Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/DeNtu1M3v4aXoQQY8

Before The Start:   On Sunday, October 8, 2023, I did my 57^th race of the year, Harvest Trot 5K, held on the campus of Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, Texas. This race helps provide food to the college’s food pantry/food bank for students in need. This is a FREE race, with your entry fee being to bring some nonperishable goods to help fill the student pantry.  Packet pickup was on the day of the race, with the event starting at 8 a.m. I’ve lived in San Antonio for almost 30 years now and had never been to this campus, although I am familiar with what they do, as I am UTSA staff and NW Vista is a partner school with UTSA, as are most of the Alamo Community Colleges.  Precinct 1 County Commissioner Rebecca Clay-Flores was sponsoring this event and served as the Race Director, if I remember correctly. I arrived with about an hour to go to start time, found some parking, and got my packet, which includes a nicely designed race bib and a pretty nice quality race shirt.  I then got a few pre-start photos. 

 On the Course:   I was very bright for this one, as I work pink in honor of this being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and dedicated this race to my friend, Amy, who just finished her long treatment; and to my boss, Sarah, another survivor, and my friend Sally R., another survivor, and the person way back when who named me “Scotty Dogg”, although she doesn’t remember that, but I certainly do, lol. The course was 2-loops around the campus. The weather was just about perfect, with a temperature in the low 60s, virtually no wind, and some sunshine. We started in front of the building where packet pickup and race day registration had taken place. We then proceeded across a bridge – a nice concrete bridge, very steady, that does not shake like those wooden bridges when you cross them, lol, that are on the race routes of the Mission County Park area.   We rounded a building and then hit the streets.  I pretty much thought this would be a flat campus, but I was wrong.  We had not even gone a ½ mile before the hills started; and these are no baby hills, either. This course was a lot of up-and-down, some loop arounds, a couple of out-and-back spots, and so forth. For what the planners had to work with, it actually was a pretty nicely laid-out course…but those hills, wow.  They were not steep-steep hills like at Eisenhower Park or Helotes, but even so, we all certainly got a workout. Another nice thing, these campus roads are nice and wide, so plenty of room for everyone. After working our way around the outer roads of the campus, we then did a route that took us back to the start/finish area, and then did the same loop again,  being completely done after we passed under the finish line the second time around.  The age groups were 1 to 99 so, lol, I knew I would not be placing today.  However, even after doing a race the day before this one, I was still feeling pretty good and ended up running my last 1.2 miles non-stop to the finish, sweet. I ended up with a 42:10 chip time, finishing 35^th out of the 72 males running.  My speedy friend, Sam, who also did the same race I did on Saturday, must have still been feeling pretty good too, he finished in under 30 minutes, wow.   I saw a few others too, who had done the Scallywompus race on Saturday and came for this one.

After My Finish:  Got some water and got a banana and did a short cool-down walk as I got those down.  Then I enjoyed interacting with other participants  and friends that were there, and getting some post-race photos.  I also went over and personally thanked all the law enforcement officers that were there. I kind of grew up in law enforcement, in a way, as my Dad had worked as a juvenile probation officer. I swear, every county cop, judge, lawyer, knew his name and if I got into trouble and an officer looked at my student ID, the first thing I was asked, lol, is “Are you Bob’s kid?”  Uh, oh. One nice touch…the Race Director/Commissioner also thanked the officers personally by having them each presented a race medal for them being there; I thought that was so nice, and a real class act. I also chatted with some of the vendors – CPS Energy even had a table, so I asked the guy if he had my bill, lol. Umm, no. 

Epilogue: For a free race, this really was nicely done, with finisher medals for all participants and a very nice quality race shirt. There were also lots of vendors there, not only showing their products, but also  giving away some free items. There were even some food trucks there if you wanted to purchase some post-race eats. The nearest building to us was open for use, so we had very nice indoor restrooms, always better than porta-potties, lol.   The route was a bit challenging, but not so much that you couldn’t do it – gosh, one little girl passed me on hill like I was standing still, lol. The race is also dog friendly and stroller, disabled wheeled vehicles, etc.,  friendly. Very nice facilities available too, e.g., indoor restrooms, water fountains, etc. I most certainly will put this one on my race calendar again and would definitely recommend it to others.  Many, many thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants: The Commissioner and her staff, NW Vista management for letting us have campus access, all the many volunteers and vendors/sponsors, all the law enforcement folks out there, iaap for doing the course setup, timing, results; our music-and-sound guy, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. 

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/yFURN3tZKx8dzR6z9

Before The Start:   On Saturday, October 7^th, 2023, I did my 56^th race of the year, Battle of Hilotes 5K, held at Tuscany Venue in San Antonio.  This was Race 3 of 4 in the Scallywompus “Alamo Beer” series of races.  Participants can register for all 4 at one time – and get a nice registration discount, which is what I did – or each race can be registered for individually.   Scallywompus, a top-notch event organizer company that organizes several  excellent quality events over the year.  This event included a half-marathon, a 10K a 5K, and a  Ruck Walk. The Half-Marathon and Ruck folks went first, if I remember correctly, followed by the 10K folks and then the 5K folks.  There was also a competitive 5K Walk, which started the same time as the 5K.  I arrived just shortly before the half-marathon folks left. I’d already picked up my race packet the day before, so had time to wander around, chatting with friends and handing out treats to the doggies there, as this is a dog-friendly event, and getting some pre-start photos.

