Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/L2qRA68vxY3aCeTi8    

Before the Start:  My 7^th 5K of 2025 was the 4^th annual Aiden Memorial 5K in honor of Aiden Alexander Memorial 5K. for sudden death syndrome and infant loss. Aidan sadly passed unexpectedly due to birth issues.  His family started this 5K in memory of Aiden. Proceeds from this event support stillbirth and infant loss syndrome organizations, such as  Kain’s Comfort, which donates Comfort Boxes to bereaved mothers in the hospital; and Sarah’s Heart which offers free counseling and support groups to those who have experienced infant loss.  I do this one every year – I think I may have done all 4, but not sure of that – as I have a personal experience with infant loss, having lost my 4-month-old son and first wife to a drunk driver. I picked up my packet the day before this event, so upon arrival I chatted with friends, volunteers, supporters and other participants, as well as getting some pre-start photos.  The event was held in Lady Bird Johnson Park in San Antoinio, on Nacogdoches Road, with a  9 a.m. start time.  I live about 5 miles from the park, so I got to sleep in a bit, which was nice.  

On the course: Weather at 9 a.m. was around 54 degrees with crazy high humidity at something like 71%, good grief, very sticky, and lots of cloud cover.  Thankfully, it did not rain on us. The timing and results were done by iRun Texas, an excellent San Antonio-based activity store, selling gear for runners, walkers, swimmers, cyclists, etc. They also hosted the pre-race packet pickup for this event. The event was chip-timed. The course was the most frequently used one for a 5K at this park. We started in the park’s traffic circle near the park pavilion, doing a loop around the circle and then down a short hill paved hill that took us onto the park’s paved off-road trails. Once on the trails, the course took us all the way out to the Los Patios Shoppes area, where we proceeded to the Loop 410 frontage road, did a turn-round and went back to the finish the same way we had come out.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-minute walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks.  After I made the turn-round, I was feeling pretty good, so ended up running most of the way to the finish, with just a couple of photo breaks.  One lady, who was also doing run/walk,  told me she was going to try and keep up with me to the finish, and she was true to her word, lol.  For the occasional stops I did – I think I made 2 stops on the way to the finish – when I looked behind me, she was not all that far behind me, doing really well.  As I got closer to the finish, I began to push it a bit more, feeling pretty good. Finally, saw that hill we had come down to get to the main trails and knew the finish line was near. Pushed a bit more going back up to the traffic circle, then wound around in reverse of the way we had started…and I was done, yay.  Chip time of 40:54, gun time of 41:08, gun time. I was first in my males 70 – 99 age group, nice; umm, I think I was the only runner in that age group, lol; even so, I’ll take it.  

After My Finish:  Short and quick cool down walk, then got some photos of others coming in, including the 2 ladies I had been the most in proximity with on the course.  I also treated a few dogs that were there – I always carry dog biscuits when I run; treat the friendly ones; toss the biscuit in the other direction, if one chases me, giving me time to walk away; I like dogs so don’t want to hurt one, and this system works well; which is why a friend way back when nicknamed me “Scottydogg”, lol, and that name stuck so I use that as my race name.  I also gave a few treats to the dogs in the park’s dog-park, with the permission of their humans. Back at the park pavilion, enjoyed a banana, chatting with other participants and volunteers, and getting some more after-photos.    

Epilogue:   Infant loss support has come a long way from back-in-the-day when my loss happened.  I am sorry for the need of this kind of event, but it is an event that serves a very useful purpose,, making people aware that there is help out there.  One volunteer told me there were 300 registered, but not sure how many actually did the 5K.  On this Saturday, there were several races in our local ‘driving-distance’ area, which includes San Antonio, New Braunfels, and more, so lots of events for participants to choose. Even so, this was very nicely done, as always, with a very nice quality race shirt; chocolate and vanilla cupcakes; breakfast tacos; coffee and water;  Kind bars; and more. The race shirt is very nice quality; awards for Overall Male and Overall Female; and a nice quality small medal for those who placed first in his/her age group; so I got a nice quality small medal, which, as usual for me, I toss into a bag and when I get enough of them, I then donate them to kids with cancer (I am a survivor myself) or to the disabled kids at the MAC (Multi-Assistance Center) at Morgan’s Wonderland, as I was a “March of Dimes” baby – look that up if you are too young to know what that is – born with dislocated hips, so can relate to that too.  I will continue to do this event, and certainly hope it keeps on growing. Much thanks to all  who made this one happen for us:  all sponsors; the founding  Alexander Family; all the many volunteers; iRun Texas for the course setup, timing, and results; also thanks to other park patrons – the park was still open for public use – e.g., cyclists, walkers, and other runners – for their patience with us invading the park space for a few hours; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all.  Next up for me:  Street2Feet 5K on February 16, the day after this one.

