Scottydog Reports

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.

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/QTMZgDwrLbnH7tvr6

Before the start:   My 12^th  race of 2024 was the Couples Shuffle 5K, held on February 25^th at Pearsall Park in San Antonio. There was also a 10K and a Kids Runs and an untimed 2-mile run/walk. . This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after having done the Diploma Dash the day before at The University of Texas at Antonio.  This event was put on by Bigfoot Running.  The event supported Bodies Race Company, which supports local nonprofits in the communities in which it has races; the recipient nonprofit of this event was Rosedale International, which provides materials to help teach those in need basic skills, such as sewing; home supplies such as bedding, mattresses, etc, and for other needs.  . There were 87 finishers for the 5K participants and 15 finishers for the longer 10K. The start time was at 9 a.m. and it was already getting warm, with plenty of sunshine, no wind, and a temp of 61 degrees.  I had found this race online late Saturday night and saw it was still accepting registrations, so what the heck, I went ahead and registered. I arrived around 8:15 a.m., got my packet from my friend Ralph, who was running the 5k also – and he, too, had done the Diploma Dash 5K the day before – and was also helping out as a registration volunteer before start time.  After that, enjoyed chatting with other participants, supporters, and the Bigfoot crews members while I also got some pre-start photos.

On the course:  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took a few photos during my walk breaks. Well, this is Pearsall Park, so it did have some hills. We started just down from the parking area near the main restrooms and the playground area. The course was a mix of paved and dirt trails.  To start off, we went down a short asphalt part of the course which then turned into dirt-and-rocks surface and then went down a long hill leading to a paved trail below. Once down the hill, we then went into a wooded flat area running on a mix of pavement and off-road.  This brought us back to the hill we had come down after that start, but we did not climb it again – yet.  We made a left turn onto a paved trail and then proceeded to a turn-round point.  After the turn-round point, we then did the course in reverse of the way we had come out. Both the 5K and 10k had the same turn-round point, which meant those poor 10K folks had to do the course twice, including that long hill done after starting.   Ouch!  I ran pretty steadily and was feeling pretty good.  After getting back to Hellacious Hill,  I got a phot of it from the bottom, then ran about half-way up it and then walked the rest of the way to the crest.  Once I topped the hill I was on level ground again and ran nonstop to the finish. Well, it was almost level, lol. I think the only truly level ground in this park is in the parking lots.  I ended with a chip time of 42:16, and first in my 70-and-up males age group because I was the only one in that age group, lol. I’ll take it!

 After my finish:  I drank some water and some Gatorade I had brought and then did a short cool-down walk. I also took a few photos of others coming to the finish line. I then enjoyed chatting with participants and supporters and getting more photos.  All 5K and 10K finishers got a pretty nice finisher medal too, and the age-group placers got a nicely designed  little award pin.   There was no “official” awards ceremony, but the BigFoot Running Director called out the names of the placers as the results became apparent so those people could come up and claim their award placer pin.Epilogue:  This event felt more like a ‘meet-up’ of friends gathering together to enjoy each other’s company and get in a run or walk together. Very nice running atmosphere for this one, lots of smiles, laughter and people making new friends.  Pretty nice quality race shirt – pink in color – with a touch of humor in the design. The finisher medals are very nice; shaped like a heart with a ribbon that reads “Life is like a box of chocolates” and the medal actually opens to reveal a collection of sculpted chocolates, very cool; metallic of course, so please don’t try and eat them. 😉 The age-group award pin is designed like the shoe worn by Greek Messenger of the Gods, Hermes aka Mercury, with a wing on the shoe. Very nice.    For a smaller event, this one was very well done, so kudos to the organizers.  I would recommend this to others and would do this one again. Now, if they could just figure a way to put an escalator on the side of that darn huge hill after the start…  😉.  Mucho thanks to Bigfoot Running; all their race day volunteers; our MC and our timing guy; the bike lead guy that had to bike that darn hill – probably twice! – and thanks to all the other patrons of the park not doing this event for their patience with us invading their space for a few hours; my apologies if I missed anyone; thanks to all who were involved in making this one happen for we participants. Hope to see you at some future events.  Next up for me is Viva San Antonio 5K on March 2^nd at Missions Park in San Antonio, with a route that goes along the San Antonio Riverwalk.

