Photos are here:

Before The Start:  My 30^th race of 2026 was the Andiamo El Taco 5K held on May 31^st at Mission County Park in San Antonio.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after doing Fishers Faithful 5K on May 30^th at Retama Park.   I got an early start and arrived at Mission County Park around 6:30 a.m and got some good parking.  I picked up my packet and then wandered around getting some pre-start photos and also handed out treats to some dogs there, as this is a dog-friendly event, and chatted with some of the vendors, volunteers, etc.    This event sold out, with a nice turn-out of 373 finishers per the results shown by race company iaap who did the timing and results. We had a sunny day for this, although it was a bit warm with a 73 degree temperature at the 7:30 start time and the humidity was a whopping 93%.  Prior to the start, there was also a “stretching warm-up before the start.  The National Anthem was played and then we all got lined up to go. Because of so many participants, we crossed the start line in ‘waves” with groups of participants crossing the starting mat about every 15 to 20 seconds.

On The Course:  The course was on the paved greenway trails alongside the river.  This is a very hilly course. We started with a downhill, with the river on our right, then had a very short flat part of the course and then began climbing in earnest. The course took us South along the paved trails and after about a half-mile we began the hills in earnest, both uphills and downhills, and did have some nice views of the river on our right on the way to the turn-round. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-minute walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The turn-round was a stone bridge that we did not cross over. We turned around at the bridge and then returned to the finish the way we had come out, with the river views on our left on the way back, and did all those hills again in reverse of the way we had come out. Since we had gone downhill when we started, the finish was an uphill climb and we only got to level ground after we crossed the timing mat.  I ended up with a chip time of 42:28, finishting third in my 70-99 males age group.

After My Finish: I stood a little back from the finish line so as not to interfere with others crossing it, and got a few photos of some others coming in. I also got a photo with a lady and her friend, with whom I was in the same proximity on the course for most of the way back to the finish. After that, I headed to my vehicle to get the iced-down water and gatorade I had brought with me and found a nice quiet spot on the park pavilion where I relaxed a bit and got rehydrated. The vendors/sponsors did have some drinks and eats, for a price, but kind of costly in my opinion – $12, for example, for a freshly squeezed lemonade; I like lemonade, but not for $12 a glass, so was glad I had brought my own drinks.  However, one good thing Andiamo made arrangemens for  was  free tacos post-race and that was very popular; so popular the line in front of the taco truck was pretty long.  After rehydrating, I then wandered around some more, getting some post-race photos of other participants; supporters; and some of the vendors who help pay for the races; and also handed out some more dog treats.

Epilogue:  This is a nicely done event put on by Andiamo; a hilly, but nicely thought-out course, very well done, with a staggered start that spread us out a bit. The whole time on the course, at any given time where I was, I never saw anyone impeded. There were also professional photographers on the course taking photos of participants – much better than my photos, I am sure, lol.  Mission County Park is also a nice venue for a race. It has 2 pavilions there; a playground for the kids; indoor restrooms and water fountains on both sides of the park; there is also plenty of places to sit and relax for a bit post-race.  All finishers got a very nice finisher medal; and the race shirt is nice quality.  I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others.   Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., all the many volunteers there for us, doing race-day packet pickup; my friends with iaap race management who did their usual great job with the timing and results; our MC who not only did a great job for us, but also ran the 5k, and then continued her MC duties after she finished. Also thanks to all the vendors/sponsors for their support in helping make this event happen.

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.