Photos are here:       https://photos.app.goo.gl/rPJFBfKjJjH4UaTc7      

Before the Start:   My 6^th race of 2025 was Cupid’s Chase 5k, held at OP Schnabel Park, San Antonio, on February 8, 2025. This event was put on by the San Antonio office of Community Options, Inc.  This is a national organization with offices in several states in the United States. In their various locations, they assists people with disabilities (both mental and physical) with helping to find housing, employment, education opportunities, and much more. As someone who was a March of Dimes baby, and who now has some disability from that, and from other incidents, this event is always on my race calendar every year. Race start time was 9 a.m., with two packet pickup opportunities on both Thursday and Friday before race day, so I was able to get mine on Thursday.  There was also a packet pickup on race day at 8 a.m., also convenient, as a friend of mine who had registered could not make it, so after arriving with about an hour to go to start time,  I picked up his packet.  After that, I wandered here and there, chatting with volunteers,  other participants, supporters and, as this is a dog-friendly event, handing out treats to the doggies. Chris Suchan of WOAI-News 4 was there as well, serving as the ‘starter’ for the event. Athlete Guild, a New Braunfels-based company owned by my good friends Scott, and his wife, Amy, who is a fellow cancer survivor who went through some of her cancer treatments around the same time I was getting mine for my prostate cancer. Thankfully, we are both still here.

On the course:    We started right on time, with Chris Suchan starting us off.  I did my usual 8-minues running/2 minutes walking thing.  The start line was in the park’s parking lot near the park pavilion, with the route being the paved off-road trails in the park.  We began by going uphill, passing by a small pavilion on our left, and then making a right turn and going down a long incline.  A left turn brought us to another downhill, and then after going around a curve in the trail, we proceeded onto a downhill bridge. After the bridge, we turned right and went onto the paved trails.  We came to a trail intersection with a trail to our left closed off, so my first thought was “Darn!” (well, maybe a bit stronger word, lol, but I’ll behave) because, having run in this park several times, I knew that closed off trail was a bit flatter than trail we proceeded onto; and so on we went and, sure enough, we did have hills along the way; not really long hills, or all that steep, like in Eisenhower Park or Helotes, if you’ve ever run there, but it was still a bit challenging. I only have 2 running paces, slow-and-slower, and I was also taking photos along the way, some on the run, some I stopped to get,  and also handing out treats to the doggies I saw – with the permission of their humans, of course – so it took me a while to get to the turn-round. My old-time push-button Canon camera is not really a “motion” camera, so some of the photos probably came out a bit blurry.  I was not even to the halfway point when I saw the lead runner already heading to the finish and glanced at my watch…..dang….the guy was doing 6-something minute miles, good grief. Finally got to the turn-round and headed back to the finish, after getting a photo of the water-station volunteers, and handed out another doggie treat, lol.  I took one more walk break and then, since I was feeling pretty good, did a stint of running non-stop back to that bridge we had come down on.  I got a photo of that going up – it was much less crowded, lol, than it had been after the start – and also got a photo of the next hill waiting for us around a curve after the bridge. After that I was then on the trail we had come out on,  heading for the finish; since this was down on the way out, we were going up on the way back. I finally saw the smaller pavilion on the course and knew that was the turn to take us downhill to the finish. I picked up my pace a bit, made the turn and went non-stop to the finish. I ended up 4^th out of 4 in my 70-and-over age group, with a chip time of 42:01 (42:17 per my Garmin) averaging 13 minutes and change per mile, and my last mile was a negative split, nice.

After My Finish:   I got a few photos of others coming into the finish and then wandered around chatting with other finishers, volunteers, supporters, etc., while I got some water in me, and also handed out more doggie treats.  All finishers also got a really nice finisher medal.

Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event, one that will stay on my race calendar. It is not a huge event – there was a total of 223 finisher, 71 males and 152 females, and that was fine with me.   As noted, very nice finisher medal; nice quality race shirt; and very nice awards for the age-group winners. Only the top winners, male and female, in each category got an age group award, as well as the top overall male and female.  That’s fine with me; I know Community Ops has a pretty tight budget, so better the funds go to those people the organization helps. OP Schnabel is a nice park to run in, with well-made running trails, both paved and off-road;  a nice large pavilion with indoor restrooms; water fountain; and a kid’s playground; baseball fields; and more. There is also a YMCA right in the park, which is convenient for me, since I am a member, so post-race I was able shower and change before driving home. I would recommend this one to others.  Much thanks to all the folks who made this one happen for us and were there for us: Community Ops; Athlete Guild; all the sponsors, of course; the Park Police Officers that were there for our safety;  the other non-participating park users for their patience as they did their own thing – although some of those cyclists need to learn trail etiquette and call out Bike Back when coming up on the runners and walkers; most of them, though, were pretty good about it; the official race photographer – I’m sure her photos will be way better than mine, lol; and anyone else involved I did not mention here;  thank you all!  Maybe I will see you next year at this one, the lord willing; and next year the event actually is on Valentine’s Day.  Happy and safe running, walking, biking, etc., to all!

Photos are here:          https://photos.app.goo.gl/d7AYZN8Ea4mFz7De7

Before the Start:   My 5^th race of 2025 as the Scallywompus San Marcos 5K, held on February 2 in San Marcos, Texas. This event was one of 4 races for the Texas Hill Country series of races.  There was a half-marathon, a 10K, a 5K run, and a 5K walk, with staggered start times.  We 5K folks started last at 8:35 a.m.  The half folks went first, followed by the 10K and the people doing the 5K walk. I mis-read the start time for the 5K and got what I thought was a late start from home, so was putting the pedal to the medal to get there on time; I didn’t even know my old car could go that fast, lol. When I finally did arrive on race time, it was around 8:14 so, thinking I had to get going quick, I ran to the packet pickup table to get my bib….and they told me no, the 5K start time was 8:35; well, shoot hen, I had plenty of time, lol.  Got my packet and then proceeded to get a few pre-start photos. The half-marathoners had already started and the 10K and walkers would be starting pretty soon.  We had some very nice weather for this one; lots of runners like some cloud cover; me, I like running when it is sunny and warm and today we had ‘abundant’ sunshine, almost no cloud cover, and a temp of 57 degrees at the start; nice.  This is also a dog-friendly event so the doggies were very happy to see me, lol, after they found out I had a pocketful of dog treats.

