Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/gztfNV6FXL4MRnAA6

Before the start:   My 22^nd race of 2024 was the Let’s Roll 5K held at Morgan’s Sports, one of the associate parks of Morgan’s Wonderland. This event was held on April 14^th, one day after I did the Life Is Good 5K on Saturday, April 13^th.  This event supports Project Mend, which provides refurbished, donated medical equipment to those in need. It also accept donations of medical equipment.  I try to do this one each year, as I was a March of Dimes Baby, born with a birth defect, dislocated hips. I once told a younger person I had been a March of Dimes baby and he asked What’s March of Dimes? Boy, did I feel old, lol.  I was lucky to live a pretty normal life after treatment, although I was told all my life by medical people that when I got older, this would probably give me some arthritis that affected my spine and facet joints, and sure enough it did when I was in my 50s, resulting in me not being able to do nonstop running anymore; I was lucky though; with the run/walk method I am still able to run, in a fashion, lol, and participate in races too. I also am a 2-time cancer survivor, colon and prostate, with my most recent one being prostate cancer; finished my treatment for that in 2022. A friend of mine told me I should say 3-time, because in 2023, BAMC Dermatology removed two areas from my back that they told me were early-stage skin-cancer. It was thankfully caught very early and I never had issues with it, so I tend to not remember that one although I am scheduled every year for checkup, to be safe. .  Start time for this event oof 8:15 a.m., so I got to sleep in a bit as I live only about 6 miles from the park. After arriving and picking up my packet I got a few pre-start photos. Between Fit-Fest on Saturday and several other events that day, and something going on downtown on Sunday, this race day, there were 94 finishers for the 5K, in which I was a participant. In the Adaptive Category – those who have some type of disability – my wife always tells me I don’t have a disability, I have a differ-ability – there were 11 finishers.

On the course:  The adaptive participants had a slightly different course then the regular 5K course.  We 5K participants started in front of Morgan’s Sports and went down to the Morgan’s Wonderland park, passing in front of the Morgan’s Splashpad and Toyota Field, the home of the San Antonio professional soccer team.  We then entered the park doing a loop around its man-made lake. After exiting the park, we then went back to the start/finish area and then went toward Heroes Stadium, an athletic facility of the San Antonio North East Independent School District.  After passing that, we then turned and went up a fairly long uphill that led to the Wurzbach Parkway.  We did not go all the way to the parkway, but it was pretty darn close, lol; a very challenging hill, so thank goodness I do regular hill workouts once a week. After going down the hill, we went past another side of the stadium and proceeded past Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center (the MAC), a facility that “assists people with disabilities and special needs through comprehensive and coordinated services.”  We then turned into the parking lot of Heroes Stadium, went past the front of the stadium, and then went to the rear of the stadium and went through one of the parking areas there. The brought us back out to the road that took us back to the finish line.  During my time on the course, I was very lucky in meeting and making a new friend, Avery. She and I, off-and-on, ran most of the last part of the course together, with me sometimes being ahead of her, and her sometimes being ahead of me, and then the last ½ mile we ran into the finish together. Super-nice young lady; enjoyed her company. I ended up with a chip time of 39:56, first in my 70-99 males age group for the 5K.  There were only 2 in my age group, lol. Avery finished about a minute ahead of me.

 After my finish: Got a photo with Avery and then got some water and wandered around chatting with other participants, sponsors, vendors, etc. and got some ‘after-photos.’  For this one there was also a pretty decent spread of post-race goodies that included breakfast tacos, various fruits, lots of water, coffee, donut holes, and other things. There was also  a ‘community fair’ at this one with various vendors offering different things. In addition to the 5K, there was also a pickle-ball tournament starting later after the 5K was done.   

Epilogue:  I can’t remember exactly how many times I’ve done this event but, as I remember correctly, it has been quite a few times.  Project Mend always puts on a good show. It was too bad this weekend that they were competing with so many other events, since this is just a good event. They probably would have had even a bigger turnout for a great cause. I always think the local race directors should have a semi-annual conference and divy up the weekends between them, lol, so everyone gets a fair shot at getting a good turnout, but I doubt that will ever happen.   I will definitely be doing this one again and certainly would recommend it to others.  Very nice course – even with that hill, lol; good facility with lots of amenities – indoor restrooms is always a plus, lol, instead of porta—potties; very nice quality race shirt; really nice finisher medals for all participants and the age group award medal is awesome. As previously noted, lots of good eats too.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one possible for we participants, including all the sponsors; Soler’s Sports that did the race management and laid out the courses; all the many race volunteers; our professional photographers on the course; top-notch race management club iaap for the timing and results; Mayor Nirenberg who was there for the start with some encouraging words for us; the lady who led everyone in the pre-start stretches; our MC and sound guy; and, of course Project Mend folks that put on this event; and anyone here involved I did not mention.  Thank you all!  See you next year!

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/WTgmLhUvNCifvQSs5

Before the start:   My 21^st race of 20024 was the Life Is Good 5K, held on April 13^th at the River City Community Church in Selma, Texas. There was also a 10K and a Kids Run. This event supports the Pregnancy Care Center, an organization that provides assistance to women with unplanned pregnancies.  You can find all their information at their website via a search of the organization name. This event also was the Charysse Solorio Memorial Run for my friend, and friend of many in the running community, who sadly passed away recently from her cancer. She worked with the Pregnancy Care Center. She and I were treated at about the same time for each of our respective cancers and often gave support to each other via FB, etc.  She was one of the nicest, kindest people I have ever met and will be sorely missed by all who knew her.  Start time of 8:15 a.m.  I arrived about an hour before start time, got my packet, and then got a few pre-start photos as I enjoyed chatting with volunteers, the timing crew, sponsors, other participants, etc. The event was managed by Soler Sports, owned by my friend Lisa Soler, with iaap, a top-notch local race management company helping to lay out the course and doing the timing and results. My very strong-runner friend, Tony Garcia, was also there helping Lisa out with the event. Our MC was my friend, Anthony Zamora, who is not too shabby a runner either.

