Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/vb6kKu8zD2pZfLgZ7

Before The Start:   My 24^th race of 2025 was the Siesta 5K, held on Sunday, April 26 at Mission County Park in San Antonio. This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after doing the Run To Remember 5K on April 15^th, also held at Mission County Park. Put on by Scallywompus, this event included a half marathon; 10K; 5K; 5K competitive walk; and a Kids Run. These races were the last events for the Texas Hill Country Series which included a total of 4 races at various locations. I only did this 5K out of the 4 5Ks in this series. The events included a half marathon; 10K; 5K; 5K competitive walk; and wheelchair 5K, with post-race awards for the overall winners and age-group awards for the Top 3 placers in each age group. The 5K had the largest event, with results showing a total of 580 finishers.     The half-marathon started first, followed by the 10K and then the 5K and the 5K competitive walk. The 5K didn’t start until 8:35 a.m. but knowing that there were going to be a lot of participants for these events, I left very early, arriving at the park around 6:40 a.m. and got some pretty good parking. After getting my race packet, I just relaxed for a while in my vehicle and after that I wandered around the race venue chatting with friends, other participants, some of the vendors, my friends of iaap who were doing the timing and results, etc. and getting a few pre-start photos.  This is a dog-friendly event, so I also handed out a few dog treats.

On The Course:  All the events started right on time.  The course was done on the paved trails of the Riverwalk.  All the events started on the park’s large pavilion patio, taking us across the patio grounds an access trail that went downhill to the park’s paved Greenway Trail.  The 10K and 5K courses were out-and-back, with the 10K participants going across a bridge to reach their turn-round point and then coming back the way they’d come out. The turn-round point for the 5K events was the bridge, so we turned around at the bridge, not crossing it, and then returning the way we had come out. The half marathon participants crossed the bridge and then made a right turn, heading on the other side of the river back in the direction of the pavilion. If I remember correctly, they then crossed a bridge to return to the park’s side of the river and then went to the finish line.  After we 5K participants started, we were on the right side of the trail going to our turn-round, with some of the speedier 10K participants coming toward us as they headed for their finish. It was VERY crowded; this trail is just not made to accommodate so many people at once on it. Several of the “more experienced” 5K participants, including me, kept calling out to the 5K participants ahead of us to stay to the right, as the 10K folks had the “right-of-way” on the left as they headed for their finish, but it wasn’t much help.  I saw several of the 10K participants get impeded, as 5K folks moved to the left to get around slower people in front of them, and I saw quite a few of the 10K people having to move to run the grass on their right to get around these 5K participants coming toward them; it was crazy.  This trail is just not large enough to accommodate that many participants all at once; as the 5K had the most participants, my suggestion, if they do this event at this park again, is to have the 5K folks do a staggered start in waves, to allow everyone to spread out a bit.  Meanwhile….I did my usual run/walk thing and in the more crowded areas did my walk breaks on the grass and took some on-course photos. This is a very hilly course and as noted, my second time of this weekend doing this course, as my Saturday 5K was also held on this course. These hills are no baby hills either; some of them are quite long up climbs and down descents, and we went under a few bridges. After the first water station, most of the 10K folks had finally gone past us, so we had a bit more room for everyone to spread out bit. After we made the 5K at the turn-round, it was back to the finish the way we had come out.  There was still some 10K folks heading for their finish, but as we were now all going in the same direction to the finish, it was much less crowded. I did just a few more photo stops but, for the most part, after the turn-round, pretty much ran non-stop back to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 44:22, averaging 14:17 per mile and had a negative split for my last mile. There were only 3 in my 70-74 males age group, so I ended up 2^nd.  On the way back to the finish I also encountered my friend, Daisy, who was doing the competitive-walk 5K and she finished ahead of me; she walks faster than I run, lol.  Way to go, Daisy.

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. After that, I began wandering around again, chatting and getting some after-photos.  I was chatting with a friend when I suddenly heard my friend, Anthony, who was doing MC duties for this one, announce my name as 2^nd in my age group;  oops….didn’t even realize the awards had started, so hustled over to the “presentation” pavilion that has a big stage in it, and got my 2^nd place award and photo taken. After that, I wandered around this pavilion, chatting with other participants and the vendors/sponsors who had booths or tables there, and getting some more photos. Several of these sponsors had several types of post-race goodies, and on the outside patio there was also available Kiolbassa Sausage, my personal favorite. Alamo Beer also had a presence, making these alcohol concoctions for those who wanted them; they kindly made me a non-alcoholic one of just fruit punch, since I can’t have “hard liquor’ because of a medication I am on. I had a nice chat with them. I am a big fan of Alamo Beer as co-founder Eugene is a fellow cancer survivor and when I had my prostate cancer – the same type he had – he was SO helpful with me in answering all my questions and helping me know what to possibly expect.   

Epilogue:  As usual with Scallywompus, this is a really nice event with a great party afterwards; however, with the turn-out as big as it was, I would suggest a different venue for this event or, as mentioned a staggered start for the 5K; the Mission County Park trail is just not sufficiently large enough to accommodate so many participants; I was thankfully surprised that nobody got knocked down or hurt during that first mile of the course, as we were all packed in like sardines in can until we went underneath the last bridge that took us down the hill to our turn-round. Other than the course issues ag the beginning of the 5K, it is a very nicely done event, with lots of scenic views of the river on our right going out and on our left going back.  The other thing I might suggest is use the 5K course that was used for my Saturday 5K here, in which we did a short jaunt through the parking lot in front of the pavilion and then went on this trail that was over a half-mile long. This allowed everyone to spread out a bit and by the time we went on a downhill to the main trail, we all had plenty of maneuvering room, which was really nice. I realize, as someone told me after the race, this is a ‘certified course’ which some of the more competitive runners – lots more competitive than me lol – can use for certain things, so I get that; but even so, that is just too many people to have this fairly not-so-wide trail; glad that nobody fell down or got hurt.  Other than that, everything was very nice. The park has great facilities; the after-party Scallywompus throws is always great; very nice finisher medal. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  iaap for the timing and results; my friend Anthony Zamora who did his usual great job as MC; my friend Meghan who helped with the timing and also beautifully sang The National Anthem before the start; our music-and-sound man, Paul, doing his usual great job; Pushbutton Photography for the ‘official’ photos; the law enforcement officers there for our safety; 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.