On the course:  We started in the parking lot area of the Tanger Outlets mall area, full of various stores, shoppes, places to eat and, nicely, indoor restrooms. We proceeded to go through the parking lot to a point that brought us out to Center Point Road on the north side of the mall, where we mad a right turn and went onto a paved asphalt road.  It was flat for a while – a very short while, lol, and then we began to climb.  The course is mostly up-and-down hills to the turn-round, and then we do it in reverse on the way back to the finish. The hills are not really steep, just kind of long in places; I was thankful for that, as I am still getting physical therapy for my ankle that I had a stress fracture on back in November.  I showed my therapist photos of the course, and he said I was okay to do this one, just take it easy, don’t push it, which made me laugh, since my pace is about 13 – 15 minutes per mile these days as I still have some cancer treatment side effects, and while I get my ankle strong again; push it indeed; lol.  For this one, I was just a ‘Clairol’ runner –  Nice ‘N Easy’, lol – and took a couple more walk breaks than I usually take to get a few extra photos.   After the turn-round, back we went, the way we had come out, with the sun at our backs now as I continued my 8-minutes run/2-minutes-walk thing.  As we came down the last hill, I saw the outlet’s huge American flag flying (hand-salute!), so tucked my camera away and did about ¾ of the last mile non-stop.  I ended up with a chip time of 44:35, averaging 4^th in my 70 – 79 males age group. There were only for in my age group, lol; we all placed because the awards went 4 deep.

After My Finish:   I got a few photos of others coming into the finish and got a photo with my friend Jill, who did the 5K also.  Since this is a Scallywompus event, there were all kinds of goodies and services, such as grilled sausages; beer; margaritas (I think); cold drinks, water; photo backdrops; a massage therapist on duty; and all kinds of other sponsor booths;  I enjoyed a cold beer – one is my limit as I was driving – and some gatorade and water as I wandered here-and-there getting some after-photos.

Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event.  I have not done it in a while, so it was good to be back. Very nice course; finisher medal to all finishers; nice quality race shirt; and the age group awards were various types of wine glasses, depending on where you placed. There were also several fellow veterans at this event, so I enjoyed swapping stories with them about our experiences. I would recommend this one and definitely will do it again sometime.  Mucho thanks to all the people that made this one happen for we participants, e.g., all the sponsors and volunteers; the patience of any drivers that were on the course, as the road was still open to traffic; and to all the mall area employees and customers who were there at the time of the event; Pushbutton Photography for their camera work; our MC, Anthony, doing his usual great job; iaap for the course set-up, timing, results; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned; thank you all! Hope to see y’all again at future events.   

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/VJ7BzrupU6SL734e9

Before the Start:  My 4^th race of 2025 was the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo 5K Stampede held on February 1^st in downtown San Antonio, in Milam Park.    Race start time of 9 a.m. Parking can be kind of crazy in downtown San Antonio and there was parking opening at 7 a.m. at Cattleman’s Square, first-come first-serve until the lot was filled.  I did not take advantage of this. As retired military and now an employee of UTSA, I first went to Fort Sam Houston and stored some gear at the gym, so I could shower after the event.  I then went downtown and parked in the Buena Vista UTSA employee parking lot, so got to park for free, and the walk from there over to Milam Park was about 7 minutes, very nice. I’d already picked up my packet a few days before race day, so prior to the start I enjoyed getting some pre-start photos and chatting with many friends and other participants. There was quite a nice turn-out for this one, with 566 finishers for the main event.  There was also a 1-mile walk option. Also, someone told me there was a sign with the names of people who had done this event several times and my name was on it; and so it was.  I’ve done this even 6 times – not consecutively – during my running life here in San Antonio, so that was a nice touch from the organizers, recognizing participants who have done this event several times. I became a runner way back in 1983 when I was in the Air Force, assigned in Turkey  on Tax Day, lol, so this coming April 15^th will be my 42^nd anniversary of being a runner. Too bad it’s on a Tuesday, so no race for me to do that day.

On the course: The start and finish was right alongside Milam Park, so for this event we made a kind of big-and-wandering ‘loop”, with the course giving us a pretty nice tour of parts of downtown San. We started out on asphalt and then got onto a cobblestone surface for a while; the road also had a pretty good slant to it, so I tried as much as possible to stay on the most level parts of the course, as I am still going through some physical therapy after being in a boot for 6 weeks because a small stress fracture in my ankle. It also included an out-and-back on part of the San Antonio Riverwalk, outgoing on one side of the River and coming back on the other side.  We also also went through a part of San Antonio that had some really nice homes.  I did my usual 8-minutes running/2 minutes walking and took photos during my walk breaks. After getting to Mile 2, I then got ambitious and ran non-stop to the finish. After we got to Mile 2.5 I was thinking okay, just a half-mile to go;  nope….the course ended up being 3.5 miles per may Garmin, good grief; but it was okay, as for the last few weeks I’ve been able to get my training runs back up to 3.6 miles and even did a 4-miler the Sunday before this event. I did not push it, just got the distance done, and ended up with a chip time of 43:30, averaging 13:44 per mile, and my last mile was a 13:07 negative split, nice. In my 70 – 79 males category, I ended up 7^th out of 12.  I really don’t worry or care too much about placing; if I do, fine; if I don’t fine.  At my age, I accomplished my two primary goals: finish every race I start; and no ambulance waiting for me, lol.