On the course:  The event started and finished in a concession stand area near the stadium that is located on the grounds. Prior to the church taking over this property, it used to be a venue for concerts, and other events.  I recall a few years back attending an Aerosmith rock concert at this stadium when it was Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. The church’s campus is pretty large, with 100 acres.  The route for the 5K was one loop around the grounds – mostly parking lot and road areas – and the 10K was 2 loops on the grounds. I started out running with my friend, Chris, but when my watch beeped for my first walk break, she surged on ahead and I never caught back up to her after that, although, since we did some out-and-backs, I was able to see her a few more times and cheer her on.  We started on a downhill and then the course was mostly flat, as we did a few out-and-backs, went past some of the stable areas and outside pens of Retama Park, San Antonio’s horse racing stadium, and then finished up by going behind some of the buildings near the amphitheater – which took us up a short hill –  and then coming back to the start/finish in reverse of the direction we had started.  For what they had to work with – mainly parking lots – the race folks did a good job of laying out a course for we participants.  I ended up with a chip time of 36:53, averaging 11:53 per mile, and was first in my 70-99 males age group, mainly because I was the only one in my age group, lol. 

 After my finish:  Got some water, and the race also had post-race breakfast tacos, so enjoyed one of those, and also wandered around getting some post-race photos and chatting with other participants, friends there, supporters, some of the sponsors, etc. . My friend, Woody, did the 10K and won his age group, and I thought it was funny, lol, that his 10K finish time was faster than my 5k finish time. Woody is definitely a strong runner.

Epilogue:  This is a really nice event for a great cause; just wish Charysse could have been with us, she really loved this event; may she rest in peace. Sometimes when I am on social media, I still stupidly keep checking for her name-and-posts before it hits me again that she is not with us anymore. She will always be missed by many in our running community. The course, as noted, was nicely laid out, and with the huge campus grounds we all had plenty of maneuvering room, that’s for sure. I had a lot of fun with this one, and even give treats to a couple of dogs, lol. As we headed to Mile 2, there were these 2 dogs out in a fenced in-area where there were some supply buildings – they were not chained or anything like that and had plenty of room to roam in the big yard they were in – barking at all the participants passing by.  They barked at me too until I took treats out of my pocket and then they were SO friendly, lol, and each one gently took one from my hand, and then I was off and running again.  I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others . Very nice quality race shirt; huge finisher medals and award medals – given to first overall in each age group – an a nice array of post-race goodies, with breakfast tacos, coffee (for me personally, coffee…yuk, lol), and other items.  Mucho thanks to all the ones who made this happen for we participants, including Tony; Lisa; our MC Anthony; Pushbutton Photograph, the official photographers; Pregnancy Care Center staff members; all the sponsors that helped make this one happen; iaap; all the many race-day volunteers; and anyone one else involved that I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much!  OK, nap time for me, lol; I have another race scheduled the day after this one.

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Ghfs99q4c3a4qTm9

Before the start:  My 20^th race of 2024 was the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K held on Sunday, April 7^th at Morgan’s Wonderland Sports in San Antonio, Texas, with a start time of 8 a.m.  This is one of my ‘streak’ races; I’ve done this event every year since it first started.   The event raises funds for the Colon Cancer Coalition, with the money staying local in San Antonio to “to help remove barriers to screening for under and uninsured people, educate the public about early detection and screening, reduce financial burdens for patients, and fund research to help fight and end colon cancer. “ I got my packet on race morning; as a survivor, my packet included 2 shirts, the race shirt and a ‘survivor’ shirt, both of very nice quality. After getting my packet, I enjoyed wandering around an ongoing expo, chatting with vendors, sponsors, volunteers, and other participants, including many friends there, some of whom were also survivors, and also getting some pre-start photos and handing out treats to any dogs there; there were a couple. There was a total of 222 finishers for this event for the 5K.  There was also kid’s run that started a bit before the 5K; and an untimed Memory Park walk that started at the same time as the 5K.

On the course:  The start was held in front of the pavilion at Morgan’s Sports. Right before we started, dark clouds started rolling in, and the wind started blowing like crazy, so I thought we might get rained on, but it passed over pretty quickly and never did rain.  Temp was about 64 degrees with gray skies, and fairly humid, but not too bad at all. My kind of weather, I like it 60s and above. Our route took us up to Morgan’s Wonderland Park, passing by the Morgan’s Wonderland splash pad and Toyota Field, the stadium of San Antono’s professional soccer team.  We then entered Morgan’s Wonderland Park, doing a loop around the man-made lake in the park, which was very cool; have not been here since the park re-opened after having some renovations done. On completing the loop, we exited the park, did short jaunt through the front parking lot and then headed back the way we had come out from the start, passing by Toyota field once more. We then made a turn that took us past Heroes Stadium, an athletics and event 11.000-seat stadium of the San Antonio North East Independent School District. The route took us on the road in front of the stadium, then to the side of it, and then onto a road that accesses the Wurzbach Parkway, where we did a short jaunt to a turn-round point. We then went back the way we had come, once again passing Heroes Stadium.  We then entered the stadium parking lot, going past the stadium’ main entrance and then back onto the road by the stadium, turning right and heading toward the turn-around Wurzbach parkway access road once more. However, at the intersection, we then made a right turn  onto a road going behind Heroes Stadium. This road led us back to an entrance road to Morgan’s Sports, where we then went to the finish line.  It was a well-thought-out enjoyable course and after finishing, I thanked the folks at iaap for NOT taking us all the way up that Wurzbach Parkway access road, because that is quite hill to a climb, lol, to get to the parkway.  I ended up with a chip time of 39:22, 2^nd in my 70-99 males age group.  There were only two of us in my age group.  Richard, the other guy in my age group, finished in 38:22, 53 seconds ahead of me, lol. Guess I should not have stopped for that last photo, lol.  All good, though, this was a very enjoyable route, that allowed participants to see each other several times on the course and shout out encouragement to each other.