 On the Course:  All the courses were out-and-back. We started and finished at Tuscany Venue, an event center for various functions such as weddings, various types of parties, and much more.  It located just off the I-10 highway frontage road near the Shoppes of La Cantera. It’s a pretty nice place with lots of room for lots of people, which is a good thing because the total number of finishers for all these events was 670.   All the courses went from the grounds of Tuscany Venue, out onto the road in front of the place, and then down a small hill – which we had to climb back up to get to the finish on the way back – and then turned onto one of the paved trails of the now-renovated San Antonio Greenways system of trails. We then headed east, in the direction of The Rim, which was across the I-10 highway.  Thankfully, we did not go that far, at least the 5K and 10k folks did not; don’t know about the half  and Ruck folks. The course is fairly flat with a few long inclines to go up and down on the out-and-back, but nothing you can really call a hill, at least on the 5K; the 10K folks had longer to go than us, so they might have had a hill or two.  Once we made our turn-rounds, we headed back to the start/finish the way we had come out.  The weather behaved itself very nicely for us with a temp in the 60s and a pretty mild breeze. I did my usual run/walk thing, running 8 minutes, walking 2 minutes, and taking photos during my walk breaks.  When I got to the 5K turn-round, I headed toward the finish and shortly after the turn-round, my watch beeped for walk break; however, I was feeling pretty good, so decided I was just going to see if I good run nonstop to the finish and kept on going.  I ended up making my goal, nonstop to the finish and feeling pretty good. I have not done that in quite a while; last time was before I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021 and had to undergo several radiation treatments and then some injection treatments after that to get rid of my testosterone to kill all the cancer cells off.  Makes running kind of tough, you sometimes get a lack of energy – and the post-cancer side effects are not fun either, lol; but I adjusted, learning all the things I needed to do to keep running and even managed to do at least one 5K every weekend after each week of my radiation treatments.  My biggest supporter was my wife, Gail, who was there for me through all of this, with encouragement, words-of-wisdom on my “blah” days, and lots of love.  Her faith in me really kept me going. Today, I was feeling pretty darn good, so just went for it…and made it to the finish nonstop for that last 1.5 miles, that was a great feeling, making me feel like I am really finally seeing real progress to maybe one day getting back to where I was in my pre-cancer days. I was one happy doggie, lol. I ended with a chip time of 40:30, averaging 13:02 per mile – an improvement as these days I usually do 14-something minute miles – was 6^th  out of 10 in my 65 – 69 males age group. 

After My Finish:  Whenever I do a 5K – and I do a lot of them over the year – I always get a lot of encouragement on the course from friends  and other participants doing the race, too. They see me coming, wearing my “I BEAT CANCER! NEVER GIVE UP!” shirt and give me a thumbs-up or a shout-out, or some kind of encouragement and it really does help mentally. So after I finish, I usually hang by the finish line for a bit and get photos of some of these people coming in, so I can cheer them on too, and then wander around chatting with other participants and supporters, volunteers, etc., and get more photos. It’s the least I can do for all of you out there who have done this for me – you know who you are – posting all these photos on my blog, so you can have them if you want them.  I am not the greatest photographer, lol, with my old-fashioned push-button Canon camera, but hey, it’s free photos, lol. Post-race I also enjoyed some of the many many treats and goodies a Scallywompus event always has.  The Scallywompus motto is “Come for the race. Stay for the Party.  They are not kidding either. Post-race Kiolbassa sausages, bloody mary’s, tequila, force water, various fresh fruits – my friend, Gilbert, btw, has the best of those – and much more. I would certainly do this one again and definitely recommend Scallywompus races to others.

Epilogue:   Love the Scallywompus events and love the owner too, lol.  Scallywompus owner Bart is also a fellow-cancer survivor, treated around the same time I was, and we chatted a lot through all that, and he was SO darn helpful in keeping me focused to get through it all. I will never forget him for that, the time he took with me to have our frank chats about it all.  Also, Race Director Tony, who also gave me so much help along my journey.  These are two class-act guys; even if I was not a runner, for that alone, what they did for me, I’d support Scallywompus always.  If you’ve never done a Scallywompus event, give it a try, you just might really enjoy it. Five-year age group awards up to 4 places deep; separate awards for the walker division, so walkers are not competing against runners; really nice – and large too – finisher medals for participants, along with a nice quality race shirt, and even the race bibs often have very unique design.  Also, of course, that after-party done with a LOT of goodies and a whole lot of fun; today, for example there was a post-race dance contest – I dance like Elaine in Seinfeld, lol, so I just avoided that.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us: primary sponsor Alamo Beer – and packet pickups for this series of races was at the Alamo Beer Brewery – and all the  other supporting sponsors; all the many many volunteers out there for us; Race Director Tony and our MC Anthony who both did their usual great job;  Tuscany Venue for use of their grounds and facilities; I assume there may have been some kind of fee for that, but even so, nice of them to open up everything for us; Kiolbassa for the tasty sausages; and all the other sponsors and vendors who were there for us, with lots of post-race things. Thank you all!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ReJM9gUsJzNHF2ER8

Before The Start:  On Saturday, Sep 30^th, 2022, I did my 55^th  race of the year, the Race For The Rescues 5K in Alamo Heights, which supports SNIPSA (Spay Neuter Inject Project San Antonio) in their mission to spay, neuter, and vaccinate and also help unwanted animals in the San Antonio and surrounding area.  This is SNIPSA’s biggest fund-raiser and a very popular event, as exhibited the total number of finishers:  770 this year. I arrived with a little over an hour to go to start time. It was still fairly dark when I arrived, so  I dropped off with the race day volunteers a jar of dog treats I had brought and then enjoyed a chat with friend Mark Purnell, who was serving as the MC for this event. After it got a bit lighter, I wandered around chatting with other participants, friends, vendors, volunteers, and so forth, and getting a few pre-start photos.