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/ypNstbujmfK7f22L6

Before the start:  My 11^th race of 2024 was The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Diploma Dash 5K held on February 24 at the UTSA campus.  This is one of my favorite events of the year.  I started working for UTSA in 1996 and have done just about all the Diploma Dash 5Ks since that time. Put on by the UTSA Alumni Association, this event raises scholarship funds for students.  For this event there were 1,214 participants, including runners and walkers. The start time was  8 a.m., although I mistakenly read the wrong RunSignUp site and thought the time was 9 a.m., so got there a bit late.  I had planned to arrive an hour before what I thought the start was, but got stuck in a bit of traffic, so arrived at 8:15 a.m. and the event had already started…duhhhh.  Quickly parked, got my stuff together and then headed over to the start area.  Since everyone had left, I was able to get a nice pre-start photo at the start line with mascots Rowdy Roadrunner and another mascot.  Then I was off on my own to try and catch up to the pack.

On the course:  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took a few photos during my walk breaks. I do training runs on campus quite a bit, so knew what to expect from the route.  I started in front of the Convocation Center, went down to a 3-way stop intersection with a parking garage directly ahead of me and made a right turn onto the street leading in the direction of UTSA Boulevard.  Right before going up the hill to the stoplight, I made a left turn and went up a short hill, with parking lots on my left and views of UTSA Boulevard on my right.  At this point, I began to encounter a few other lone participants, mainly walkers, but a couple of runners too, who all told me they too had gotten a late start for various reasons.  After going along this street, I came to an intersection stoplight on my right with a campus road and UTSA Boulevard. The course took me on a left turn, with the traffic light behind me, as I headed in the direction of the Main Building and JPL Library building ahead.  When I came to a 3-way stop, the course had me right turn and proceed on the road that took me up toward the campus parking lot that is across from Valero Headquarters. At this point, I began to catch up with a lot of the walkers already on the course, and a few other runners, some on the other side of the road, coming down the hill, and some on my side, going up.  I ran this hill non-stop to a turn-round and then came back down. Once back at the stop-sign, a right turn took us again in the direction of the Main Building.  I was catching up to more people now, so the course was pretty crowed along here.  Also, for some reason this road was still open to traffic but thankfully the drivers were all very polite and patient with we participants. At a stop sign where the Baurle Parking Garage was directly in front of us, we made a left turn, going in front of the Main Building, then passing by the Alvarez College of Business (ACOB) building. We then turned on a service road that took us alongside the ACOB building, coming out onto a road that went past the UTSA ROTC building. In front of the ROTC building we made a left turn onto a road taking us past the UTSA police station, where there was a water station. I got a photo of the volunteers there and thanked them for being there for us. We then made a right turn on a road that headed in the direction of Loop 1604 and went up yet another steep hill – shorter than the first one we had been on – that took us up and past the Roadrunner Café area. I also ran this hill non-stop, finally catching up to some of my department co-workers I had seen on the first hill, gave them a shout-out and passed them by. At the top of this hill I could see the Loop 1604 frontage road ahead of me.  The course had us turn left onto a road that took us in the direction of some of the student dorms, and past a fairly recently built parking area on the right.  We intersected at a road with the 1604 frontage road on our right and turned left onto this road, heading in the direction of the UTSA baseball field. This was a nice, flat part of the course – at least for a short while, lol.  Once we got to the baseball field area there was another water station, so I got another photo, and then was off again with, as I knew, one hill on the course left to do. After passing by the UTSA track and soccer fields – where the ROTC students do a lot of training in the early a.m. hours before school starts -and rounding a bend in the road, there was the last hill, short but steep, leading up to and past the front entrance of the RACE (Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence) building.  Almost done now! Down a short hill past a small traffic circle and then a right turn that took us back to the huge parking lot areas near the UTSA Recreation Center, some of the student dorms and those near the Convocation Center.  We proceeded down to the 3-way stop sign intersection, made a left turn onto a street that showed us the Convo Center on our right, and then turned into the Convo parking lot area to head for the finish.  Most all of the other runners – since they were not idiots like me, lol, and showed up for the correct start time – had already finished, so as I pushed myself strongly for that final little stretch, pretty much with nobody around me, I had a whole LOT of other runners, including several of my running friends, strongly cheering me into the finish, which was very cool.  Because of my late start, I ended up with a terrible gun time finish of over 53 minutes, but my chip time – my ‘race-time’ finish’ – was 40:53, averaging 13:10 per mile, and my last mile was done in 12-minutes and change. I’ll take it!  My age group for this one was 60-99 males – so pretty much every old guy there participating, lol – and my place was 9^th out of 15 in my age group.

