Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/dAYcDtj83MHwHwkMA    

 Before the Start:  My 49^th 5K was the Texas Strong 5K on August 10^th, 2025. Held at McAllister Park in San Antonio, at Pavilion 5, near where the Dog Park is located. The event was a fund-raiser for the victims/families of the July 4, flooding in Texas Hill Country. Because all the proceeds of this event went to directly support this, there were no race medals given.  The race shirt was also sold as a fund-raiser, if I remember correctly, and those sold out pretty quickly.  This event was a timed 5k that offered a choice of two course choices: a paved concrete trail 5K or an off-road natural trails 5K. I selected the paved course since I can only do very mild off-road courses with this darn spinal arthritis I have. The start time was 7:30 a.m. for both courses, with race-day packet pickup from 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.  I arrived at race sight around 6:15 a.m., got my packet, and got a few pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event and there were quite a few dogs there, so I handed out some dog-treats too. This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend after doing the Mindful Reboot 5K the day before at The Rim paved greenway trail.

On the course: We started right on time.  The off-road participants lined up in front, as their turn onto the natural trails was just a short distances from the start line. We paved trail participants lined up behind them. After crossing the start line, we had a flat course for maybe ¼ of a mile, and then we started going downhill. At the bottom of this hill, it leveled off and we could see an overpass in front of us. To our right we could also see some of the off-road participants doing their thing on the trail they were going along. We paved trail folks went under the overpass – the Wurzbach Parkway above us – and then went left up a short incline that took us onto a flat part of the course for a bit.  After rounding another bend, we then began climbing uphill and this up-and-down climbing went on right to the turn-round point; these hills were fairly long also; if we had stayed on this trail continuously we would have eventually reached Lady Bird Johnson Park; however, we did not go that far. After one long uphill, we then did a long downhill that took us to the turn-round. Of course, after reaching the turn-round we then had to climb up that hill we’d just come down.  After cresting that, we had another short uphill, and then it leveled off for a bit – a pretty short bit, lol; then down another hill we went and finally got back to some level ground.  We proceeded to that small incline that took us back under the Wurzbach Parkway overpass – inside that overpass was the most level part of the whole course, lol – and after exiting that we then, of course had to climb back up to the finish area, as it had been downhill after the start. I ended up with a chip time of 42:17, averaging 13:33 per mile, with my fastest mile being Mile 2, which had the most level parts of the course.

After My Finish:  I got a few photos of others finishing after me – both paved and trail runners – and then went and just relaxed for a bit, drinking some cold Gatorade I had iced down. After that I was out—and about, chatting with participants, volunteers, vendors, etc., getting a few after-photos, and handing out more treats to the doggies there. Per the iRun Texas results I saw posted on their website, there was a total of 201 participants; I think this includes both paved trail and off-road trail participants, so a pretty nice turn-out on a Sunday morning for a good cause. Epilogue:  This is a very nicely done event by iRun Texas for a very worth cause and got a nice turn-out: 201 finishers for the paved trail 5K and 160 for the off-road natural trails 5K, if I remember correctly.  The race shirts did all sell out before race day, but there was another race shirt made and for sale on race day for $50 if I remember correctly.  Yes, the paved 5K course was pretty hilly, but I’ve done this course before so knew what to expect; although pretty hilly, it is a nice course, with very wide trails, giving participants ample room to maneuver around people when needed to do so; it’s also a stroller-friendly and dog-friendly course. There was also a very nice after-party with all kinds of various goodies – all kinds of drinks, including some kind of weird – to me, anyway – coconut concoction drink; lots of water, of course, as well as Powerade, various food stuffs, and lots more. Those that got the race shirts got a very nicely designed and quality event shirt.  The race was also chip-timed, with results already posted on the iRun Texas website.    I am not sure if they will have this again next year, but maybe so, as the flood cleanup will probably take a very long time and, sadly, families affected will probably have a very long recovery time for the damage done.  If it is held again, I would definitely do it again, and I would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants:  iRun Texas staff; any sponsors/vendors; the Park Police officers out there for us; our MC, Anthony Zamora, doing his usual great job for us; he MCs a lot of events over the year;  and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!  Hope to see you at a future event sometime.  May you always stay safe, stay happy, stay healthy.