 After my finish:  Lisa, Director of the Thrivewell Foundation, which accepts the donations for this event, was at the finish, cheering in all the finishers, handing out water to them as they came in, and gave me a big hug after I finished.  She knows me from all the years I’ve done this event – even used my photo as part of the announcement for the opening of registration, which is pretty flattering – so I stood with her, helping to pass out water, and chatted with her for a while. After that, went wandering around post-race chatting with friends, other participants, sponsors, etc., as I got some post-race photos, including ones of a couple of friends who placed in their age groups. I also got to stand on the podium with Richard – they gave age group awards to the first 2 finishers in each age group, but we had to wait a while, lol, since they started with all the younger people first.  Note to race directors:  please start with we older folks first; we need to get home to get our nap.  😉

Epilogue: This is a very nicely done event, with sponsors giving out all kinds of items; the race expo, with the tables inside the enclosed pavilion building, was packed full of tables with information about what each of them did, and lots of give-aways from some of them. Edibles available included coffee – which I personally don’t like at all, lol; can’t even stand the smell of the stuff – breakfast tacos, various fruits, and more. Mucho thanks to the event presenting sponsors, Gastroenterology Clinic of San Antonio, P.A., and Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists. Thanks also to the Thrivewell Foundation; race management company iaap for doing the course set-up, timing, and results; the people at Morgan’s for use of their facilities; the professional photographer at the event; all the many race day volunteers; and all the other sponsors/donors who had tables, booths, etc., at the event; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all for this great event.  I also want to thank all the people on the course that gave me shout-outs, that really does help.  The Lord willing, and the creek don’t rise, lol, see you next year at this one; got to keep my streak going!

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/2aWXtfCpR2H4hawaA

Before the start:   My 19^th race of 2024 was Give Cancer The Boot Survivorship 5K. There was also a 1-mile walk.  This event, held on Saturday, April 6, allows family and friends to celebrate, remember, and honor those they know who are battling cancer, have survived cancer, or lost their battle to cancer.  The event was held at the Mays Cancer Center, which has a mission to decrease the burden of cancer in San Antonio, Texas, and beyond. .  Race proceeds benefit Patient and Family Services. Race start time was 9 a.m., with a pre-start ceremony around 8 a.m.  Parking was graciously provided by UT-Health San Antonio in the parking garage and some adjacent parking lots on the campus.   I had picked up my race packet the day before, so when I arrived around 7:15 a.m., I went wandering around, chatting with participants, volunteers, supporters, sponsors, and some of the law enforcement officers there for our safety, and getting a few pre-start photos.  I also handed out treats to the doggies there, as this is a dog-friendly event. My friends from race management company Athlete Guild were doing the course setup, timing, and results, so I enjoyed chatting with them also pre-start.  The weather was fairly cooperative, with an overcast day, a temperature of around 62 degrees at the start time, and it was fairly humid. Mother Nature did spit a little rain on us before the start and on the course, but nothing really major, and it didn’t last very long.

On the course: We started near the parking garage and proceeded on a loop course that took us on both paved and off-road trails on the campus.  For the first part of the course, we  were on sidewalks, going adjacent to Floyd Curl Drive on our right, and then veered away from the street and went up a paved hill.  This took us to the off-road part of the course  on a dirt/gravel trail.  Pretty much most of the rest of the course was on this trail, which had a couple of pretty good uphill climbs, so I am so glad I do weekly hill training, lol. We stayed on this trail until we got to an empty parking lot that we went onto. This took us back onto pavement, passing buildings on our left and woods on our right. This part of the course got us to the 2-mile mark.    Shortly after that, we went onto another trail, with woods on our left and right.  From this trail, I could hear cheering, so knew we were pretty close to the finish.  The trail took us up to a paved road, where we passed by the large parking lot where many of the sponsors companies had booths set up. We made a left turn in front of that parking lot, and then I could see the finish line. Down this short road, then a quick right turn and there was the finish line, yay.  I ended up running most of the last mile non-stop, with just one quick break for a photo, and ended up with a finish time of 38:40, 4^th in my 70-79 age group, 1 minute and 28 seconds behind the guy who was 3^rd.  Guess I should not have stopped for that last photo, lol.  It’s all good though, enjoyed myself.

 After my finish:  Got my finisher medal, got some water, did a short cool-down walk, got some post-race water and then did my usual thing of getting some post-race photos, Including getting some photos of friends and other participants as they finished.  As I did all this, I wandered here-and-there, chatting with a lot of people and handed-out more doggie treats. I was very popular with the dogs, lol.

