, giving me time to walk away; for the friendly ones, I hand them a treat, with the permission of their humans.   

On the course:  The event started right on time.  Once we got started, it actually was a pretty pleasant event since, as mentioned, we had no wind and no rain coming down on us, sweet. The 5K route is a complete loop around the whole campus.  We started in front of the Convocation Center, proceeding out onto the road in front of the parking lot and then at a stop sign, made a right turn onto the road that headed toward UTSA Boulevard.  When we came in sight of the stoplight at UTSA Boulevard, we turned left, proceeding up a short hill, with a parking area and shuttle bus stops on our left.  This took us to a road where we made another left, now heading in the direction of the business building and Baurle Parking Garage. Before getting there, however, we made a left turn that took us up a long hill toward the East Parking lot.  Atop this hill, we did a turn-round and passed the Mile 1 marker on the way down.  Next, a right turn onto the road we had left to go up the hill, and this took us in the direction of the parking garage and 1604 campus entrance.  We did not go that far.  We turned left onto a side street, with the Business Building on our left, and we could see the North Paseo Building on our right. After we got to the end of this street, we then made a right turn, up  short hill, and then a left turn that took us past the campus police station. At the end of this street, a right turn took us up a fairly steep hill – but short, thankfully, as we headed in the direction of 1604.  At the top of this hill, a left turn took us onto a road that took us past the 2-Mile maker and onto Tobin Avenue.  We stayed on this road for a while, passing on our left the campus track and the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence (RACE) building, and then had one more mid-steep hill to climb. After cresting that, we then passed a traffic circle, and made a left turn onto the road that took us back to the parking area for the UTSA Recreation Center and Convocation Center. A left turn at the 3-way stop brought us back to the Convocation parking area, where we turned in and there was the finish line. As noted, a very nicely planned route, giving one a tour of just about the whole campus. I ended up with a chip time of 43:25, which was good enough for 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group, nice.

After My Finish:  I got some water, did a short-cool down walk, handed out some more doggie treats, and got some after-photos.  Friends and I also watched the awards ceremony – dang some of those runners are speedy! The overall male won in 16 minutes and change; averaging 5:25 per mile, wow. Tope female was no slouch either, 6-something per mile. The MC started the awards with younger folks first, we old folks had to wait quite a while until the got to us. I’d request that next year, start with we older folks first….we have to get home and get our nap after an outing like this, lol. There were even separate category awards for best times for team participants ; and for runners with dogs too, nice.Epilogue: Very nicely done event with a well planned route, good facilities – indoor restrooms are always a plus over port-a-potties, especially in this kind of weather – and lost of post-event goodies, including all kinds of snacks from the vendors/sponsors; water; coffee; beer;  fruit; sausage wraps; and some sponsors cooking up this menudo-looking stuff that looked pretty darn spicy.  Vendors were also giving out various free items which had the company name on each of those, of course; for example, I saw one sponsor giving out headbands; another had memo pads, and so forth. This is definitely a keeper event for me, and I certainly would recommend it to others.  The event helps raise scholarship funds for students, so most certainly a worthy cause.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Alumni Association; UTSA leadership; our MC who did a great job; iaap who did the timing and results for the event; our music-and-sound man; all the many volunteers it took to make this one happen; all the many, many, sponsors, with big thanks to North Park Subaru for being the primary sponsor; our UTSA police and security folks for being out there for our safety; and the EMTs on site for us, just in case; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much! See you next year at this one!