After My Finish:  Cool-down walk and got some water, and then enjoyed going around getting some ‘after photos” and chatting with friends and other participants.  There were several “goodies” at this event, including coffee (blech), water, grilled sausage wraps, cold beer, and more.  This event was also quite close to Market Square – about a 5-minute walk from the start/finish line – so you could also get lots of food and drink choices from there too.

Epilogue:   I really like this event – in spite of a bit of crazy traffic in this area, as well as some road closures while street renovations are being done –  will do it again in the future; and certainly would recommend it to others.  The event raises funds for the  San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship Fund. Also, after the race, you can stick around to watch the Western Heritage Parade and Cattle Drive, and they actually herd some Longhorns right up the street. All-in-all, a very nicely done event, one of my favorites. I will certainly do it again and would recommend it to others. Mucho Gracias to all the folk who made this one happen for we participants, and apologies if I miss anyone: all the sponsors; iaap for the course setup and timing results; all those many volunteers, police officers, etc., all along the course for us to keep us all safe; Race Director Carolyn, who is now a friend, lol, after we shared lots of emails, where she patiently dealt with all my questions, and I finally got to meet her in person at packet pickup; super-nice lady…and patient…very patient, lol; the costumed “rodeo clowns’ out there for us, too; and also thanks to all the drivers, business owners, residents, etc,, along the course for their patience as we invaded their space during this event. Thank you all!  Apologies if I missed anyone.  See you at the next one of these I will do; probably next year, I may just make this one of my ‘regulars’ on my race calendar. Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always enjoy it and always stay safe.

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/5oFSLDvvTZBJKxPA7

Before the Start:   My 3^rd race of 2025 was the Martin Luther King 5K (MLK 5K) held on Saturday, January 19^th at Martin Luther King Park in San Antonio.  This event raises scholarship funds for the Young Men’s Leadership Academy (YMLA). This is one of my ‘streak’ races, having done this event ever since it first started. Start time of 9 a.m.  I do not know why, but for some reason this race always seems to be held at the same time San Antonio gets hit with cold weather. This year was no exception, and actually a little coler than some previous years. A really nasty cold front began to move in on Sunday Morning – predicted to stick around until Wednesday – so race day morning brought us a temp of 41 degrees with a ‘feels like’ temp of 29, per the weather channels,  yikes!  I am not a fan of cold weather, lol; I much prefer running in temps of 65 and above; I’d rather have a temp of 80 or 90 than a temp that is below 50, lol;  so I was VERY layered up, lol, when I arrived at the race site; kind of felt like Charlie Brown in the Peanuts cartoon who was all layered up for winter, saying “Oh, I am quite warm now….but just can’t move.” Lol.  Well, I was not quite that bad, but I did have on some thermal tights, then winter long-racing pants over that, one of these ‘face-mask” warmers, with a hat on top of that; a thick pair of thermal socks, and  2 pairs of gloves. Unlike Charlie Brown, though, I was still able to move.  It was very chilly before the start, with an actual temp of 38 and a feels like of 28 for a bit.  We did have a very nice sunny and rain-free day, so that was good, but a brisk wind made it feel a bit cooler as we waited for the start. I  had picked up my packet on the Friday before the event, so when I arrived I wandered around chatting with friends and other participants, volunteers, etc, and getting some pre-start photos, and also handing out treats to the doggies there – hence my nickname of Scotty Dogg, which I also use as my race name and that is what just about all the people in the running community call me. 

On the course: The course setup, timing, and results were done by my good friends at iaap, probably the top-notch race management company based in San Antonio; they always do a great job.   The course was out-and-back on the park’s paved trails.  We started right on time. For a very chilly day, there was a nice turnout, with 353 finishers for this event. Right before the start, I rolled up my sleeve a bit to start my garmin watch for my run/walk method and….no garmin, what? Oh shoot…I remembered I had taken it off to charge it…and forgot to put in on when I left.  At my doc’s orders, I do run/walk because I have spinal arthritis; I also had my old-time San-Disk player, so I came up with a plan to “run 4 songs” and walk 1 song, since most songs are about 2 – 3 minutes or so – and glad I did not have Stairway to Heaven on there, lol, that would have been a long interval – and this ended up working just fine. Also nice was that once we got onto the trails, there were lots of woods on either side of us, so that gave us a nice wind-breaker; all those layers I was wearing, lol, I actually started feeling a bit too warm, so  pocketed the face mask, which helped, but did keep on my hat. My last walk break was just a tad after Mile 2, and shortly after encountered a very nice lady who kindly kept me company for a while as we ran along, unlike me with my memory, she actually did have her timer, so was able to let me know how far we had left. With about a half-mile to go, she told me she was going to push on ahead. I wished her luck and kept going myself. I had one short stop from Mile 2 marker to the finish, but ran just about all that last mile. Saw the finish line and pushed a bit more.  The clock read 45 minutes and my chip time was 44:09, which is about right for the pace I do, I usually average between 12 – 14 minutes per mile,  so my ‘music timing’ worked quite well, lol. Even so, I think I will try to remember my garmin from now on.  I ended up first in the 70-and over males category, mainly because I was the only one in my age group, lol. Even so, I’ll take it.