 After my finish:  First thing after my finish:  where’s the oxygen?!!  Just kidding. I felt pretty good; did a short cool-down walk, then went in search of some water and post-race goodies and, of course, also began taking some post-race photos – which I call the Happy Finisher photos, because it seems to me more people are smiling after they are done than before and during the event, lol.  I also had brought a jar of dog biscuits with me – hence the nickname my friends gave me, Scottydog, since I treat all the dogs I meet during a race or run – and handed those out too.  I was very popular with the dogs there, lol.  There was also an awards ceremony for those who placed in their age groups. I can’t remember if it was the Top 3 in each age group or just the first overall male and female for the race, the Master’s Division, and each age group.  Either way, I did not have to worry about it, since I only have two paces, lol, slow and slower, and only two race goals: finish standing up and no ambulance at the finish waiting for me specifically. Anything I get after that, lol, is a bonus.  I have a lot of fun doing my chosen races and chatting with my fellow participants and that is quite enough for me.

Epilogue:   As noted at the beginning of my report, this is one of my very favorite events – in my personal Top Ten list of races I like doing – and is always well-done. There is also a great after-party with a ton of various ongoing things, including massage chairs; all kinds of food and drink such as Shiner Beer; Gatorade;  orange juice; milk – I think it was a special kind of milk, but not sure ; water, of course; sausage wraps; all kinds of fresh fruits and lots more;  one of those photo things that you stand on while an ‘arm’ spins around you taking your photo – I passed on that since I’m a klutz and would probably fly right off the thing, lol;  and the mascots were still there for photo ops, as well as this GIANT roadrunner balloon, very cool.  People who don’t organize races probably don’t realize all the work that goes into putting one on and/or having to adjust when the unexpected happens and the poor Race Director has to fix something, come up with a solution, etc. It is very time-consuming to get these organized for we participants, can take up to months in advance to get everything arranged; so big KUDOS to all the people that made this one happen for we participants: the Alumni Association folks; all the many volunteers; the police officers and volunteers who were all out there for us; all those drivers near/along the course showing so much patience with us all; UTSA leadership for their strong support of this event; iaap for the course setup and race timing; iaap is a local-based top-notch family-owned race management company with whom I have the privilege of calling the family members friends; and, of course to all the many sponsors supporting this one; and to any others involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  The Lord willing, and no Klutz Incidents happening, hope to see you next year at this event!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ETWQF44DzKQpR3BT7     

Before the start: My  10^th race of 2024 was the Street2Feet 5K held on February 18^th, starting and finishing at Hangar 9 on Brooks City Base aka “Brooks”, formerly Brooks Air Force Base.  Hangar 9, built in 1918, is the oldest built US Air Force aircraft storage and repair facility.  It was named in 1976 as a National Historic Landmark and is now a special event facility that can be rented for various functions.  For this event it was used as a base for the 15^th year of the Street2Feet 5K, housing some of the event’s sponsors, supporters, vendors, etc.  It also conveniently has inside restroom facilities, so no port-a-potties required.  Put on by iaapweb, a topnotch local race management company, the Street2Feet 5K was started by Race Director Lana Hernandez as a wellness program for individuals experiencing homelessness in San Antonio. I recall doing a few of the early ones at the Haven for Hope location in downtown San Antonio.  This event is a fundraiser for the program and also accepts gently used running/walking shoes, clothing, equipment, etc., to be used by the program participants. I arrived onsite with a little over an hour to go until the 8 a.m. start time. Having picked up my race packet on Friday, I had plenty of time to chat with friends, vendors, other participants, and got a few pre-start photos. Although it was a bit chilly – 37 degrees with a ‘feels like of 35 – we had lots of sunshine and a light wind, with periodic gusts of about 5-10 mph, so much better than the 5K I had done the day before with periodic 30mph wind gusts.