Epilogue: This is a very nicely done event, with sponsors giving out all kinds of items; finisher medal to all finishers; very nicely done course – not an out-and-back course for a change, which I loved; loop courses are my favorite type of course; really nice quality race shirt; and the goody bag even included a pair of “eclipse sun-glasses” in it, which my wife appropriated from me, lol, which is all good. I will definitely do this one again, and would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all who made the one happen for we participants, e.g., UT-Health San Antonio; all the sponsors; law enforcement out there for us; all the many volunteers; our music-and-sound guy who also did MC duties; Athlete Guild for the course setup, timing, and results; and any others involved not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YtgV5Ga7g5azqjK78

Before the start:   My 18^th race of 2024 was the Stride For Sight 5K held on March 30^th at Comanche Park in San Antonio, Texas, on Rigsby Road. This event supports the Lions Sight Research Foundation and the San Antonio Eye Bank.  The theme of the event was “Saving Sight, Changing Lives”.  It is also a pet-friendly event, so there were quite a few dogs attending. Thankfully, lol, I had just purchased a new jar of dog treats, so had plenty.  Soler’s Sports was the local run//race company that took care of registration, packet pickup, etc.  There was a really nice turn-out for this one with something like 600+ participants that included walkers and runners.  The timing was “old-school”, where you started with the clock and then after you finished, filled out a card with your finish time on it. I’m assuming this was because chip-timing for an event can cost an estimated $800 – $1700 depending on the number of race participants, and these organizations are on a pretty tight budget, so opted out of chip timing to better support their cause with the funds raised, which makes sense. This one had a late start of 10 a.m., so got to sleep in a bit.  I arrived with about an hour to go, found some parking in a really packed parking area, and then got a few pre-start photos.  There was an opening ceremony with the National Anthem played. After that, I wandered around chatting with various people, handing out treats to the doggies there, and getting a few pre-start photos.  Our weather was overcast, looking like it was going to rain on us but never did, with just about no wind, and temp at start time of 63 degrees, and fairly humid. Personally, I prefer to run in bright sunshine, lol, but it was all good.

On the course:  At Comanche Park, there are two route options for running events, one with some hills, and the other which is fairly flat. The route for this one was the hillier one.  Out-and-back course that took us along the paved trails of the park, over a couple of bridges, that are part of the Salado Creek Greenway trails. We had a bit of flat for a bit, and then went downhill on a fairly long stretch of the trail – meaning we’d have to climb up to get to the finish.  We had a couple of other up climbs along the way to the turn-round, but these felt to me like long up inclines than true hills.  We then did go downhill to get to the turn-round point, so another up climb to get back to the start/finish.  I felt pretty good and did my usual run/walk thing, taking photos during my walk breaks. After passing Mile 2, I started ignoring my watch beeping at my for walk breaks, since I was feeling really good, making just a few really quick stops to get a few more photos, and then got going again.  We also started encountering lots of walkers coming toward us on our way back, but they were very accommodating and polite, giving way to the runners, and cheering us on.  I ended up with a finish time of 41:07 per the clock, and that ended up being good enough for 2^nd in my 70-99 age group, nice.    

 After my finish:  Got some water, did a short cool-down walk and then did my usual thing of getting some post-race photos, as well as some of the volunteers, sponsors, etc.  Awards ceremony was nicely done – although they really need to start with we old folks first, lol, instead of the younger folks, so we can get home and get our nap  😉 – and the award medal is really nicely done.  Lots of booths at this one with all kinds of items and various food stuff; I even saw a few people with some sausage wraps.  I still had doggie treats remaining, so was very popular with the canines again. Some of them recognized me as I came along and started heading for me, causing the arms of their poor humans to suddenly extend out as their leashes became taut. Thankfully, the humans kept their sense of humor and were all very nice about it.  There was also a ‘memorial area” with lots of boards, photos of loved ones who sadly lost their battles, memorial messages, and so forth. It was quite moving and well-done. Epilogue:   Thoroughly enjoyable event for a good cause.  I kept my late Aunt Sybil in mind, as she had eye problems, and also one of my favorite cousins, the daughter of Aunt Sybil, Kip, who I grew up with, dedicating to them in my heart and mind the doing of this one to them. Our families were so close for so many, many years, and had lots of outings and events, as Kip and I grew up. This event was nicely done and well managed, with as many participants as it had. The course was very nicely laid out. From what I saw at any given time, nobody had any issues with it. Some of the kid runners were really speedy too; I wish I had half their energy, lol.  The award medals are nicely designed and the race shirts are really good quality cotton shirts; as much as I perspire – ok SWEAT, lol – when I run I would not wear this for a run, but it’s a very nice and comfortable walk-about shirt. I would definitely do this event again and would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, including all our sponsors; our MC; Soler Sports; all the many volunteers; the official photographers on the course; the bike lead guys; the police officers who were helping with traffic control before and after, and out there for our safety, too; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so very much!    

Epilogue:   Thoroughly enjoyable event for a good cause.  I kept my late Aunt Sybil in mind, as she had eye problems, and also one of my favorite cousins, the daughter of Aunt Sybil, Kip, who I grew up with, dedicating to them in my heart and mind the doing of this one to them. Our families were so close for so many, many years, and had lots of outings and events, as Kip and I grew up. This event was nicely done and well managed, with as many participants as it had. The course was very nicely laid out. From what I saw at any given time, nobody had any issues with it. Some of the kid runners were really speedy too; I wish I had half their energy, lol.  The award medals are nicely designed and the race shirts are really good quality cotton shirts; as much as I perspire – ok SWEAT, lol – when I run I would not wear this for a run, but it’s a very nice and comfortable walk-about shirt. I would definitely do this event again and would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, including all our sponsors; our MC; Soler Sports; all the many volunteers; the official photographers on the course; the bike lead guys; the police officers who were helping with traffic control before and after, and out there for our safety, too; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so very much!     