After My Finish: Very nice little after-party with drinks, snacks – lots of tasty pastries too, I indulged in a couple – and other things. Finisher medal to all finishers, and I got an additional medal for placing. Very nice quality race shirt, but since I do so many races, I have lots of race shirts – including one from this event from a past race – so when I registered I asked for a youth shirt and told them to give it to one of the students. 

Epilogue:  This is a very nicely done event with lots of good people there, including the participants; the many volunteers; some of the music students entertaining us, thank you very much; iaapweb doing the timing, results, and course set up; an official photographer; also indoor restrooms, which was nice, let us get out of that wind for a bit; and local police on-site for our safety, thank you.  It was also nice seeing Mr. Derrick Brown again, the Principal of YMLA; he really does a great job with this event and was our announcer for the awards.  I always enjoy a nice chat with him when I do this event. This event will always be a keeper on my race calendar as long as I am able; although, Mr. Brown, maybe you could say a little prayer to Dr. King in Heaven and maybe ask him to speak to Mother Nature about maybe giving us some really nice weather for this event just a few times in the future, lol. Oh well, either way, I am still going to be there.  Happy running and/or walking to all! Stay safe, and see you next year at this one!

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/CuB5Vp6Tv28kYKp69

Before the Start:   My 2nd ^t organized run/race of 2025 was the Coffee Lovers  5K, put on by The Best Races on January 18^th, held at Lady Bird Johnson Park.  There was also a half-marathon and a 10K.  Best Races puts on their events a little differently than most race companies.   You sign up for an event and then they give you an option of choosing your start time.  They usually do their events in ‘waves”; so, with this one, for example, one could choose a start time of 7:30  a.m.;  8 a.m., or 9 a.m. Because their event was the longest, the half-marathon folks did have to show up for the first wave.  I chose to sleep-in a bit and selected a 9 a.m. start time. By the time I got there, the majority of participants had already finished, having chosen the earlier waves.  I got my race bib, got a couple of pre-start photos – including one of the two KSAT-TV folks that were there doing a filming – they remembered me from the Brain Cancer 5K, where Steve Spriester interviewed me post-race – and then got going.

On the course:  The laid out courses were designed to be out-and-back courses of  two laps each. I really hate doing out-and-back laps, so asked one of the organizers if it was okay if I just used the usual out-and-back 5K course that was used by most race companies at this park. They told me that would be fine, just as long as it was 5K distance. Nice.  I got my bib and off I went using the 5K route that iaap uses for its races here, which took me to the 410 frontage road and then back.  Because I started with the last time available I pretty much had the course mostly all to myself, although I did see some other participants out there, some doing the 10K, others the half; and, as the park was open, of course, to all users, I also saw some cyclists, walkers, and other runners doing their own thing. I did take a few photos along the way, and also stopped to treat some dogs, so my time – as usual, lol – was pretty slow.  With my late start, the weather was actually not too bad at all; sunny; a very light breeze; and 54 degrees. I did my usual 8-min walk/2 minutes run and felt pretty good. With my stops along the way – dog treat stops mainly, and one stop to take a photo of a friend of mine and his friends who were out doing a group cycling thing – I ended up with a finish time of  46:43, averaging 14:53 per mile, and had a negative split for Mile 3, nice.

After My Finish: There was no official timing, as these events are mostly “fun runs” although you do pay a registration fee to help with expenses. I did a short cool-down walk and then enjoyed chatting with one of the organizers post-race, a very nice lady, who gave me my finisher medal, which all participants got. Also available was coffee – lots of coffee, which my coffee-fanatic friend, Woody, would have loved. As for me, I can’t even stand the smell of the stuff, lol, so found it ironic that I signed up for an event named for coffee; mainly because I only live about 5 miles from LBJ Park, so very convenient.

Epilogue:   Thebestraces.com pretty much organizes these events in local communities all over the US so that participants can just do their own thing at their own pace – so kind of like a big “get-together run” like running clubs do, except there is an entry fee to help pay for expenses.  It is different, and kind of nice for those who would like to do a relaxed ‘fun run” with no pressure. Registration is usually done through RunSignUp.  They put events all over the US and you can do them virtually to. My personal preference is to do ‘normal’ races, lol – I like BIG races with lots of people –  and am always skeptical at first of these types of events, but once I get there and do them I manage to enjoy myself; also, the staff folks representing the company really are very nice people and they took very good care of everyone, from what I observed.  Also, like other events, you can also choose to do these virtually. I don’t see myself doing a whole lot of these, but I probably will do some more at some time or other.  Mucho thanks to the two besraces.com people out there for us, who had to stand there the whole time waiting for the finishers – and with all those wave options, that’s a lot of patience, lol. Next up for me is the MLK 5K the day after this one – and the weather for that is supposed to be VERY different than for this one….start time of 9 a.m. with a temp of 41 and a ‘feels like” of 29..WHAT?!! I am not a fan of the cold. I’ll probably be in so many layers, lol, I will be hardly able to move.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KpTo8nZFSJ8Z9ZGP6