On the course:  Prior to the main event, there was a kid’s run, and then 5K participants began lining up. iaap does not mess around, they start their events right on time, and this one was no exception. We lined up on one of the hangar’s service roads – for getting supplies, equipment, etc., close to the hangar – and  started out right at 8 a.m., with a horn signal. The course was an out-and-back done on a couple of the Brooks City Base streets. The course is very flat, not a hill to be seen, and the roads are really wide, with ample room for all.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks. I do confess, though, there was so much going on along this course – cheerleader teams which were numbered and involved in a contest for the Best Oncourse Cheer Team; some people in costume along the route, and so forth – that I did make a few “non-scheduled” stops to take a few more photos before my timer signaled walk-break, and then got back to running.  The longest stretch of the course was when we made a turn to go to the turn-round point, that was a long haul. After making the turn-round we continued right into a head-wind – thankfully it was pretty much only on this street in one direction – and then went back to the finish the way we had come out, except we were on the opposite side of the road we had first come out on.   

 After my finish: There were 401 finishers for this event. In my 70-99 age group, there were 6 finishers, and I ended up being 3^rd, with a chip time of 41:01, averaging 13:12 per mile. My speedy friend, Jim, was first in our age group and another speedy Jim was 2^nd.  It’s obvious they train well and do their “Jim” work. Yes, pun intended. When my name was called for my placing, Lana also announced that I was a runner who had done all the Street2Feet 5Ks since it started, so this is a ‘streak’ race for me.  Another cool thing:  For everyone who had participated in this event for at least 10 years, they had each of our names on a cardboard placard right by the finish line, very cool.  Post-race I also enjoyed chatting with other participants, enjoyed some of the post-race goodies – and there were quite a few – and, of course, took post-race photos of happy finishers, supporters, etc.

Epilogue:   This is one of my very favorite events – in my personal Top Ten list of races I like doing – and is always well-done.  I recall one of the very earliest ones being done near Haven for Hope in downtown San Antonio.  Very nicely  laid-out course on Brooks; a nicely designed race shirt; pet-and-stroller friendly; lots of post-race goodies and services from the various vendors, some of whom had some pretty cool merchandise for sale; also massage chairs which several participants used; lots of parking; and, as noted before, those indoor restrooms sure were nicer than port-a-potties.  There were also a few local running organizations and running companies represented, such as San Antonio Road Runners – the oldest San Antonio running group – Fleet Feet, which had one of their locations as pre-race packet pickup;  Brooks Running – I did this event in a pair of my favorite Brooks running shoes – e-Dragon, another local race company that also sells running products; iaap also had a booth; they sell some really good products too; and more.  This one is definitely a keeper for me, as you probably already figured out, lol, since I’ve done them all. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants: iaap; race director Lana and all her crew of volunteers; all the many race sponsors/vendors, our race MC; all the cheer-people along the course for us, and anyone else involved. Thank you all so much! I would definitely recommend this one to others.  The Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, lol – see y’all at this event next year.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/mH4jx3b4V2cGu6tT9

Before the start.   My 9^th race of 2024 was the Aiden Alexander Memorial 5K held on February 17, 2024, at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Atonio, with a start time of 9 a.m. Aidan Alexander sadly passed unexpectedly after birth on February 15, 2022, due to issues with his umbilical cord. Proceeds from this event, done in his memory in his birth month, benefit stillbirth and infant loss organizations. This is one I My first wife and 4-months-old infant son were killed by a drunk driver; not stillborn, he got to experience a bit of life, but even so, ANY type of infant loss is such a tragedy; they never really got to live any real life at all; one of the saddest things in the world is the death of a parent’s child at any age, but especially so of a young child.  It is something you really never get over, you just learn how to live with it, day-by-day; so, as a runner, I try to participate in, and support, as many infant/child loss running events as I am able.   If I remember correctly, I believe there were about 142 or so originally registered, but Mother Nature put on her Cold Witch hat again and brought in a front that had us doing this event  in overcast skies, a temp of 38 degrees with a ‘feels like’ of 34 and lots of wind, with gusts up to 30 mph. Consequently, we ended up having 101 finishers, which was not too bad at all. I had picked up my packe the day before so, after arriving in my 3 top-clothing base layers, warm hat, and warm gloves, I got a few pre-start photos.  