 On the Course:   There were two events, the 5K with no dogs, starting at 8 a.m. and then the 5K participants with dogs started about 5 minutes after the non-dogs participants had left. The course started near the Alamo Heights Swimming Pool, taking us past the pool and out onto the street in front of it. We made left turn, went down a short hill, and then turned right into a section of the Alamo Heights neighborhood.  The first street was flat, winding us around a bit to street that had a fairly short uphill. We then turned right onto a street that gave us a bit more of a climb.  After topping that, we turned right again, went downhill and then made our way onto a road that was almost directly across from the dead-end Alamo Heights Pool Road – I think it was Alamo Heights Blvd, but not sure.  Anway, we went down this road quite a ways, then made a right turn that took us up another hill. At the end of this road a left turn took us on a little stint along Broadway, and then we turned onto College Boulevard, if I remember correctly.  After a short way, we went down a steep hill, crossed over the intersecting road at the bottom of the hill and then then the hills really began, lol.  Up a hill on College Boulevard down another hill, then left turn onto another street with a short, steep hill, and a water station at the top, where we reached the halfway point.  We then went down this street and began a series up up-and-down hills, going down one street, making a turn moving to the next street, going up, then turning onto the next street and going down, and so forth, making our way across this part of the neighborhood. We finally got back to Alamo Heights Boulevard for the last part of the course. At the end, we made a left turn and then went back to the road the pool was on…and since the end of that road was downhill on the way out, we of course has a last uphill, thankfully short, lol, and then after getting up that, flat back to the finish.  WHEW!  I ended up with a chip finish time of 42:39, finishing 10^th out of 18 in my 60-69 males age group and was really surprised to see I had actually done a negative split for mile 3, 13:01.  Have not seen that time in a while, almost back to 12 minute miles, so that was encouraging for me that I really am starting to finally get a bit stronger again, as my side-effects from my recent prostate cancer treatments seem to finally be subsiding a bit, so YAY. Happy dog, happy dog.

After My Finish: I sat in my vehicle for about 10 minutes with the a/c on full blast, sipping my Zero Gatorade and cooling down a bit….ahh, felt great after that.  Then it was back out into the crowd for post-race chat and photos with friends, other participants, volunteers, supporters, vendors, etc.  Overall winners and top 3 from each age group got awards, so none for me, but I never expect to get one anyway. I met my two race goals: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me, lol.  Anything after that is a bonus.    

Epilogue:   I love this event and have done it for several years. It is really a very well-organized event done by the SNIPSA staff and volunteers, with a really nicely designed race shirt, and a unique race bib design and, of course, a somewhat challenging course and lots and lots of post-race activities.  There was a multitude of post-race vendors/sponsors giving away all kinds of things – H-E-B was even giving away free dog food and dog supplies – a food truck onsite and also some kind of ice-cream cone type of thing; there was also a whole set of wading pools for the dogs post-race and several of them were having blast post-race lying in the cooling waters, and playing in the water too; shoot, I wanted to get in there myself with them, lol. There were also sausage wraps – those Grill-Masters were already there setting things up when I got there early, so they must have been really early getting there – and all kinds of other things, like face-painting, booths that had all kinds of various things you could purchase and so much more, it is just too many for me to remember.  A very worthwhile cause and a very nice after-party.  I will definitely continue to have this one on my race calendar and would certainly recommend it to others. Both walkers and runners welcome, so bring your dog if you are so inclined and join in. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants: all the vendors and sponsors; SNIPSA, the Race Director, and all the many-many volunteers; the police and safety people out there on the course for us; iaap, a top-notch San Antonio race management company – and personal friends of mine – who did the timing, results, etc; or MC Mark, for another great job done;  the patience of all the residents in this area for putting up with us during this race; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  Hope to see you out there next year! Give me a shout-out if you see me, and if I don’t hear you – I’m a little hard of hearing in one ear – just throw something at me, lol.  To all of you, happy and safe running, walking, cycling, or whatever your chosen health method is. Stay safe and stay healthy; and if you have a dog, cat, or whatever pet, give it a treat for me.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ttCQC6JZEsbbnbZTA

Before The Start: On Sunday, September 24, 2023, I did my 54^th 5K of the year, and my second race of this weekend, after having done Head For The Cure 5K on Saturday. The 5^th annual Veronica’s Journey 5K was held in Shavano Park, with a start time of 8:30 a.m.   Veronica was diagnosed at 13 months old with ependymoma, a form of brain cancer.  She battled the disease for 11 months, but sadly passed away shortly after her 2^nd birthday.  Her family started this 5K in her memory and for all children who battle cancer. The Veronica Finnie Endowment for Women and Children was also established to help secure resources for those most in need.  Prior to the start, a Mass was held at the race packet pickup and post-race activities place, a very nice covered pavilion adjacent to the Shavano City Hall building. I had picked up my packet the day before, so I went exploring a bit before the start, looking around the area.  There were vendors setting up booths and, across from the pavilion, there is a very small but nice “Wildlife Habitat” area with some walkway, various plants, bird feeders, and so forth. I also got a few pre-start photos of some of the volunteers, other participants, and supporters.