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P97227EkmrCQje9E8

Before the start:  My 17^th race of 2024 was the Helotes Beer Garden 5K held on March 23^rd in Helotes, Texas. This event, normally held in Old Towne Helotes, was held this year at the Cornyval Festival grounds in Helotes.  I am not exactly sure why the location was moved, but heard through the grapevine that the price quoted for road closures in Olde Towne was just way too high this year to make it practical to do the event there.  Too bad, because there is a lot more room in that area, and it seems to me doing the event there is win for the local businesses in Olde Towne, as many participants stick around after the event to eat and shop locally for a bit; and this year there would have been quite a large group; for this year’s event the 5K had 774 finishers; just for the 5K; then you include the 1-mile walk, all the vendor and sponsor patrons there, the race volunteers, and so forth…that is quite a lot of people Olde Towne lost out on this year. Well, it is what it is, and so we did the event at Cornyval.  I arrived quite early, just after 7 a.m., so got some nice parking, and then enjoyed chatting with friends, race-day volunteers, sponsors, etc. and getting a few pre-start photos

On the course:   Due to the number of participants, the 5K was done in 2 parts.  The speedier participants who could run at a pace of 8 minutes per mile and under started at 8 a.m., followed by all of the other participants at 9 a.m. The course was 2 loops on the Cornyval grounds, with terrain that included pavement, grass-and-dirt areas, and a gravel road.  Given what the race organizers had to work with, the course was pretty nicely laid out. It was pretty crowded at the start, but after we got going and began to spread out, I never really felt crowded at all, and had plenty of room for maneuvering about to pass a few people ahead of me and to move aside to let faster people pass by me.  The course was mostly flat, with our course uphill being on a long gravel road. It was not a steep hill – like the hills in Olde Towne- more like a long incline that went gradually up. Once we got up this incline, we then went onto some pavement, then onto another small off-road trail that took us to more pavement, which took us back to the start/finish, where we went through the start area again to do our second loop.  With my spinal arthritis, I do a run/walk thing, 8-min-run/2-min-walk, and took oncourse photos during my walk breaks.  I was actually feeling pretty good and ended up with negative splits, doing the first loop in 20:20, and the 2^nd loop in 18:32, zowie! My chip finish time was 38:52, averaging 12:31 per mile. This is very encouraging for me, making me realize I am FINALLY starting to get over my cancer side-effects from my prostate cancer treatments in 2021 and 2022.  The doc told me these side effects could last anywhere from 2 to 6 years, post-treatment, so these results made me one happy doggie.  The posted results showed I had finished first out of 8 in the 70-99 males age group, nice.

 After my finish:   Did a short cool-down walk, got some water, and then got some photos of other finishers coming in.  After that, wandered around like I usually do post-race, chatting with others and getting some more “Happy Finisher” photos – I call them that because more people seem to be smiling after they are done than before and during, lol – and also handing out treats to the doggies there, and enjoying a couple of post-race snacks and, of course, since it is the beer festival, enjoyed a post race beer too. There were also several fellow veterans at this one, so we enjoyed sharing experiences with each other.  Nice to see lots of my running friends at this one.

Epilogue:    As noted, with what they had to work with, Race Director Lisa Haby Soler and her crew did a good job of laying out the course for this one.  It was a little crowded when we began in the start area, but that was to be expected with this many people, as we experienced race participants know, and we were soon comfortably spread out. The after party was awesome with all kinds of beer, post-race goodies, a food booth where you could purchase food, a massage area, and more.  Several people did this one in costume, which was fun to see. Dogs were allowed to come to this one – and yes, they did get treats from me, lol, before and after – but I did not personally see any on the course; given the number of participants, probably a smart thing. The age group award medal is nicely designed, large, and has a ‘beer glass runner” on it that spins around. The race shirt is also nicely designed and is a tech-tee, a keeper, so definitely going to get my self-motivation print put onto this one for future running and events.  I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all those that made this one happen for we participants, including Soler Sports and all the many volunteers; all the vendors; all the sponsors, including Stout House, the main sponsor that held packet pickup at its location; the official photographers out there for us; the local law enforcement and security guys out there for our safety, iaap for doing the course setup, timing, and results; our MC for the event, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Also, thanks to all who kindly indulged me in letting me take photos of them for my race report.  Thank you all!  Hope to see you at a future upcoming event!  

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UtKtZjcF3JfbMNWE8

Before The Start: My 16^th race of 2023 was the Shamrock Shuffle 5K, a St. Patrick’s Day-themed event held on March 16^th at Lady Bird Johnson Park in San Antonio. There was also a kid’s run prior to the start of the 5K..  Put on by local running store/race management company iRun Texas, this event started around 8:20 a.m.   Weather forecasters were predicting possible stormy weather, but our area got lucky, with the storms pretty much moving east and north of us.  Considering what might have happened, we actually had some pretty nice weather, with a temp of hovering between 62 and 64 degrees, lots of overcast skies, and just some occasional off-and-on sprinkling on us.  Considering there were quite a few other events done on this day in areas along the San Antonio-Austin Corridor, this one had a really nice turn-out, with 328 finishers for the 5K. Timing and results were done by Split Second Timing, an iRun associated company, with the results posted on the RunSignUp website. I arrived around 7: 30 a.m. – nice to sleep in a tad, as I only live 3 miles from LBJ Park – and got a few pre-start photos as I wandered around chatting with friends, volunteers, and other participants.

