Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/tVv3rykzUVky7wPq5     

 Before the Start:   My 42^nd race of 2025 was the e-Dragon Productions Race 4 of its Summer Series 5Ks This one was held on July 6^th at McAllister Park in San Antonio. This was my 3^rd race of the 4^th of July weekend, after doing a 5K on the 4^th of July and another one on the 5^th of July. e-Dragon Productions is a family owned running-related business that puts on events, is a vendor various running, walking, and other products, and also does printing jobs for various events and for shirts too; e-Dragon is the primary company I used to have my “self-motivation” slogan printed on my running shirts.  This series of five races, held at various parks of the San Antonio Greenway Trails system, raises scholarship funds for a San Antonio Student. Participants can sign up for each race individually or sign up for all five. Race 4 was held at McAllister Park, with a packet pickup time of  0600 to 0700 on race day and a start time of 7 am. I arrived at McAllister Park about a half-hour before packet pickup began, with things being set up by race day volunteers, e-Dragon folks, and iaap, another top-notch local race company that does race timing and results, as well as putting on their own events. After things got going, I got my race packet and then wandered here-and-there, getting a few pre-start photos and chatting with friends, volunteers, etc. There was a total of 108 finishers for this 5K.  

On the course:  The normal course for a 5K in this park is usually a loop course starting on paved road near some soccer fields, then going up one of the paved roads of the park, and then onto an off-road paved trail, upon which we do a loop that brings us back to the street, and then we return the way we had come out. However, because  of some pretty heavy rain in the area for a bit, and standing water on certain trails, for this event the course was changed to an out-and-back. We began the course the usual way, but instead of diverting onto a trail that would take us past a police substation, we continued farther on and then went onto a trail that took us past Becken Pavilion in the park. We continued on this trail until we came to a turn-round point and then went back to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out. It was a nicely thought-out course that provided for the safety of participants. As usual, I did my 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took on-course photos during my walk breaks. After getting back onto the road, we headed toward the finish. I took a few more photos and then, for the majority of the last mile, went non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 41:20, averaging 13:15 per mile. This was good enough for 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group, which is what I about expected as I knew before the start the other two in my age group are pretty darn speedy; they both averaged 8-minute-miles-and-change for the course.

After My Finish:   I got some water, did a short cool-down walk and then got a few photos of others coming into the finish. photo of others coming into the finish. After that, I wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, volunteers, and supporters, ate a banana and drank some gatorade, courtesy of my good friend Gilbert, a supporter of amy local races, and got a few more photos, including some at the awards ceremony; several of my running friends placed. Finally, it was time to go home with me planning just to relax and be lazy on this Sunday, after doing 3 races over the weekend. Epilogue: e-Dragon does an excellent job with its summer series, and I would recommend it to others, although I admit to not being a fan of that 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. early packet pickup time since I’m kind of lazy on the weekends, lol, and would like to sleep in a little bit anyway, but I’ll deal with it. The age group awards are very unique; a large coin that has a code on it that can be used for a discount when you register for upcoming e-Dragon events. The race shirts are very nice quality too; and if you do all 5 events, you get a nice “tour” of several of the local San Antonio parks. These events also for a good cause, helping a student get education via an awarded scholarship. I most certainly would recommend this series and will continue to do some of the races in the future, the lord willing and my health stays stable. Mucho thanks to all who make this series possible for we participants, e.g., e-Dragon (the Burciaga family); iaap for the timing and results; all the many volunteers and the many vendors who support the events; and anyone else involved whom I may not have mentioned here; thank you all for the support. May you all stay healthy and happy and achieve all you want from life. Before the Start:   My 42^nd race of 2025 was the e-Dragon Productions Race 4 of its Summer Series 5Ks This one was held on July 6^th at McAllister Park in San Antonio. This was my 3^rd race of the 4^th of July weekend, after doing a 5K on the 4^th of July and another one on the 5^th of July. e-Dragon Productions is a family owned running-related business that puts on events, is a vendor various running, walking, and other products, and also does printing jobs for various events and for shirts too; e-Dragon is the primary company I used to have my “self-motivation” slogan printed on my running shirts.  This series of five races, held at various parks of the San Antonio Greenway Trails system, raises scholarship funds for a San Antonio Student. Participants can sign up for each race individually or sign up for all five. Race 4 was held at McAllister Park, with a packet pickup time of  0600 to 0700 on race day and a start time of 7 am. I arrived at McAllister Park about a half-hour before packet pickup began, with things being set up by race day volunteers, e-Dragon folks, and iaap, another top-notch local race company that does race timing and results, as well as putting on their own events. After things got going, I got my race packet and then wandered here-and-there, getting a few pre-start photos and chatting with friends, volunteers, etc. There was a total of 108 finishers for this 5K.  

On the course:  The normal course for a 5K in this park is usually a loop course starting on paved road near some soccer fields, then going up one of the paved roads of the park, and then onto an off-road paved trail, upon which we do a loop that brings us back to the street, and then we return the way we had come out. However, because  of some pretty heavy rain in the area for a bit, and standing water on certain trails, for this event the course was changed to an out-and-back. We began the course the usual way, but instead of diverting onto a trail that would take us past a police substation, we continued farther on and then went onto a trail that took us past Becken Pavilion in the park. We continued on this trail until we came to a turn-round point and then went back to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out. It was a nicely thought-out course that provided for the safety of participants. As usual, I did my 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took on-course photos during my walk breaks. After getting back onto the road, we headed toward the finish. I took a few more photos and then, for the majority of the last mile, went non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 41:20, averaging 13:15 per mile. This was good enough for 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group, which is what I about expected as I knew before the start the other two in my age group are pretty darn speedy; they both averaged 8-minute-miles-and-change for the course.

After My Finish:   I got some water, did a short cool-down walk and then got a few photos of others coming into the finish. photo of others coming into the finish. After that, I wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, volunteers, and supporters, ate a banana and drank some gatorade, courtesy of my good friend Gilbert, a supporter of amy local races, and got a few more photos, including some at the awards ceremony; several of my running friends placed. Finally, it was time to go home with me planning just to relax and be lazy on this Sunday, after doing 3 races over the weekend. Epilogue: e-Dragon does an excellent job with its summer series, and I would recommend it to others, although I admit to not being a fan of that 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. early packet pickup time since I’m kind of lazy on the weekends, lol, and would like to sleep in a little bit anyway, but I’ll deal with it. The age group awards are very unique; a large coin that has a code on it that can be used for a discount when you register for upcoming e-Dragon events. The race shirts are very nice quality too; and if you do all 5 events, you get a nice “tour” of several of the local San Antonio parks. These events also for a good cause, helping a student get education via an awarded scholarship. I most certainly would recommend this series and will continue to do some of the races in the future, the lord willing and my health stays stable. Mucho thanks to all who make this series possible for we participants, e.g., e-Dragon (the Burciaga family); iaap for the timing and results; all the many volunteers and the many vendors who support the events; and anyone else involved whom I may not have mentioned here; thank you all for the support. May you all stay healthy and happy and achieve all you want from life.