 On the Course:  The 5K course started across the street from the City Hall area, near the local fire station. Iaap, a top-notch local race management company, did the timing and results.  There was a short prayer prior to the start, and then a group of band students performed The National Anthem.  After that, we were on our way heading down Saddletree Road,  if I remember correctly, a very nice flat and wide road. We went all the way down to Cliffside Drive and when we turned onto that I thought “Uh oh.”  I sometimes do training runs in this area so I knew Cliffside would eventually bring us to hills; and not baby hills either. This turned out to be quite a hilly course.  There were a few flat areas, but the course was mostly up-and-down, up-and-down, with the flattest part of the course being the road we had started on.  When I saw the turn-round sign for the 5K, I was thankful, because  we did not have to go ALL the way down Cliffside because around that bend behind the 5K turn-round was another hill, a humongous hill that would have taken us out to NW Military Highway; happy we turned around where we did!  Of course since we came downhill to the turn-round, we then had to climb up on the way back to the start/finish area. Passed the course water station – no beer, darn 😉 – and then climbed some more, and some more….then a downhill – harder on me than uphill because of my darn spinal arthritis – and then we finally got to our last climb, another fairly steep hill back on Saddletree that we had gone down on the way out. Once we crested that, then it was flat back to the finish.  I ended up with a chip time of 42:50, ending up 3^rd in my 60-69 males age group.

After My Finish:  After a short cool-down walk, got a few photos at the finish line of a couple more people coming in and some of the finishers, and also got a photo of a lady I had been near for most of the course.  Then went back to the pavilion area where the post-race festivities were being held.  There was also a group serving up breakfast tacos and that hit the spot.  Age group award medals to the first 3 in each age group and the overall male winner and female winner each got a really nice trophy. Lots of shade in this pavilion and indoor restrooms nearby too, so a nice place to relax after the event.  I also went exploring in the vendor area and they ad a lot of various offerings there such as sweets like donuts, cookies and so forth, some type of honey-based product, a falafel food both, and lots more.  I also chatted with a former Marine who now owns and operates a self-defense class – San Antonio Shitokai Karate and Fitness – and we enjoyed chatting with each other and swapping our ‘war stories’ experiences from each of our respective times of service.  There was also this Dog Paws vendor I really enjoyed too that had all kinds of stuffed animal things, and little ceramic tiles with various characters on them.

Epilogue:   This is a very well event and this year they did move the course to this Shavano Park neighborhood.  This was a good change from the course last year, which was farther out from the City Hall area.  Even with the hills, I like this course much better. Some of the views from the hills are really nice and the homes in this neighborhood are really beautiful. The residents here are also very good with us, driving very carefully, and being very patient about waiting for us to get by; very friendly area. Very good after events, with the breakfast tacos and nicely done awards ceremony.  The race shirt is of really nice quality and the finisher medals and age group medals are nicely done too.  Being a survivor myself, I tend to do a lot of cancer-oriented events, and this one is a really very good one for a great cause.  I hope someday there will be a cure for cancer – especially for cancer affecting kids; no kid should ever have to deal with this, they should just be able to live a life as a normal kid while growing up.  Cancer may possibly get me someday but, hey, at least I got to live and experience life if that does happen, so no regrets; some of these kids never get that chance which, to me, is so sad. I will definitely continue to do this one as long as I am able, and I certainly would recommend it to others. Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants; Veronica’s family; all the many volunteers and many sponsors; the law enforcement officers out there for our safety; the band members for being there for us – did a great job with the National Anthem – and the priest – I think he was a priest – for the pre-race blessing for all of us; and all those vendors that came out to support also. Finally, thanks to all the doggies who gave me dog-kisses for the treats, lol; and to anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  God willing, see you next year! And tell your friends, let’s make this one grow a bit more for such a great cause.  Thank you.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/MaoSSUe4SjhHoNTa8

Before The Start:     On Saturday, Sep 23, 2023, I did my 53rd 5K of the year. Head For The Cure 5K is an annual event held at Providence Catholic School on St. Mary’s Street in downtown San Antonio.  This was the 10^th anniversary race of this event being held.  I’ve done 9 of them.  I missed the one in 2021 due to ongoing prostate cancer treatment at that time.  Head For The Cure, to quote the race website “raise funds, awareness, and hope for the San Antonio brain tumor community.”  During the week before this event a friend of mine told me that she had a friend who has a young daughter who is currently being treated for brain cancer and had a surgery this past week. I asked her to ask her friend if it would be okay for me to run this one in honor of her daughter, and that permission was kindly given; so I ran this one for Cece and wrote  “For Cece!” on my race bib after I picked up my packet. No child should ever have to go through this, so hopefully one day events like this will have raised enough funds that perhaps a cure will be eventually found.  Race start time of 8 a.m., and there was also Kid’s Race.  I got there fairly early, around  6:45 a.m, so found some nice parking, and then went around pre-start, chatting with friends other participants, race volunteers, and race sponsors and vendors, getting some pre-start photos.  This is a dog-friendly event too, so the doggies got treats from me. KSAT-12 TV news was also there – saw Steve Spreister, who remembered me and gave me a hello, nice of him; he also walked the course – and they did a short interview with me prior to the start.  Not sure if it will be aired, and hopefully my dogface-mug did not make their camera go awry, lol.  Before we started, a short opening prayer, and then the National Anthem was sung, and then we lined up to get going, right on time.