On The Course:  Out-and-back course starting from the main park area.  We did a loop around the park’s traffic circle and then headed onto the park’s paved concrete trails that are part of the San Antonio Greenways Trail System.  The course was mostly flat with just a couple of short inclines, nothing you can really call a hill; we went down one from the parking lot to get to the trails; then down one and up another one on the way to Mile 1, and then did that in reverse on the way back to the finish.  The course took us by the Los Patios shopping area as we went to our turn-round, which was a frontage road for highway Loop 410; we turned around at the frontage road and went back to the finish the way we had come out, completing the course by going once more around the traffic circle on the way to the finish line.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks.  After making the turn-round, I pretty much ran non-stop to the finish, with just a quick stop for a couple more photos, and then got back at it.  Out of the 5 males in my 70 – 99 age group, I was really surprised to learn I had placed first with a chip time of  40 minutes, 54 seconds, averaging 12:52 per mile, and my last mile was done in 12:42, nice.   I am still dealing with some side effects from my prostate cancer treatments that I had, 2021 to 2022, so my recent race results from my last 3 events make me feel that I have finally turned the corner and am slowly but surely getting back to my pre-cancer running self.  I still have a ways to go, but positive progress is always good to see.

After My Finish: I got a few photos of others coming into the finish and then enjoyed some post-race treats, chatting post-race with others there, and getting some post-race photos. The park has a very nice pavilion area, so we had a covered roof to stand/sit under, as we still had some spotty off-and-on precipitation, but it was not even really enough to get you wet at all, so lucky in that regard.  Awards ceremony was nicely done by Garrett, the new owner of iRun a really nice guy, doing a splendid job. Keeping with the theme of the event, the age group awards were all live shamrock plants put into some soil in a small ceramic container.  As a side note on this: if you were a placer and got one, don’t let your pets get hold of it; shamrock plants are not cat-and-dog-friendly and will make them sick if they ingest it, so put it safely somewhere out of their reach.   They are really nice-looking small plants, though. 

Epilogue: Very nicely done event by iRun, well organized and, from what I saw at any given time, everything went great. This is an event with a very friendly atmosphere, pretty nice quality race shirt, finisher medals for all finishers, and race-themed age group awards. There were a few vendors on hand for this one, including a sports massage vendor, but  did not notice if they were giving post-race massages.  I would definitely do this one again, and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all the people that made this one happen for we participants, including iRun; Second Split Timing; all the race day volunteers, and all the sponsors; our MC, Mark Purnell, doing his usual great job; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GPo2XWVyqW45YTjq8

Before the start:  After doing my 14^th race of 2024 on Saturday, March 9^th, I followed that up with my 15^th race of the year with the Time To Paddy 5K, put on by Bigfoot Running Company.  There was also a 10K and a half marathon.  The event was held at O.P. Schnabel Park in San Antonio, with an 8 a.m. start time. My wife reminded me to turn the clocks ahead on Saturday night to be sure I was on time for this one, as we were going into Daylight Savings Time on March 10^th.  Thank you.  I did arrive on time with about 45 minutes to go. After getting my race packet I then wandered here-and-there getting some pre-start photos and chatting with other participants, race volunteers,  supporters, etc.  The weather was a tad chilly with a 47-degree temp, but at least there was no crazy wind blowing like there was at my Saturday 5K. We also had abundant sunshine for this one, which I appreciated; the longer distance runners for this one may not have though.  This event had a very nice turn-out. Someone told me there were probably over 300 participants for this one with the 3 events.  I think maybe more, because the 5K alone had 224 finishers.

On the course:   All events members lined up together, with the half-marathon folks in front, then the 10K folks, and then we 5K folks.  All the courses were out-and-back. The half participants started at 8 a.m.  The 10K participants departed 5 minutes after the half-marathon start; and then we 5K participants started 5 minutes after the 10K participants start.  I’ve done several training runs and races in this park over during the many years I’ve lived in San Antonio, so I knew what to expect. We started on an uphill; At the top of this, we made a left and then went down a long incline. We then turned left onto another down incline; rounded a curve and went across a pedestrian overpass bridge (for when the creek bed underneath floods during raining times) and then had a short level part. Another short downhill, and then we made a left turn onto a nicely paved trail.  It was ‘fairly” flat for the most part with not too many up-parts at first. There were some gradual up inclines on occasion, but nothing at first you could really call a hill. As we got closer to the turn-round, then we did climb a couple of hills, but nothing really long.  We then went downhill to our 5K turn-round point, and then did the course in reverse going back to the start.  Of course, this meant that on the way to the finish, that  bridge we came down was now a fairly long uphill, along with the next accompanying hill, after we made the turn off the bridge;  and then that long downhill incline we came out on was not a long uphill incline before we made the turn onto the last part of the course that took us downhill to the finish. I was feeling pretty good the whole way and, for the most part, ran almost nonstop from the turn-round to the finish, with just a few short stops to get a couple of photos.  I ended up with a chip time of 39:31, averaging 12:45 per mile, and was very happy with that, and Mile 1-2 was a negative split for me with a 12:16 time, nice. I found out I had finished 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group and got a nice little award pin for my effort.

 After my finish:   Did a short cool-down walk, got some water, and then got some photos of other finishers coming in.  After that, wandered around like I usually do post-race, chatting with others and getting some more “Happy Finisher” photos – I call them that because more people seem to be smiling after they are done than before and during, lol – and also handing out treats to the doggies there, and enjoying a couple of post-race snacks.  There were also several fellow veterans at this one, so we enjoyed sharing experiences with each other. I stuck around a while, waiting for my friend, Sammy to finish his half-marathon.  I missed him finishing but saw him after and took a photo of him and then we got a photo together. He is a very talented runner who has done several half marathons.  Finally headed home, got cleaned up and got some lunch and then, after two races for this weekend, did nothing but be lazy for a couple of hours, lol.

