Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DW1zmAqioG56ok2n7
Before the Start: My 78th race of 2025 was the Jingle Bell Run held on December 13th at Martin Luther King Park in San Antonio. This event is a festive event supporting The Arthritis Foundation. I have spinal arthritis and DDD (degenerative disk disease) and some issues with my facet joint which is why I can’t do distance running anymore, so pretty much stick to 5Ks and use a run/walk method now when I do a race or run; I make this event a regular one on my race calendar to support the cause. There were several other events on this same date in our local area so, all things considered, we had a nice turn-out for the 5K with 119 timed 5K finishers. There were several other untimed people who walked or ran with their friends/family members in support of them. I arrived pretty early before the start, got some good parking pretty close to the start/finish area; got my race packet; and then got some pre-start photos while enjoying chatting with other participants, supporters, race day volunteers, etc. We had some pretty good weather for this one too; a bit overcast, with a temp of 64 degrees, making it a bit humid, but not too bad, and some occasional spitting rain, but nothing really serious.
On the course: The 5K started at 8:45 a.m. after the playing of The National Anthem. The course was done on the off-road paved concrete trails that are part of San Antonio’s Greenway System, which connects a lot of the San Antonio Parks to each other; if so inclined, you can run, walk, hike, or bike a long way on these trails. Our course was an out-and-back starting just up from the MLK Park pavilion. taking us on a small loop past the park pavilion and then past the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, a Charter school that serves grade levels K-8. After passing by the school, we then proceeded onto a trail that took us to the turn-round point, crossing over a ‘shaky’ bridge along the way; shaky because of multiple people crossing it; For the most part, the course was pretty flat until we got closer to the turn-round. We had about a half-mile of downhill to get to the turn-round and then, of course, had to go back up the hill on the way to the finish. I did my usual thing of 8-minutes-run/2-minutes-walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. My friend, Peggy, who sometimes walks faster than I run, lol, was behind me most of the way, but got ahead of me when we crossed the bridge and I stopped to take a few photos from the bridge. I always joke with her that one of my goals is to at least stay a bit ahead of her, and I often get that challenge as we do a lot of the same events over the year. After the bridge, I did catch back up to her, and then passed her, but she was never very far behind me for the whole rest of the course. During my training runs, I’ve been practicing running my last mile or a tad longer non-stop, so I “mostly’ did that for this event too. I got to the turn-round, joked with the water station volunteers there about ‘no beer’, went around the turn-round cone – and here came Peggy again, not all that far behind me – and began now going up the hill we’d come down to get to the turn-round, heading for the finish. After I got back to the bridge, I took a couple more on-course photos, and saw behind me, here comes Peggy again; she is one strong walker. Off I went again, passing the Mile 2 marker and headed for the finish. I did slow down briefly when I saw participants with their dogs on the course, to pull out a dog-treat and as I passed by hand it to the dog’s human to give to the dog. Once I got back to the MLK Academy, I knew it was only about a half-mile now, maybe a tad under, so pushed myself along nonstop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 42:30, averaging a 13:41 pace and my last mile was a negative split; Mile 1: 14:16; Mile 2: 13:53, and Mile 3: 13:26; nice.
After My Finish: A volunteer handed me my finisher medal and then I stood a short way behind the finish line so as not to impede others coming in and got a few photos of other finishing, including my friend Peggy who was still not all that far behind me, lol. She did great. After that, I went to get some post-race goodies. Several of the vendors/sponsors had tables set up with various treats, drinks, food items, etc. I enjoyed a post-race Gatorade and a Cliff Bar as I once more became a ‘wandering dog”, going around the area chatting with other participants, supporters, vendors/sponsors and getting some post-race photos, including those of my personal friends of iaap who had laid out the course and did the timing and results. There was an awards ceremony, with the top 3 in each age group getting an award. They started with the younger age groups first, so at my age I knew I would have quite a wait for them to get to me, lol. I took some photos of some of the other awardees, including my friends Peggy and Deborah who had also placed, and continued wandering around, chatting with others and handing out the dog treats I still had left. They finally got to we old guys, lol, and MC Roy announced to everyone this was my 78th race of the year, so got some cheers for that; thanks to all of you who were there and did that, much appreciated. I was second in my age group as there were only two in my age group; my goal is to outlive my competition, lol, since my I only have two running paces: slow and slower. I was 11 minutes behind the guy who was first in my age group; very nice guy, enjoyed chatting with him.
Epilogue: This is a really nicely done event put on by the local chapter of The Arthritis Foundation. The course was laid out very nicely by the iaap folks – in my opinion, the #1 San Antono-based race management company; they are well known not only here but in several places in Texas and get a lot of work, so are always very busy. The finisher medals are nicely done, and the race shirt is very nice quality. Lots of vendors at this one, too, and several had various free handouts and edible goodies. This is also a pet-friendly event too; one lady even had her cat in a pouch on her back, keeping her company. That is the most patient cat I have ever seen, lol. I will definitely continue to do this event and most certainly would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us participants, e.g., The local chapter of The Arthritis Foundation; all the sponsors; our MC, Roy, who did a great job for us; the local law enforcement officers that were out there for our safety; the many volunteers it took to make this one happen for another year for we participants; iaap race management company for doing the course set-up, timing, and results – with a special shout-out to the owners – this is a family-owned business – Jose and Mini Iniguez and their family members all involved in the business Back in the day – before some of you were even born, lol – Jose was a top-notch marathon runner, who won several marathon, including the old-time San Antonio Marathon. Also, thanks to all who were involved that I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! Whatever your personal goals are, hope you always obtain them and stay safe, healthy, and injury-free doing it. Hope to see you around sometime at a future event; if you see me first, give me a should-out. Relaxing time for me now; I’ve got another 5K scheduled for the day after this one.
Scottydog Reports 