 On the Course: We started on the campus grounds, went down a short inclined driveway and turned left onto St. Mary’s Street in front of the school.  The course took us down to Camden, where we made a left turn.  We went all the way down Camden until coming to Lexington Street, where we made a left turn.  We then proceeded down to St. Mary’s Street and turned left.  This took us back to a point where we passed in front of the school and then made a turn-round near where we had started out from the school. After the turn-round, we then went back the way we had come out, finishing back at the school by going up the short incline to cross the finish line.  My garmin showed 2.9 miles done, so I thought maybe somehow I had inadvertently missed something on the course, but others told me the distance on their garmins, apple watches, etc., also showed 2.9, the course was just a tad short, which did not bother me at all, lol.  I ended up with my Garmin showing a finish time of 2.94 miles in 39:31, averaging 13:27 per mile, and I had a negative split for the last mile, nice. I was 4^th in my age group.

After My Finish: Enjoyed some of the post-race goodies, which included breakfast tacos, a variety of offerings from some of the vendors, all kinds of snacks and various goodies, drinks, etc., and wandered around getting some post-race photos. There was also this “Bubbles machine” thing that blew out a mountain of suds, which a lot of the kids and some adults were enjoying playing in. There were also some professional dancers putting on a show, and a band providing us with some pretty good live music.

Epilogue:  Head For The Cure 5K, held at various dates at several cities around the US, is for a great cause. The survival rate for brain cancer, unfortunately, is pretty low for all ages – higher for people that are younger – but it can be survived and this event’s mission is to try to make that happen for everyone with this illness. I made a point, when I encountered a brain cancer survivor at this event of shaking his/her hand and giving them my utmost admiration, since beating brain cancer is one heck of an accomplishment. Head For The Cure San Antonio is a very well organized event; from my point of view from all the times I’ve done this one it has pretty much gone on without any glitches; very nice quality race shirts – and survivor shirts for those who are brain cancer survivors – nice finisher medals, and a very nice post-race atmosphere. Finisher medals for all, and awards to the age-group placers.  Also, on a personal note, let me tell you how nice these organizers are:  after I was done, when I told them I was doing this race for Cece, they went and got me a medal to give her, and also gave me two kid shirts, to give to her, a survivor shirt and a regular race shirt. I thought this was so nice and kind of them.  These people really do care.  I heartily recommend this race to others and I will certainly continue to do it in the future as long as I am able.    Mucho thanks to all the people that made this one happen for us:  Head For The Cure national and local office staff; all the many volunteers, vendors, and sponsors; Providence School folks for their hospitality in allowing us use of their grounds; all the police officers out there on the course for us, doing traffic control; the dancers and the band; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  The Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, see you next year!

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rVECXa5vNvMffGdb6

Before The Start:    On Sunday, September 17, 2023, I did my 52^nd 5K of the year, the Zero Prostate Cancer 5K held at Missions County Park #1 in San Antonio.  Put on by zerocancer.org, this event is held on various dates at several cities.   Per the website “The money raised by each event “helps drive free prostate cancer testing throughout the country as well as in the communities of each Run/Walk location.  We are proud to award grants in select communities where we can have the most impact on new programs, patient support, early detection, and awareness efforts.”  This is an untimed event which started at 9 a.m.  Prior to the 9 a.m. start,  there was a ceremony recognizing survivors who were present, and awards were given to the various largest fundraisers for this specific event, individuals, teams, etc. There was also a kid’s run prior to the main event. I arrived for race-day only packet pickup, got my shirt, and filled out a bib with the names of the survivors I was running in honor of.  I also got a few pre-start photos and enjoyed chatting with my friends, fellow survivor Bill Doc Byrd  and with Keyes  Hudson.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so it was very nice seeing them again in person and, of course, as we are all veterans, sharing some war stories with each other. Bill is, of course, younger than me, and one thing I found out was that when I was active-duty military in the Philippines, Bill was going to high school at Clark Air Base during the time I was assigned there.  Small world!  Before the start, I also saw my friend Ralph and his son, Ryan, and each of their “honorarium” bibs had my name. I was very touched by that.

 On the Course:  We started from the Mission County Park outside plaza and then went onto  part of the Mission Reach San Antonio Riverwalk.  Unlike my El Grito 5K last week, for this one, we made a right turn after exiting the plaza, so did not have the El Grito route with those long-and-steep hills. We went down a long downhill, then had a flat bit for a while.  We did not cross the bridge we came to but kept going straight, which took us up another hill.  Once up that, we then proceeded onto a paved trail parallel with Padre Drive. After going along this trail, we veered left, going down a short but fairly steep downhill, which took us onto a trail parallel with Pyron Drive. On this trail, we crossed over two wooden bridges – which swayed a bit, with all those participants crossing over them – and this trail took us down to our 5K turn-round point.  We then went in reverse back to the finish on the paths we had come out on – crossing those swaying bridges again, lol. It was a nicely thought-out course, able to be accessed without too much difficulty by all participants, that included kids, senior citizens, those with possibly some physical limitations, and so forth. If we’d don that steeper-and-hillier El Grito course I think a few of the participants would have had a really hard time in completing it. So this course was a wise choice.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2 minute walk thing, taking some photos during my walk breaks and also ran just about all of Mile 2 to the finish non-stop – but did stop to get a photo of a our course water station volunteers  and with a ½ mile to go, stopped to get a photo of the nice view we had of the river on the way to the finish – and ended up with a finish time of 43:16, averaging a 13:47 pace per mile. My strong runner friend, Bill, finished about 3 or 4 minutes ahead of me. Friend Keyes walked the course and, being a strong walker, did not finish far behind me.  Ralph and his son, Ryan, both very strong runners, finished way ahead of me. 