On the course:   The course was out-and-back, with the start going around the traffic circle in front of the park pavilion. We then went onto the park’s concrete paved trails, going down a short hill, making a left, and heading in the direction of Los Patios shopping area and the 410-frontage road. After getting onto the trails, the many trees in the park wood acted as a wind barrier in some places, which was nice; we did not have to experience that crazy wind for the whole distance. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk routine and took some photos during my walk breaks.  I also stopped periodically before my watch beeped for watch break, to get a few other photos. I also stopped to hand-out doggie treats, lol, if I saw one on the course with a participant, and also to park patrons not doing the race, if they were with a dog. Once we got into the Los Patios area, the 5K turn-round wat the 410-highway frontage road that goes past the entrance to Los Patios. There was also a water station here, so thanks to that young lady volunteer who had to be there in that wind and cold until the last participant came to the turn-round. On the way back to the finish, I tend to push myself a bit more than going out, so after my turn-round, I pretty much ignored my watch beeping for me to walk, running most of the way all the way back to the finish, with just a few periods short stops to get an occasional photo and then ran again after that.  I ended up being 1^st overall in my 70 – 99 males age group – there were only 2 of us in that group – with a chip time of 40:43, averaging 13:06 per mile. Per my garmin, I also had a negative split for mile 3, doing that mile in 12:55, nice.  Been dealing with some post-prostate-cancer treatment side effects, which are finally starting to go away a bit, so nice to see my times are slowly getting better; still have a while to go to get back to where I was pre-cancer, but at least I’m heading in the right direction, sweet. 

After My Finish:  I got a few photos of some others coming into the finish and also of some of the happy finishers near the finish line.  I handed out more doggie treats and got a few photos of others finishing. After that, it was off to get human treats, which included multiple types of breakfast tacos – bacon & egg, my personal favorite – along with cupcakes, various drink such as Gatorade, water, and I think there was coffee too, but I ignored that since I can’t stand the stuff, lol. Award medals were give to the overall winners and the first male/female in each age group.  

 Epilogue:  This is a very nicely-done event with a good course; very nice quality race shirt; tote bags being handed out after the finish; lots of post-race goodies; and a nicely designed small awards medal for the placers.  I think the overall winners got a bit more, but I don’t remember what. iRun, with their ‘Split Second Productions’ timing/race management department does a great job with the events they do for course setup, timing, results, etc., and this one was no exception, everything was ready in a very ‘timely’ manner (pun intended, lol). I will definitely be doing this one again and certainly would recommend it to others. Much thanks to all the people involved that made this one happen for we participants:  all the sponsors; organizers; iRun; the many volunteers, both pre-race and race day; all the other park patrons out for showing patience with we participants invading their space for a while; Tinsman & Sciano, for having packet-pickup at their offices; and any others involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/LxtTjg71QT3Dm3rB7

Before the start.    My 8^th race of 2024 was the Be My Valentine 5K on Sunday, February 11 at 9:30 am. This event, put on my iaap, had a different slant to it, as it the shorter race this year was 3.45 miles this year and the main event was a 2-person relay race totaling 6.9 miles, with 2 team runners splitting the distance, each doing 1 leg of the event.  The race was held at McAllister Park, which I appreciated, since it would be a flat course, after I did a very hilly course on Feb 10 at OP Schnable Park. Nice to sleep in a bit before this one, as I only live about a 3-mile drive from McAllister Park. I arrived on site with a little over an hour to go, got my packet and several “Happy birthday’ call-outs (the 10^th was my birthday) and then wandered around getting a few pre-start photos and chatting with friends, participants, volunteers, iaap staff, etc., and handed out doggie treats, as this is a dog-friendly event.

On the course:  We had very sunny skies for this one, with a temp of 61 degrees, but the wind was crazy-blowing with some really wild gusts at times, making it feel colder than that, so I was glad I had worn a small base layer shirt.  The course was a mix of loop/out-and-back. We started on the road beside the park’s lower soccer fields and heading in the direction of they youth baseball field in the park. For the first mile we stayed on an asphalt park road. Shortly after the mile mark, we then turned onto an off-road paved trail that looped us past Becken Pavilion in the park, and then past a nearby police sub-station close to the park.  This loop brought us back out onto the paved road and then we went back to the finish the way we had come out.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-minute walk and took photos during my walk breaks.  However, after I passed the 1.5-mile point, I decided I was going to see if I could finish from there nonstop all the way to the finish.   I pretty much did just that, making just one quick stop to get a photo of two coming toward me – they were doing the relay – one of them carrying Old Glory. After that photo, I went nonstop to the finish, ending with a chip-time of 44:33, averaging a 12:55 per mile pace.  I was really happy with this result since I am still dealing with some post-cancer treatment side-effects and usually average 13-15-minute miles, so this was very encouraging to me that I am slowly but surely finally getting back my running strength.   I was 33^rd out of the 59 males who did the 5K.  There was a total of 177 finishers, both men and women, for the 5K. Awards for this event were given only to the overall finishers, but all finishers did get a really nice finisher medal.

