Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/9UWjknySusdBPjTJ6

Before The Start:  My 12^th race of 2026 was the Zebra Trot-A-Thon 5K starting and finishing at a pavilion on Brackenridge Park Golf Course near the Clubhouse, with a start time of 8 a.m. Per the description of this race:   “This event raises money for rare diseases. All money raised will go to help Texans with rare diseases/disorders to pay for meds, copays, whatever other reasonable expenses they need help with.” After a 2-week hiatus from running due to my bladder biopsy on February 19^th – no running for 2 weeks after that procedure, but I was able to walk two 5Ks. The timing and results were done by event company Athlete Guild. I arrived around 7:30 a.m., I got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos. This was a pretty small race with 17 finishers showing in the results, so kind of felt more like a group of friends were gathering for a kind of fun-run/walk.  I think the turn-out for this one was kind of low since it was held on the same day the very popular San Antonio Roadrunners Prickly Pear trail runs of 50K, 15K and 5K.

On The Course:   There was a slight delay with the start as our Athlete Guild guy corrected a timing problem with the computer, and then we were off.  The course was done primarily on the paved trails of the golf course. The route pretty much kept us away from the active golfers who were doing their thing on the golf course. The majority of the course was pretty flat, but we did go up and down a couple of fairly good-sized hills, but they were not very long; nothing like the hills at The Rim or Eisenhower Park. I did my usual thing of 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some photos during my walk breaks. With so few participants, I was pretty much running on my own for most of the time, especially at my pace, lol. The course was marked on the pavement with directional arrows; however, I missed one of them and got to a point where there were no more arrows, so I figured I missed a turn somewhere; so back I went and then saw the arrow pointing to go up and across a bridge, which I did.  After that, I saw other participants with race bibs coming back toward me – including my friend, Deborah, who I knew would finish before me for this one, since I had missed that turn – , so knew I was on track again. I also knew that my missing that turn was going to make this course more than a 5K for me, but that was okay too.  I came to turn-round #1 and got a photo of some of turn-round volunteers there and then started back the way I had come out.  We pretty much went back toward the finish the way we had initially come out. I made the turn to go to the finish. I looked at my garmin time and thought this can’t be right, so did not cross the timing mat so as not to screw up my final chip time. The timer guy told me instead of turning, I should have gone straight to a second turn-round point, and then after that I would come back and come into the finish. So back on the course I went, and started heading for that second turn-round point.  This part of the course took me down to Mulberry Street, where I made a left turn and then proceeded to the 2^nd turn-round point on the course, which was just down the street from a golf driving range on Mulberry and from one of the Brackenridge Park roads. Whew! Back I went on the paved trail, going in reverse of the way I’d come out to Turn-Round #2.  For this part of the course, I pretty much went nonstop for almost the whole way.  I did encounter some walking participants heading to Turn Round #2.  I also intersected with some non-participant runners doing their thing and, if they had dogs, made a couple of quick stops to hand out treats to the doggies; one of the dogs wanted to follow me after that, lol.  Finally, I could see the golf course parking lot and knew I was almost done. Made the turn to go to the finish and finally crossed the timing mat and was done. Per posted Athlete Guild results – with the extra distance I had due to my missing that turn, my  chip finish time was 1 hour and 45 seconds.  My garmin showed a time of 59:54, but I think Athlete Guild time is correct, as I bumped my garmin when I was handing a dog a treat and it stopped for very short time before I noticed and started it again. Well, with my missing that turn, I sure got my money’s worth for this event, lol, with a nice tour that included some scenery the other participants did not see, since I missed that turn.

After My finish:    First, got some water, and then just sat down for a while and relaxed. After a bit the volunteer ladies began calling the age group winners and I was first in my 60-99 males age group; there were only two of us and the other participant was a walker; very nice guy whom I chatted with post-race. The overall male and female finished in 28 minutes and change, zowie. The two overall winners got this really nice carved wooden plaque. We age group winners got a blue ribbon.   

Epilogue:    There was also a post-race raffle of these really nice baskets – very large baskets full of various items, and you could buy raffle tickets prior to the start and right after the finish, and also when you registered.   The goodie bag also included a ticket for free entrance to the San Antonio Zoo. When I register I don’t usually get a race shirt because I do many races during the year, I pretty much don’t have any drawer space left.  The race shirt for this one is very cool, though, so maybe they have some left over and I can just buy one from the organizers. The Zoo ticket in my packet I gave to another participant to give to his grandson, who apparently loves the zoo. As noted, this was a very small event, but it also was pretty nicely done, with a very nice course – even if it was long for me, lol. I felt pretty good the whole way and it was nice to be running again.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us., all the volunteers and sponsors; Athlete Guild for the timing and results; and, as this was an open course, the patience of  the golfer sout there doing their thing, and all the other users along the course doing their thing, walkers, other runners, and cyclists; they were all very patient with us.   I also want to thank the two lady employees in the clubhouse who were so polite  in giving me directions to the restroom – something I definitely need, lol, at my age, and especially after bladder surgery.  They also kindly let me take a photo of them for my race report; two very sweet and helpful young ladies.

 Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful and stay healthy and injury-free to keep on doing it. If you’re a fellow runner, maybe I’ll see you at a future event; love chatting with fellow runners and we might even get a photo together.  Stay happy, stay safe.