After My Finish:  As noted, no timed results and no place awards, leaving the funds raised to go to the cause instead of for age-group awards and that was fine with me. If prostate cancer can someday be eradicated because of these funds raised, that is award enough for me.  Post-race I enjoyed a couple breakfast tacos and chatting with Bill and Keyes for a while and then getting some photos of, and chatting with, some of the happy finishers. 

Epilogue: This is a very nicely done event and also a ‘streak’ race for me; I’ve done this one ever since it was first started, way back by Dr. Rapier and his wife. Prior to having prostate cancer, I always did have prostate problems as an adult – even as a young guy – so this one is very personal for me, and I will continue to do it for as long as I am able. It is a very well-organized event that included a DJ – my friend, Paul, lol; small world, because he was also our music-and-sound guy for the Scallywompus race I did the day before this one. There was also available both pre-and-post race Krispy Kreme donuts, Taco Cabana breakfast tacos – I enjoyed 2 of those post-race – and various non-alcoholic drinks, water, coffee I think, and a couple of the volunteers offered me some post-race Gatorade, which hit the spot.  The park also has 2 pavilions, a very large one with a large stage, which is where the opening ceremonies took place; and two smaller covered ones with lots of picnic-table seating and shade, so  nice places to relax a bit post-race; also a very nice quality race shirt; and no porta-potties needed, ample indoor restroom facilities at this park – Lady Bird Johnson Park should take a lesson from this, lol. Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen: all the many sponsors and vendors; the Zero Prostate organization; all the volunteers out there for we participants; the law enforcement folks on site for us; DJ Paul; our MC who did a great job for us; all the people who raised funds for this cause; and any others involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much! See you next year!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9QYTYBnw4nsHUha7

Before The Start:   On Saturday, Sp 16, 2023, I did my 51^st race of 2023, the Battle of Fredericksburg 5K, the 2^nd race in the Scallywompus Alamo Beer Series of 4 races. The race venue got moved from Fredericksburg to Comfort, Texas, kindly hosted by Hill Country Distillery. This event included a half-marathon, a 10-miler, a 5-miler, a 5K, and a Competitive Walkers 5K,   There was a very nice turn-out for this one with about 600 or so total participants for all these events. Since the 5K started after all the other events, I got to sleep in a bit, arriving in Comfort a little after 7 a.m in time to see the half-marathoners start, and wish my friends Jorgina and Krista good luck with their 100^th half marathon.   The 10-miler folks went next, then  the 5-miler participants, and finally the 5K participant arounds 7:15 or so.  Prior to the 5K start, I wandered around chatting with friends and getting some pre-start photos.  

 On the Course:   The weather was actually pretty nice with a temp of around 71 degrees and did not feel too humid at all. We had mix of sunshine and cloud cover. The 5K course was out-and-back, starting from the Distillery grounds and going through a part of the Comfort business area and then a pretty nice residential area with wide flat roads. I heard after the race that the ½ and 10-miler folks had a couple of fair-sized hills – not sure about the 5-milers; the biggest “hill” on the 5K course was a fairly short incline with maybe an elevation of 5 feet, lol, if that.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2 min walk  thing and took some photos during my walk breaks – and once in a while at other times. I was feeling pretty good and ended up 4^th in my age group with a chip time of 42:16, averaging, with the photo stops, 13:36 per mile.  Even if I had gone slower, I still would have placed, as there were on only 4 in my age group, lol.

After My Finish:  Got my finisher medal and some Gatorade and then went to my car and sat for about 10 minutes with the a/c on while getting rehydrated.  Felt very refreshed after that and then it was back out to get some post-race goodies and some “after’ photos and chat with other participants, volunteers, supporters, etc. Several of us stuck around also to ‘welcome in” to the finish of the half our friends Krista and Jorgina, each of whom were completing their 100^th lifetime half-marathon.  I suspect Race Director Tony Garcia’s hand in this nicely done gesture – there was a banner made for the occasion that both Krist and Georgina got to “run through” as they each completed their 100^th half; lots of people cheering them in, lots of photos of them. Well-done, ladies, and big congratulations!

Epilogue: The Scallywompus race motto is “Come for the race. Stay for the party.” They are not kidding, either. Post-race activities included a kind of crazy dance contest, lol; lots of backdrops for photo ops; and all kinds of post-race goodies that included Kiolbassa Sausage, Alamo Beer, bloody mary’s, and some other concoction – I think tequila-based – and lots of other stuff.  All participants got finisher medals, which Scallywompus does not skimp on, the things are very large, with a magnetic back and a bottle opener on the bottom.  The race shirt is nicely designed and of a very nice quality, Some of the vendors around the Distillery were open, so you could get a drink in those places too, as well as use some indoor restrooms, nice. Age group race awards are given 4-places deep for each event, as well as awards to the overall finishers. This is also a dog-friendly and stroller friendly event. The chosen course roads are very wide, so plenty of room for everyone.  I don’t remember why the course was moved from Fredericksburg to Comfort, but I do know that now that I am familiar with both courses, I like the Comfort one a lot better. So maybe next year it will be Battle of Comfort; I hope so and, the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I’d certainly do this one again, and recommend it to others.  It was also really nice to see out there my fellow cancer-survivor, Mr. Scallywompus himself, Bart Childers; nice to see him running again. We both went through our treatments about the same time-frame and had ‘supportive chats” with each other in-person, online etc., and that really helped me a lot to stay focused and keep on ‘keepin’ on”. NEVER GIVE UP! All right friends, nap time now.  I have another 5K scheduled the day after this one.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CH8Av5vbD4Wiq5wd8