Epilogue:    This was a really nicely done event by Bigfoot Running Company. Thanks to owner Ryan and his crew for putting this one on. The race results, btw, are listed on RunSignUp, where you can do a search on your name, bib number, etc.  As this was a St. Patrick’s Day-themed event, lots of people wearing green, some in various costumes, and there were even green dinosaurs, lol, as the logo emblem of BigFoot Running is a dinosaur. That dinosaur group was very creative and cracked me up; they had a lot of fun with it. It was also a great pleasure to see again my friend, Mary, a Texas running legend – for real! – who has done a race in EVERY county in Texas.  It took her a while to do it, but she got it done, bless her. One of the nicest people I have ever met; proud to be able to call her and her husband friends.  My friend, Ralph, also did this one, which was his second of the weekend too, as he also did the Zoo Run on Saturday that I had done. People tell me I do a lot of races over the year, but Ralph does even more in a year than I do.  Yes, we are both nuts, lol, but in a good kind of way. Mucho thanks to all the ones responsible for giving us this event; all the staff of BigFoot Running; any sponsors of the event; the police officers  and any medical staff out there for our safety; all the many volunteers there for us;  the patience of the non-involved other patrons of the park as we invaded their space for a few hours; and all else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all so much.   I would definitely recommend this event and would certainly do it again. Happy and safe running to all my fellow runners/walkers; hope to see you sometime at a future event.  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8W6QgG2TzFZuqPrr7

 Before the start:     My 14^th race of 2024 was the City Manager 5K held on March 9^th at the San Antonio Zoo and Brackenridge Park.  This is a very popular annual event with a very low entry fee – free for city employees and active-duty military, and only $5 for everyone else.  There ended being just a little over 3,000 registrants for this one. The start time was promptly at 7 a.m., so I got up pretty early, had some breakfast and then got down to the Zoo parking area pretty early too and got some good parking.  St. Mary’s Street access to the Zoo area was closed off to through traffic, so only participants and people involved with the event could come down that street to get to the parking area. I had previously picked up my race packet, so just sat in the car a bit to stay warm, since Mother Nature decided to bring some lower temps to us for the weekend. We had 60s and 70s and one day when it got to the 90s during the week and then Mother Nature dumped that for us, leaving us with a temp on race day around 52 degrees with a biting wind that made it feel even colder.  The Zoo folks opened the front entrance for us, so we were able to go inside the Zoo area and find a few warm inside rooms, as well as indoor restrooms, which was nice. About 30 minutes or so before the start the majority of participants had moved to the start area which was near the ‘green lawn” area of the Zoo.  At least the sun was shining, so that was good. As usual for me at races I do, I wandered around chatting with friends/other participants as I got a few pre-start photos.  Apologies to my friends in the iaap crew who were doing race day packet pickup; the group one I took of them came out very blurry – my great camera skills – so they looked like they were all in Witness Protection, so I dumped that one.  With about 30 minutes or so to start time, the race managers began to get us “herded” over to the start area.  By this time the sun had come up and it felt a little warmer, but that darn wind never did quiet down for us. I got some more photos while out in the starting area and then in the start crowd after we all started lining up.

  

On the course:  The National Anthem was played – thank you for that – and then we got lined up and got started right on time. We did a fairly short stint through part of the Zoo, exiting a back gate that took us onto a road that exited onto Hildebrand Street, if we had gone that way. We went in the opposite direction, doing a bit of winding around and then crossed over the Iron Bridge in the park.  This took us onto a road that was below the cobblestoned path near the Zoo Aviary, and went by a pavilion on our left side. We came to an intersection that had the Witte Museum down from us on the left. We went straight forward here, crossing the railroad tracks for the Zoo train and then went to a turn-round that brought us back to the train crossing. We then turned left onto a road that took us back toward the Zoo and a water crossing area now closed to traffic. When we came to the water crossing area, we made a left turn onto a road that took us toward the Brackenridge Golf Course. We did not go quite that far, as we had another turn-round point on this road. We then went back the way we had come out, ending up once more on the Iron Bridge road. After going once more over the bridge, we then turned left onto the paved cobblestone trail – oh yay, lol; watch your step here – that took us along the Zoo fence-line where the Zoo Aviary is located. We came off of this by the traffic circle in front of the zoo, made a right turn, went past the zoo main entrance, went up a short incline, and then entered the zoo grounds via a back gate near where the Animal Shelter is located. Once back on zoo grounds, we then did a short winding path – with some aviary birds cheering us on, lol – that took us back to the finish.  When we started, I estimated, with my walk breaks and photo breaks, a finish time of 41 to 42 minutes.  However, I surprised myself by running most of the last mile nonstop and ended up with my last mile being 12:15, zowie – and a chip time finish of 39:47, finishing 4^th out of 15 in my 70-99 age group. Nice.     

 After my finish:     Did a short cool-down walk, got some hydration in me and then enjoyed chatting with other participants, supporters, volunteers, race organizers, etc., and  post-race photos. Very nice after-party in a very nice area with lots of unique scenery that you don’t see at a ‘normal’ race, this being onsite at the zoo. It was a fun time. 