After My Finish:  I did a short cool-down walk, chatted with a few other participants, handed out more doggie treats, and got a few photos of others finishing. After that, it was off to get treats. Iaap really throws a nice spread for this one, there was so much good stuff, including a variety of muffins, apple turnovers, Alamo beer, lots of water, fresh fruits, and more. The Girl Scouts were also there to sell their Girl Scout cookies. Between my periodic grazing time, lol, I continued wandering around getting more photo, handing out more doggie treats, and chatting with participants, supporters, volunteers, iaap staff, etc.

 Epilogue:  iaap goes all-out for this one and does a very fine job of it.  Race Director Ceci really had the area looking good; all kinds of valentine’s day decorations; photo backdrop areas; one of those platform things to stand on and then this thing-a-majig – yes, that’s my technical term for it, lol – goes around you taking your photo while you are on standing on the platform. Since I am kind of a klutz, I did not use this contraption, lol. Everyone got a really nice finisher medal and a very nicely designed, very good quality race shirt. I got a smaller size than I usually wear and gifted my shirt to my wife, as our anniversary is February 14 – will be 39 years this year. Even the race bibs had a nice design on it, all of these done with a sense of humor.   I don’t know how many times I’ve done this event but I try to get it on my schedule every year as this is a special week for me and Gail, what with my birthday on the 10^th, our anniversary on the 14^th, and her birthday on the 15^th. I would certainly recommend this to others, and most assuredly will keep on doing this one as long as much as I can.  Mucho thanks to all those who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., iaap and all the volunteers; our music-and-sound guy; the park police and law enforcement officers out there for our safety; all the event sponsors; and thanks to the non-participants using the park too, for their patience with all of us during the event. Apologies if I missed anyone; thanks to all involved!  Hope to see you next year at the event.

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/HNyjk5vSsyDedz8d7

Before the start.   My 7^th race of 2024 was the Cupid’s Chase 5K held at O.P. Schnabel Park in San Antonio on February 10, which just happens to be my birthday, so this was my first race in my new age group, 70 and up.   This event is put on by the San Antonio office of Community Options, Inc. a national organizations that assists people with disabilities for housing, employment, and more. I try to do this event as often as a I can, since I can relate;  I have a mild disability – or, as my wife says, a ‘differability’ – and also, I was a March of Dimes baby, born with dislocated hips; most young people these days don’t even know what March of Dimes is, buy you who are in or close to my age bracket know what that means.  Race start time of 9 a.m.  I arrived with about an hour to go to start time, got my packet, and then got a few pre-start photos.  The weather called for some light rain – not really much at all, so it was overcast, with no wind; 64 degrees, and very humid at 90% humidity.  Thankfully O.P. Schnable is a very nice park with a large, covered pavilion that includes several picnic tables, inside restrooms, water fountains, a playground area for the kiddies, and couple of good nearby large parking areas.  Pre-start, I enjoyed getting the photos, and chatting with friends who were doing this one also and making new friends as I chatted with other participants.  This is also a pet-friendly event so, after handing out a few dog biscuits, I was very popular with the canines, lol.  For this event, there were 172 finishers.