Before The Start:   On Sunday, September 10, 2023, I did my 50^th 5K of 2023, the El Grito 5K put on by Andiamo Races at Mission County Park in San Antonio.  This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend after having done the Patriot’s Day 5K on Saturday in Pleasanton, Texas.  Race start time of 7:30, with race day packet pickup time beginning on race day about 45 minutes before the start. I arrived very early, got my race packet and then wandered around before start time getting a few pre-race photos. Andiamo has a good selection of races with a usually nice turn out.  Since there had been so many races in the area on Saturday, this one had a fairly smaller turn-out with 185 finishers; not bad, though, for an early Sunday morning 5K.  The race location, Missions County Park #1 is a really nice area with lots of room, a very large meeting hall area, and a smaller pavilion in the courtyard area.  It also nicely has water fountains and indoor restrooms. For those who wanted to participate there was a warm up about 15 minutes before the start, led by a Camp Gladiator trainer.  The National Anthem was then beautifully sung by two young ladies, and then we got lined up for our start.

 On the Course:  The course is out-and-back. We lined up at behind an entrance to the Riverwalk. When we exited the pavilion grounds, I saw people turning left, so, having done this course before, I knew we would be dealing with hills…and more hills…and then a couple more hills, lol. The reward, however, for doing all these hills was some really nice views along the way of the river to our right on the way out, our left on the way back.   I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took some photos along the way, during my walk breaks.  Our turn-round point was a small bridge that went across the river.  We did not cross the bridge, we turned around in front of it and then went back to the pavilion the way we had come out.  Going back, we had more uphills than down hills and, since we had come downhill right after leaving the pavilion area, we had to climb that last hill to finish, making a right turn at the top of it to go back into the park area to pass through the timing chutes.  For whatever reason, I was feeling pretty good today and actually ran better for this one than the flat 5K I did on Saturday. For the last mile, I took only a short walk break, and then ran just about all of Mile 3 to the finish.  I ended up with a chip time of 41:42, 5^th in my 60-69 males age group. I was happy with this time, which was 4 minutes faster than my very humid Saturday 5K.

After My Finish: Relaxed in the outer pavilion in the shade, eating a banana and rehydrating with some water and this electrolyte non-carbonated drink I had never heard of – SAP, or something like that – which was actually quite good. I just enjoyed for a while sitting with friend and chatting; then it was off to get some post-race photos of the Happy Finishers, volunteers, supporters, etc.

Epilogue:   Andiamo throws a pretty nice after-party with lots of food and drink.  Not as quite as ‘rambunctious” as the Scallywompus parties, but it’s still a very good one.  Lots of food and drink; this “live” photo both with a thing that went around you taking photos – made me dizzy just watching it, lol – and there was a group of musicians providing some entertaining post-race music.   The finisher medals are really nicely designed and the race shirts are really nicely designed with high quality and comfort in mind.  It’s been a while since I’ve done an Andiamo event and this one did not disappoint.  I’d certainly do this one again and recommend it to others. Please note that Andiamo gives awards to the overall winners and then only the first male and female in each age group. I believe they do this to have more funding to provide those really nicely designed finisher medals and all those post-race goodies, as well as those very nice high-quality shirts.  It doesn’t bother me since I never expect to place anyway, lol, and after 2 years of recent cancer treatments and heading toward 70 years old next year and after 40 years of running – I started my running life in 1983 in Turkey during my Air Force days –  I’ve become more of a ‘fun-runner’ now and am thoroughly enjoying myself.  No pressure to place, lol.  Give an Andiamo race a chance, you just might like it. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants; all the volunteers, iaap for the timing, results, etc., all the many sponsors supporting this event; Camp Gladiator for the warm-up session, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned; thank you all!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/DauJNhH7vGZRbG1EA

Before The Start:   On Saturday, Sep 9^th, I did my 49^th race of 2020, the Patriot’s Day 5K held in Pleasanton, Texas, about a 40-mile drive from San Antonio. This race is done in remembrance of those lost on 9-11 and in honor or our military veterans and first responders. This was a fairly smaller event that had 77 finishers. The 5K start and finish was at Pleasanton City Park, a pretty little park with some nice views of the Atascosa River.  Race start time of 8 a.m.  As I am ‘directionally challenged”, lol, I made an early start, but actually did not get lost this time and arrived at the park a little after 7 a.m.  Got my race packet and then got a few photos before the start.

 On the Course:   The course was an out-and-back in the park.  We started in front of a park pavilion adjacent to a basketball blacktop area.  The course was pretty flat, taking us first along the main park road and then onto an off-road park trail of crushed rock and dirt that gave us some nice views of the Atascosa River along the way. For the first mile we were out in the sun with no shade. It was pretty darn humid too, but expected, as this is still Texas summer, even if it is after Labor Day, with temps in the mid-70s and humidity about 80-something percent. We crossed over a short patch of parking lot pavement and then went back onto the trail on the other side.  This trail took us to our turn-round point.  This part of the course had quite a bit of shade, with lots of trees with overhanging branches, nice.  Once we made the turn-round point, we went back the way we came out, so for the last mile, of course, we were back out in the full sunshine as we went to the finish.  The guy who placed first in this 5K did it in 21 minutes and change, averaging 6:50 per mile; must be nice, lol.  I did it in a lot longer, 44:02 chip time, averaging 14:10 per mile, but I did have a negative split for Mile 3. By the time I got back, that first guy had time to shower and change clothes, if he was so inclined, lol. I ended up 3^rd out of the 3 males in my 65-69 males age group.