Epilogue:    This really is a nicely done event, handled with quality by all the volunteers, the Zoo personnel, the iaap crew that did the course setup, timing, results, etc. Also, thanks to all those police officers there both inside the Zoo area and along the course, for our safety.  There were awards given to the top finishers.  No finisher medals like some races have, and I can understand why for this one; 3,000+ finisher medals would be a pretty darn high race expense. The race shirt is a pretty nice quality short-sleeved shirt, with City Managers 5K on the front; on the back it has a picture of some runners moving along with some zoo animals right there with them; nicely designed race bib too, as you can see from the photos. I would definitely do this event again – hopefully with warmer weather next time, lol – and certainly would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all those responsible for making this one happen to us: City of San Antonio (COSA) staff; our City Manager, Erik Walsh and all his staff; police officers, EMT staff, and firefighters there for us – and one group of firefighters ran the event; iaap for the course setup, timing, results, etc; and, of course, all the Zoo staff people involved; any sponsors/donors who contributed for the success of this event; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so  much.  Now I have to get some rest, lol. I have another race to do the day after this one.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/o98EAbWUuEV6YsSd9

Before the start:    My 13^th race of 2024 was the Viva SA 5K on March 2^nd, held at Mission County Park #1 in San Antonio, with a start time of 8 a.m.  There was also a 10K, and  kid’s run before the main events started. This event supports the Junior League of San Antonio (JLSA). From its description on its website, the Junior League of San Antonio is “an organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.” It is associated with Junior League International, which has several chapters in the US and other country locations. JLSA also awards annual grants to local nonprofit organizations that align with its mission. You can visit their website to see the types of activities they support.  Race start time was at 8 a.m. The weather kindly supported us with a start time temp of 57 degrees, very low humidity, and blue skies-and-sunshine.  I arrived with about an hour to go and got a few pre-start photos and, of course, lived up to my name by handing out treats to any dogs that were there.  This is a dog-friendly event

On the course:  The National Anthem was played – thank you for that – and then we got lined up and got started right on time.  The course was on the paved concrete trails of the riverwalk adjacent to the park.  The trails are fairly smooth and well-paved so accommodate strollers nicely and there were a few participants there pushing those – although I bet they got a workout on the course hills. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took  photos during my walk breaks.  We started at the main pavilion area of Mission County Park 1. Prior to the start I had seen the directional sign for the 5K so, having done this course before with other events, I knew we were going to have a few hills along the way. The 10K folks had even more, as they first went in the opposite direction of the 5K, crossed  a bridge over the river, then went to a turn-round point, came back onto the start side of the river, and then had to do the 5K course hills too; zowie!  After leaving the pavilion we 5K participants made a left turn that put the river to our right. We then went down a hill, then had a short flat part for a bit, and then up another hill. We then had a short winding part of the course, fairly level – but not for long, lol – and then went down another hill. After rounding a curve on the path – yeah, I knew what was coming, lol – we then climbed the longest uphill on the course. There was a water station at the top.  After the water station we then went down a hill, under a bridge, and then had a flat, short part of the course as we went toward a bridge crossing that was near our turn-round point. We did not cross the bridge; we made the turn-round and then went back to the pavilion the way we had come out. Of course, this meant that right before we finished, that downhill we had at the start was an uphill climb for us right before we made the turn back into the pavilion area to go to the finish line.  Race Directors sometimes have a wicked sense of humor, lol, when it comes to courses.  I took it kind of easy going to the turn-round point but then found my ‘mojo’ on the way back, getting up all the hills quite handily, and running Most of Mile 2 to the finish nonstop.   Also, we started encountering some of the 10K participants now on their way to the turn-round on the 5K side of the river – several of whom were friends – so I called out encouragement to them and did a few low-fives as we passed by each other, and just kept running and running, just about nonstop for that whole last mile. I ended up with a finish time of 38:11 chip time, averaging  12:17 per mile, and my last mile was done in 11:25, zowie!! I have not seen a time like that since before my prostate cancer treatment during 2021 and 2022, so this was a really nice ZING to me that I am finally starting to get back to my pre-cancer running self.  I ended up 2^nd out of 5 in my 70-99 males age group, very nice.

 After my finish:  Did a short cool-down recovery walk-about, drank some water, and then enjoyed getting some more photos, including ones of some others finishing, and interacting with other participants, supporters, volunteers, etc. and of course still had some treats for the doggies.   I really enjoyed chatting post-race with several participants, several of whom were fellow veterans, so we swapped stories of some of our experiences; and getting more post-race photos.

Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event, put on by my friend Lisa of Soler Sports and timed, as noted previously by iaap, a top-notch race management company – in my estimation one of the Top 3 in the local San Antonio – New Braunfels area; they do events all over Texas and do them darn well too.  A challenging but well-thought-out course, with lots of maneuvering room for everyone and some really nice riverwalk views. Every finisher got a very nicely designed finisher medal. The age group award was not a medal, it was a packet of items that included hydration crystals for recovery, a headband, and other small items, all very handy to have. Very nice quality race shirt; and there was even post-race beer for those that wanted to enjoy that at 9:30 in the morning – and time of day is not necessarily a factor for some of we military folks at various given situations, lol; it was pretty good beer.  Pet-friendly and stroller-friendly. Very nice venue with indoor restrooms – no porta-potties required; water fountains; play area for the kiddies for those who have kids and were waiting for someone to finish.  The JLSA and other volunteers were all great.  Mucho thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants: JLSA; Soler Sports; all the many volunteers; the Bexar County Constable officers that were out there for us; the event official photographers; iaap, of course; our MC/announcer; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  I think this one would have had even more participants if it had not been competing on the same day with the Krispy Kreme Alamo Donut Dash 5K and 10K which had its events on the same day as this one, and that one is quite a popular local event. Even so, I would choose this one over the Donut Dash any day – especially, lol, as Shipley Donuts happen to be my personal favorite donuts – and they are a Texas-founded company. Anyway, I would definitely do this one again and would certainly recommend it to others.  Happy running/walking to all, and hope to see you at a future event sometime.