On the course:  Having lived in San Antonio since 1994 – and a runner since 1983 – I am very familiar with this park, having completed over the years quite a few training runs and races here. The course is hilly.  It began lightly raining on us a tad just as we started, but that soon subsided. Starting from a pavilion, we went up a hill right off the bat.  It’s not a very steep hill, more like a very long incline, but it’s still a climb.  After reaching the peak, we made a right turn and then went downhill for a bit, crossing over a pedestrian bridge that goes over the park creek.  After that, we had a bit of flat for a short while, although we did go up-and-down a few short inclines here-and-there on the way out.  The course was quite wet in spots from some Friday night/early a.m. Saturday rain, so we had to watch for mud and standing water on the course. Thankfully, there was nothing really major on the course that we had to go through or get around, mainly just small puddles here-and-there, easily navigable.  I did my usual thing of 8-min-run/2 mi walk – have to take walk breaks due to some spinal arthritis and DDD (degenerative disc disease) and a facet joints issue  – and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks and giving encouraging shout-outs to friends and other participants. Got to the course water station and turn-round point – said the to volunteers there, what, no beer? Lol – and then headed for the finish. On the way back we actually had more hills – and longer ones too, than on the way out; one of them was quite a little climb.  We then entered back onto the trail upon which we had come out and returned to the finish the way we had started out. Of course, since going out was downhill, we now had a series of three uphills before making the final turn that took us downhill (it was uphill on the way out) to the finish.  With the exception of stopping to taka couple photos of the hills we had come down on the start, I ended up doing most of Mile 2 to the finish non-stop – with my pacemaker “Yakking” at me all the way in it’s BEEP BEEP code of “Are you trying to kill us?”  lol.   I ended up with a chip time of 41:27, first in my 70-99 age group, as there were only 2 in my age group, lol.  I think I might have broken 40 minutes but, when I made that final turn to go downhill to the finish, I just happened to spot a dog and his human sitting in the pavilion there, so took a moment to give doggie a treat.  The two lady course volunteers at that turn were cracking up about that, lol.  Got a very pleasant surprise at the finish. My wife had showed up with a group of some of my closest running friends and they were all holding a big Banner stretching quite a ways that read ‘HAPPY 70^TH SCOTTY DOGG”.   Aww, how nice is that?  Apparently, my wife had called one of my friends and that person called more of my friends and they got this all arranged to surprise me at the event, wow.  I am one lucky dog to have a wife and friends like these.

After My Finish:  Got my finisher medal and then joined my wife and friends at a picnic table near the start/finish. Wow, they had a slew of birthday treats, all kinds of cupcakes, and banana-nut bread, yummy, one of my favorites, which is what I indulged in. Then I got told I had placed first in my age group, so had to go back to the pavilion for the awards ceremony, where I got a few more photos and invited some others to come share in the goodies.  Then it was back to my birthday group for a pleasant time with these great friends.  Very nice way to finish a race.

 Epilogue:   As noted, this is one of my favorite events to do.  It is always well-organized. As many times as I’ve done this, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced any ‘glitch’ with this event.  As noted previously it is, held in several cities at various times.  The Corpus Christi Cupid’s Chase, for example, was done on the same day the San Antonio one was held.  I think just about all the US regional offices hold this one sometime during the year as one of their primary fundraisers. The event also had raffle tickets for various prizes; really nice quality race shirt; finisher medals for all; and unique other medals for the age-group placers in each age group.  I definitely will continue to do this one and certainly would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all the many who made this one possible for we participants; all the sponsors;  the Community Options San Antonio staff and all their many volunteers; our DJ and sound guy there for us;  the park police officers there for our safety; Athlete Guild – a top-notch race management company based in New Braunfels, which happens to be owned by two good personal friends of mine, one of whom, like me, is a recent cancer survivor – for the course setup, timing, results; and of course, all my crazy-in-a-good-way friends, along with my beautiful wife, who gave me such a nice birthday race day surprise. Apologies if I missed anyone; thanks to ALL who were involved!   Now I have to go get some rest;  I have another race to do on Sunday, Feb 11^th.  Happy and safe running to all my fellow runners!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/PSZ4vja7zvwMVZ5C8