Before the Start: This was my first race of 2025 and my first after recovering from an injury, a small stress fracture in my right ankle in November. I had been in a boot for 5 weeks. La Cruda 5K is a vey popular event and someone after the race told me there was somethin like 800+ registered for this one before race day; and on race day more people registered. Race management comany iaap did the timing and results, and their official results showed a total of 745 finishers for the 5K. There was also a 1-mile walk. I arrived with about 40 minutes to the start time and enjoyed seeing lots of friends there and getting some pre-start photos – which I hope to share if-and-when I ever get my lost camera back – and also handed out some dog treats to the doggies there. Race start time of 10 a.m. The weather was nice and sunny, with a light wind and a temp of 47 degrees at start time. This race was put on by Solers Sports, operated by my friend, Lisa Soler.

On the course: The event was held in Helotes, Texas – Old Towne – just off of Bandera Road. We started in an area that had a few businesses, picnic tables, water fountain, small indoor restroom. It was behind and next to what used to be the old Roger Soler Sports building. We were on a short gravel path for maybe 50 yards and them made a right turn onto Old Bandera Road. This took us up to a traffic cirlce, where we made a right turn, and went down this street to a turn-round. We came back up this street, then made a right turn past the traffic circle, which took us down to another turn-round. We then proceeded up Old Bandera Road, going once more past the traffic circle. We then passed by where the start/finish was and went down a long incline to our 3rd turn-round point. This brought us back up the incline we had just come down, going once more past the start/finish line area. We then did this loop a second time, and after the second uphill on the course, we then turned back onto the gravely entrance to go to the finish line. I was taking it pretty easy, not wanting to stress my foot, as this was my first event after several weeks. I ended up 13th out of 15 in my 70-79 males age group, with a chip time of 48:48.

After the Finish: Big party. All kinds of food, including Kiolbassa sausages; water, Alamo Beer; gatorade, and lots more. All finishers got a very nicely done finisher medal. The race shirt is very nice quality too. Mucho thanks to all the many volunteers; the bike-lead person for the speedy runners; iaapweb for the timing and results; they always do a great job; Pushbutton phototograph for the offical race photos; and all the many sponsors, vendors, etc., who help make this event happen. Also, thanks to all the police officers out there for our safety. If you have never done this one,give it a try on some New Year’s Day; you will not regret it.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/jYxxCrNYF5zw6FG5A

Before the Start:  My 64^th race of 2024 was the Turkey Shuffle 5K put on by Bigfoot Running on Sunday, November 3^rd.  There was also a 10K, a 1-Mile-run and a  Kids Run before the main events started. The event was held at Southside Lions Park in San Antonio.  There were no age group awards, but the events were all timed and all finishers got a really nice finisher medal. The 5K was the largest group with 88 finishers. The 10K had 52 finishers.  The 1-Mile had 25 finishers. You can find all the results on the RunSignUp website.

On the course:  The 10K, 5K, and 1-miler started at 9 a.m. They were all out-and-back courses. It was a tad humid, but we actually had some pretty nice weather for it, with a bit of sunshine, some cloud cover, and a temp in the upper 60s, low 70s. We started in front of a park pavilion, made a left turn onto a paved trail, and crossed over a short bridge to continue on the paved trail.  The 5K and 10K participants crossed a total of 3 bridges, each one twice, as the courses were out-and-back. We also had some nice views of the waters of Salado Creek from the start/finish area and as we crossed over the bridges on the race routes. Just before the ½ mile mark we crossed over one of the park’s roads and then went over our 2^nd bridge.  This took us onto the greenway trail that headed in the direction of Comanche Park, just off of Rigsby Road.  After crossing that bridge we also began climbing.  The majority of the hills were not really super-steep, but some were fairly long and included both up-and-down.  Just after the 1-mile mark, we had a short flat part of the course, and then went downhill, underneath an overpass – I think it was part of the I-10 East highway above us, but not sure of that – and then down another incline. This took us over our 3^rd bridge. After crossing that bridge, we then began climbing again, going in the direction of Comanche Park.  Now, this was a hill, a very long hill that took the 5K participants to our turn-round point. The 10K folks continued on towards their turn-round point and, from personal experience of having done races at Comanche Park, these hills up toward that park are a pretty tough uphill climb for quite a while.  After we 5K folks made our turn-round, we then went back down the hill, back across the bridge, and then returned to the start area in reverse of the way we had come out, experiencing once again both uphill and downhill. The last up incline we did on the way back was fairly long, and then we started down again. This took us back to Bridge 2. After crossing that, we then went back to the paved trail we had originally started on. This was the flattest part of the course that took us back across Bridge 1 and then on to the finish line.   I ended up with a chip finish time of 41:45, 1^st in my age group (males 70+) mainly because I was the only one in my age group, lol.