After My Finish:   First thing, sat in my darn car, with the A/C on full blast as I did my cool-down and sipped my electrolytes water.  Felt much refreshed after this and went back out to get some post-race photos and enjoy some post-race goodies, which included breakfast tacos, nice. Even slow, since there were only 3 in my age group, I got a nice medal for my 3^rd place finish. All participants also got finisher medals, which were a slightly different design from the awardee medals; so I walked away with two medals from this one.

Epilogue:   Smaller event, but nicely done by Race Director Tony Garcia and his Top-Gun helper, Woody Wilson. Although it was warm, it really is a nice course that gives nice views of the river along the way, and no hills at all. Very nice finisher medals and award medals, which were a bit larger than the finisher medals;  the local Jr. ROTC had a presence at this one and their Color Guard did an excellent job of presenting the colors for The National Anthem.  Nice quality race shirt, and the post-race goodies included breakfast tacos.  I will definitely do this one again in the future – and hope it grows because it really is a nice event – and the park has some nice ‘true’ restrooms too, not porta-potties, lol. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, including iaap who did the timing and results; organizers Tony Garcia and Woody Wilson; and all the race day volunteers, which included some of the Jr. ROTC folks; all the many sponsors; our music-and-sound guy; the lady photo-journalist from the Pleasanton Express that was taking photos of the event, and the on-course photographer – not me, lol, there was an actual photographer – and thanks to other park patrons for their patience with our gathering; and thanks to anyone else I may not have mentioned here.  Good event; hope to see you at this one sometime!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/u5pTTCCgoYXPMsAZ6

Before The Start:   On Labor Day, Sep 4, 2023, I did my 48^th 5K of the year. Put on by the San Antonio RoadRunners (SARR)– the oldest running organization in San Antonio – the SARR Whine 5-Miler and 5K. The event was held at Tuscany Venue in San Antonio, a wedding venue located just off of the I-10 East highway frontage road, and about 2 miles or so from the Shoppes at La Cantera. This is a very popular Labor Day event SARR has been putting on for many years. There was quite a nice turn-out for this one with 215 finishers for the 5-Miler and 275 finishers for the 5K. I had picked my race packet up the day before so after arrival on race day I went around chatting with friends/other participants and getting a few pre-start photos.

 On the Course:  The 5-Milers started at 7:30 a.m., with the 5K participants starting 5 minutes after them.  Both courses were out-and-back. We started from the grounds of Tuscany Venue, went over a short rock-and-gravel area and then turned left onto the paved road in front of Tuscany Venue. A short downhill took us to a trailhead of the Leon Creek Greenway Trail.  After making a left turn onto the trail, both 5-milers and 5K participants went respectively to each of their turn-round points and then came back to Tuscany Venue in reverse of the way out had been. The course had a few uphills on the way out, downhill on the way back, but most were fairly short climbs, with grade of about 5% – 7%, so nothing major like a couple of those really looooong uphills at Eisenhower Park.  I had done a race on the Saturday before this one and pushed myself a bit, so my legs were still feeling that a tad.  I am already a pretty slow runner (darn these cancer side-effects, and since I had prostate cancer, my testosterone was purposely lowered also to help beat the cancer; so no more testosterone), so not going to hurt anyone at my pace if I run into someone, lol; even so, I took it a bit more easy for this one, just kicked back  did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing, enjoyed myself and even took a couple of extra photo stops. The course was a tad long – 3.24, so not too bad, although my old-man legs felt it, lol.  I ended up with a chip time of 48:06, averaging 14:52 for 3.2 miles; and I had a negative split for Mile 3, nice. I was 13 out of 14 in my 60-69 males age group.

After My Finish:  Pretty humid weather for this one.  SARR had some ice-down small towels at the finish to put on your neck/head to help cool down.  I got one of those and then went to my car and just sat in it for about 10 minutes with the a/c on full blast, drinking a bottle of iced-down water I had brought with me. Felt much better after that and was off to get some post-race photos. Lots going on, with backdrops for photo ops, free wine glass to all participants, and lots of vendors with post-race goodies, including  wine, of course; Shiner Beer and Alamo Beer; various electrolyte drinks and sodas; Kiolbassa Sausage; various fresh fruits from my friend Gilbert, Fruit Vendor Extra-Ordinaire; and lots more.  Very nice after party and age-group awards for the top 3 in each age group and for the over-all winners.

Epilogue: Very nicely done by SARR, with iaap doing the timing and results.  Nice race venue and a pretty nice course too. I did not do this one during the last 2 years, since I was still getting cancer treatments, so it was nice to be back this year.  First time I’ve run the trails in this area but won’t be the last; now that I know where it is, will definitely do some running on these trails on my own; btw, for those who have dogs, there is a very nice dog park just up the road from Tuscany Venue.  If there are dogs around, count on me to find them, lol. I will definitely do this 5K again and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all the people that mad this one happen for us, including SARR; IAAP; all the many sponsors; Tuscany Venue for the use of their grounds – I assume there was some kind of fee to pay, but even so, still nice of them; all the volunteers out there for us; friend Anthony Zamora once again doing a great job as MC; Pushbutton photography for the ‘official’ race photos; and any others involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all! Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, hope to see you all at this one next year.