Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/LnH9TxDdDtsoLfxd9

Before The Start:   My 21^st race of 2026 was Our Lady of the Lake University Confetti 5K held on April 18, 2026, with a 7:30 a.m. start time.  There was also a Kids run before the start of the main event. There were 432 finisher for this event; 151 males and 281 females, per the results posted by my friends from Athlete Guild, the race management company that helped set up the course and did the timing and results. This event is held during “Fiesta San Antonio” time as part of the Fiesta activities. Being somewhat “directionally challenged”, I left very early to get to the race site, arriving around 6:45 a.m., which helped me find really good parking pretty near to the start/finish/packet pickup area.  I got my packet and then wandered around chatting with others there and getting some pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I also handed out some treats to the dogs there, with the permission of their humans. As usual for races I do that have dogs present…I was very popular with the dogs, lol.

On The Course:  We started right on time, with a ‘confetti explosion” as we crossed the start line and went onto the course, with confetti shot into the air and then floating all around us and on us. The first part of the course was on the campus grounds, with the course being a mix of paved asphalt roads while on the campus grounds and then concrete paved trails after we exited the campus. We went on a sidewalk adjacent to a public street and then went onto paved trails that were part of Elmendorf Lake Park, with the lake on our left. This part of the course had us circling part of the lake and then going across a series of bridges that went over the lake with some nice views of the lake. I did my usual thing of run 8-minutes/walk 2 minutes and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks and also handed out some more treats to the dogs that were accompanying their humans during the 5K I was feeling pretty good overall and ran pretty well. During my training days, I’ve been practicing running the last 1.5 miles of a 5K non-stop and so far, so good, so I did that for this 5K, pretty much ran the last half of the race almost non-stop, with just a few very quick stops to take a few more photos, and then the last ½ mile went totally non-stop to the finish. I ended up 3^rd in my 70 – 99 males age group, per Athlete Guild posted results, with a chip-time of 42:56, although when I printed my results on the ‘results’ machine near the finish line, it showed me as 4^th, so I don’t know how I got moved to 3^rd.  The guy who won our age group finished in 30 minutes and change, beating me in by a good 12 minutes, wow. I want some of his energy, lol.

After My finish:  I stood back from the start line, out of the way of the timers and the official race photographers and got a few photos of others coming into the finish, including several of my personal friends, as the confetti continued to be popped out and floating down everywhere in the finish area, which was actually pretty cool.  For the awards ceremony, they also popped more confetti for the overall male and female, and for each group of the top 3 age group award winners. I got a post-race drink and then wandered here-and-there, interacting with friends and other participants, race sponsors and vendors, and even got to meet a few of the event board members, several of whom recognized me, as I’ve done just about all of the Confetti 5K races since it first started.  My streak got broken one year when I was scheduled for a medical procedure during race week. I did this race so many times, my friend Liz, who used to be the race director for this one, actually had a special race shirt made for me, which I wore for this 5K. It’s actually one of my favorite running shirts.

Epilogue:  This one will always be a keeper for me on my race calendar. It is very well done, with a really nicely laid out course; lots of great views of Elmendorf Lake/Elmendorf Park; and lots of post-race snacks and drinks – they even had beer – and very nicely done finisher medals for all finishers. There were porta-potties on site, but the organizers also had one building open for us, so we also had access to indoor restrooms, and water fountains, which was nice. The race shirts are very nice quality, and in our goodie bags, we also got this very nice purple scarf kind of thing – not sure exactly what it’s called or exactly what it’s for, but I’m sure, lol, I will find some use for it.  There were also various snacks and drinks provided by the race organizers, the vendors, etc.  We had a ‘music man’ rocking us with some good tunes; and there was a Hispanic dance group there too, all decked out in beautiful costumes, as they provided some entertainment. As we neared the finish line – about a half-mile to go – there was also a drum corps – I think made up of students – along with some cheerleaders encouraging us in, very nice.   Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Athlete Guild for start/finish line setup, timing, and results; all the many race day volunteers out there for us doing packet pickup; manning water stations, and so forth; the many police officers along the course, out there for our safety; the bike lead person for those really speedy participants; all the many OLLU staff members and students out there helping with this event; our sound-and-music guy; the medical people out there for us, just in case; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all!    

Whatever your passion is, may you always enjoy it safely and have much success. If you’re a fellow runner/race participant and see me at an event, give me a shout-out; love chatting with my fellow runners, and if you are so inclined, we can get a photo together for my race report I do for each of my events I sign up for. Stay safe, stay happy, and enjoy what you do. Cheers.