After My Finish:  Stood near the finish line and got a few photos of others coming in. I also got a photo with a young lad I had been near for most of the last 1.5 miles to the finish. He was running with his parents.  I’d pass him when he took short walk breaks with his parents and then he’d run again and catch right back up to me and pass me, lol. I enjoyed interacting and running with him and his parents, all very nice people.  After we got to the flat part of the course, the last ½ mile to the finish, he soon left me in the dust, lol, and finished quite a bit ahead of me; future Olympian runner, lol; super-nice kid. After that, I just sat for a while, relaxing and rehydrating; then I was up-and-about again, chatting with other participants, supporters, etc., and getting some more photos.    Epilogue: Bigfoot Running made this a very nice event; I think we all enjoyed ourselves; nice course; challenging in some spots, but nice; very nice finisher medal, and nice quality race shirt. Southside Park is a nice venue to run, walk, bike, etc., with really nice paved trails, and your choice to go short or long; its trails connect with some of the other greenway trails, so you can really go a long way if so desired. The park is also a nice place to relax after your outing, very peaceful with nice water views and you can even fish there if you like to do that. I would certainly do this one again and would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g.,  BigFoot Running staff and Race Director; our many race volunteers; the law enforcement folks out there for our safety; the patience of other park users, as this was an open course for all, e.g.,  other non-participant runners, walkers, cyclists, etc; This is also a dog-friendly event so, since I carry dog treats when I go running, I made some new 4-legged friends pretty quickly, lol. Happy running to all; hope to see you sometime on the road or at a race. Stay safe, my friends.

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/BBriGY2xYWwUk6zK8

Before the Start:  My 63^rd race of 2024 was the Battle of Leon Creek 5K held on Saturday, November 2, starting and finishing on the grounds of the Greenway Apartments in San Antonio, located at the intersection of Roadrunner Boulevard and Valero Way.  The event was held on the Leon Creek Greenway Trails adjacent to the apartment complex.  This event was the final event in a 4-race series, Battle of The Alamo Beer put on by local race management company, Scallywompus.  Participants could register for all 4 events at once and get a nice discount or register for them individually. I did register for all four initially, but then ended up in physical therapy for a piriformis issue,  so could not do the first three. By the time this one came around, I was running again and able to do this event. This event included a 20-miler, a 21K (13.05 miles) a 10-miler, a 5K run and a 5K competitive walk.  The 5K had a start time of 9 a.m., so I got to sleep in a bit, which I appreciated.  I arrived at race site with about an hour to start time.  The 20-milers, 21K folks, and 10-milers had started early so were already on the course by the time I go there.   I had previously picked up my race packet so after arriving I enjoyed chatting with other participants, supporters, vendors/sponsors and getting a few pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event and I always carry a few dog-treats with me so I was soon very popular, lol, with the dogs there.

On the course:  Mother Nature was kind to us, all things considered, even though it was pretty darn humid with a temp in the upper 60s, low 70s, and there had been some off-and-on light rain as I drove to the course; however, after getting to the course the rain pretty much stopped, but it still was very humid. The start/finish line was in the apartment complex area.  We started right on time. After exiting the start chute, we made a right turn, went uphill on the paved entranceway to the apartment complex and then made a right turn onto a path that took us down to the Greenway trail. We made a left turn here, proceeded to a turn-round point and then to finish came back the way we had come out. The course, for the most part, was pretty flat, but we did have a few mild up-and-down inclines, but nothing I’d really call a hill, and we did cross over a couple of short bridges.  The course was open to nonparticipants doing their own thing – other runners, walkers, cyclists – who, for the most part took it all very patiently; some of those cyclists though: pretty rude, they’d just come whipping up behind us, not calling out, and whip around us, regardless of the runners and walkers on the course; I’m surprised they didn’t run into some of the participants;  several cyclists along the way did call out a “Bike Back!” to us before passing and as these cyclists passed by me I thanked every one of them for calling out. I did my usual run/walk thing – I can’t run nonstop anymore for any great length of time because of my spinal arthritis – and during my walk breaks took some on-course photos.  I was feeling pretty good and just kept at a nice steady pace.  My friend Rick was walking the course at a pretty good pace and was ahead of me for most of the way. I thought he was doing the running 5K event and just walking it, so I made up my mind to try and finish ahead of him a bit.  I did not catch up to him until just before Mile 2 – Rick is one really strong walker – and then passed him by. I found out after I was done that he was doing the Competitive 5K walk, lol, so I guess I could have taken my time. Oh well, all good. I ended up with a chip time of 40:22, averaging 13 minutes per mile and, per my garmin, Mile 2 to Mile 3 was 12:21, zowie; have not seen that pace in a while.  My time was good enough for first place in my 70-74 males age group, especially as there were only two in my age group, lol.

After My Finish:   Got some water, did a cool-down walk and then found a place to just sit for a while and relax, enjoying a post-race banana and getting hydrated again; the humidity for this event was pretty high, with dark clouds still hovering, no wind and no sunshine. After that, I wandered all around chatting with other participants, supporters, vendors, etc., and getting some post-race photos.  Some of the speedier 10-milers had also come in and pretty soon some of the faster folks for the other longer distances started coming in also; wow, how they can finish a 10-miler or 20-miler in that kind of time just amazes a slow old dog like me, lol.  They had the awards ceremony for the 5K and the 5K competitive walk.  Friend Rick placed in the Competitive 5K walk, as did my very speedy walker friend, Daisy  Her walk pace is faster than my running pace, lol. Our MC, Anthony Zamora, did a really nice job with the awards presentations.  All finishers also got a very nice finisher medal.

Epilogue:  The motto of Scallywompus is “Come for the race. Stay for the party.” They are not kidding about that. Post-race there was all kinds of goodies, including Kiolbassa sausages; bloody mary’s – I think they were bloody marys, but not sure since I don’t drink hard liquor; I stick to beer, and they had that too.  There was also a food truck on-site to purchase a variety of various foods from that. The finisher medal is very nicely done and even the ribbon it comes with is an art presentation, lol. Our sound-and-music man, Paul, was rockin’ us with some tunes, and there were all kinds of sponsors there, offering various things, such as post-race massages, various types of treats, fresh fruits, and more. Scallywompus really does throw one heck of a party; their events are very popular and usually fill up pretty fast.  The 5K had 233 finishers; the 20-miler had 116 finishers; 21K had 44; not sure of the competitive 5K walk; but, as you can see, Scallywompus events have a very good turnout.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us, including our Race Director Tony; all the many volunteers it takes to make these events happen; all the sponsors, vendors, etc; Push Button photography for all the ‘official’ race photos for these events; and gratitude to the residents in this apartment complex area for their patience and understanding; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all!

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/nqrMwtLibQQ8pvp47

Before the Start: My 62^nd race of 2024 was the Ryan Bielke 5K,  October 27^th, put on by Two Rivers Running, an excellent running store in New Braunfels.  The event was held at KL Ranch Cliffside in New Braunfels, Texas, with a start time of 0800. The main event was the Two Rivers Half-Marathon, which started at 0730.   Ryan, who passed away in 2019, was a runner and New Braunfels resident who completed multiple half-marathons, half-iron man, and three Texas Water Safaris. In 2019, he was diagnosed with ‘bile cancer’ and sadly passed away that year at age 24 years old.  I’d never been to this location, so started out fairly early to give myself plenty of time to find the place.  As I got closer, I missed a turn, so did a turn-round in a parking lot, but did not see the sign I was going into the exit and ended up flattening one of my tires on a spike.  It still had some air in it, so I ‘limped’ my vehicle along very slowly and managed to get to the race site. Well, it’s early Sunday morning, so nothing I could do about the tire then, so I just went to the start/finish area to being this 5K experience, getting a few pre-start photos. Both events started right on time. It was a very nice turn-out too and a popular event.  Per Athlete Guild, a very good race management company, there were 333 finishers for the half-marathon and 256 finishers for the 5K.

On the course:   The National Anthem was played and then we got a few instructions about the course, and then we were off.  I did my usual 8-minutes-run/2-minutes-walk and took photos during my walk breaks. I also took a few other short stops to get some photos.  We started on the camp grounds, going down a VERY ‘gravelly” road for the first part of the event and then turned onto the paved River Road. We went up the road, passing the camp on our right and the Guadalupe River on our left. We did a turn-round and went back the way we had come out, with the river now on our right. We then continued on River Road, leaving the camp behind us and crossed a bridge over the river and made our way down to a recreational vehicle camp area. We went through this area, and then went back over the bridge, heading for the finish. We went down River Road, and then went up a short, rocky uphill path that took us back onto the camp grounds, and then ran the flat, last part of the course to the finish.

After My Finish:  I ended up with a chip time of 43:01, averaging 13:51 per mile, and was 2^nd in my age group primarily because, lol, there were only 2 in my age group. The first guy did a 10:45 pace, zowie. I then went to take care of my flat-tire issue and two guys offered to change it for me and started…but I did not have the tire-lock key, so they could not get the tire off, well, shoot; tried to call my road service and text, but signals at this place are iffy, so couldn’t get hold of them; so heck with it, back to the race, just in time for the awards and got my 2^nd place medal. My friend, Sherri, owner (co-owner?) of Two Rivers, took a nice photo of me and the guy who came in first.  I then stuck around for a while, getting some more photos of happy finishers, etc. Some of the half-marathoners still on the course were continuing to come into the finish as all this was going on, with our MC, Anthony, announcing their successful arrival in completing the half.  After that, went back to my car and decided I probably need to get a tow; and that is when two WONDERFUL angels-people stepped in, Suzanne and Joe.  They found an open O’Reilly’s auto store and talked to them about my key lock.  They took a photo of my tire and then took that to the store and then came back with the tire lock key and so the spare was able to be put on.  I did not have an air pump, but my luck held when another Angel came by in a truck as he was leaving and he did have an air pump, and helped me out too, getting some more air into the spare, so I could make the trip home. 

Epilogue: First off, I owe those three people BIG TIME for helping me get home.  Suzanne even texted me to make sure I had gotten home safely, God bless her. I told them to go out and get some champagne, have a fancy dinner, see a show, or whatever, and it was on me.  Secondly, my wife was so patient through all this, keeping in touch with me via text and morally supporting me; this woman is a gem, I am so lucky she chose me; and finally…this is a really well done event, one I plan to continue to do whenever I can – especially now that I know the way to get there, lol. Aside from the start of the course – tough running on that gravel! – the 5K is a really scenic course with lots of views of the river; I’m not sure what view the half-marathoners had, but I think they had hills; we 5Kers did not. Nice, flat route, probably good course to shoot for a 5K PR if one is so inclined. Race shirt is very nice quality too, and the age group placer medals are very nicely designed. This is definitely an event I would recommend to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., Two Rivers Running staff; all the many volunteers; law enforcement and EMT folks there for us; Athlete Guild for the posted results; e-Dragon Productions – another very good race company that also puts on really good events; our MC Anthony doing his usual great job; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all so much!