Before the start.  My 6^th race of 2024 was the San Antonio Rodeo & Stock Show Stampede 5K held on Saturday, February 3^rd in downtown San Antonio.  This event is the precursor event for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, held this year from February 8 to February 25^th.  This is a very popular annual event, marked by a total of 449 finishers, both walkers and runners, which raises funds for student scholarships.  The course start and finish was at Milam Park at the intersection of Houston Street and Santa Rosa.  With a 5K start time of 9:30 a.m., it was nice to sleep in a bit. After some very stormy weather on Friday night and into the early Saturday morning hours, Mother Nature kindly cleared all that out and we had a nice sunny day for the event, with a temp of around 54 degrees at start time and hardly any wind at all.  I arrived with about 45 minutes until start time and wandered around chatting with friends, other participants, supporters, volunteers, etc., and got a few pre-start photos.  This is also a dog-friendly event, so I made some new 4-legged friends fast after handing out dog-treats.  The course set up and timing was done by iaapweb, a top-notch San Antonio family-business race management company that stays very busy doing this for many events in several Texas locations.  I am privileged to have several members of the Iniquez family as friends, including Top Guy, Jose, who knows I do these race reports – trying to be accurate but sometimes miss the mark, lol – so he told me before the start that because of the way the “authorities” wanted the race routed, the total distance was 3.2 miles, not 3.14; which was fine with me, not like I usually win anything anyway, lol, but also nice to know for my report.

On the course: No delays with iaap, they start things right on time, so at 9:30 a.m., off we went.  We went straight up Houston Street heading east in the direction of The Alamo. Houston is a street with a mixed surface of cobblestones and pavement with a slight slant on it. My friend Rick had run a bit of the course ahead of time and advised me to stay to the left on Houston, as the rain the night before had pooled some water on the right side of the road, so that is what I did and also tried to keep on the most level parts of it. I did my usual thing of 8-minute run/2-minute walk and took photos during my walk break.  By the time we started, there were several people gathering for a parade that would occur after the 5K, so we had lots of people cheering us on along Houston Street. The course took in a lot of the west/south downtown area, including going across two iron bridges with nice views of the San Antonio Riverwalk and a nice view of the historic Pioneer Flour Mill as we went through a part of the King William District.  In King William we went onto the Riverwalk going South, then crossing a bridge to the other side, and then went on that side back toward Nueva Street. After leaving the Riverwalk, we then made our way back to Houston Street, making a left turn, which took us back to the start/finish area. I was feeling pretty good the whole way and ran just about all of the last mile nonstop, finishing with a chip time of 42:27, , 17^th out of 25 in my 60-69 males age group, averaging 13:16 per mile, and my last mile was a negative split of 12:08, SWEET, the fastest I have run since early 2021.  For those of you who may not know, I dealt with prostate cancer treatment  from Sep 2021 to December 2022, – and still managed to do races even during my treatment time – and am still dealing with some of the side effects, so my normal pre-cancer times of 10-11 minute miles went crashing away, down to 13 to 15 minutes per mile for quite a while; so, seeing that 12:08 split made me feel so good, as I think I have finally turned the corner and am finally on the path to getting back to my old running self; still have a ways to go yet, but I am progressing. Also, my friend Oscar made me laugh out loud as I finished. A very speedy runner, Oscar finished in 27 minutes and change, and then he went out ‘directing traffic’ to all the other participants as he stood there cheering everyone in.  When he saw me coming in, he got all the waiting crowd cheering “Scotty! Scotty! Scotty!” and just cracked me up.  Oscar really is a character, lol, and also a great guy.

After My Finish: Got some water and did a short cool-down walk and then it was off to chat with friends/participants/supporters, hand out some more dog treats, and get some photos of what I call the “Happy Finishers” since more people seem to be smiling after they are finished than before and during, lol.  People ask me sometimes how I remember all these names. Well, actually  I don’t. I am terrible at remembering names – I’d make a lousy school teacher, lol – so when I take my photos, I usually try to get in the person’s bib number, so I can look the name up in the results, if I have to. So, if you are participating in a race I’m doing, and I take your photo, be kind to an old man, lol, and show me your race bib. Thank you, thank you very much.

  
Epilogue:  I love this event and have done it several times in the past years. It is always very well done and a lot of fun, with Rodeo Clowns wandering among the participants and being very entertaining; there is a Longhorn “cattle drive’ post-race as well as a parade of horse riders, that include police horses/riders, Texas A&M Cavaliers group, and more.  Pre-race goodies were some breakfast burritos of various flavors from Los Palapos (I may have spelled that wrong, sorry), and post-race items included sausage wraps, Miller Lite beer, water, and many other kinds of items. The race goody bag was chock-full of stuff including a one-day pass for access to the fair-grounds; a very nice quality long-sleeved shirt; and all kinds of other various little sundries, coupons, etc.  Mucho thanks to all the folks that made this one happen for we participants, e.g., all the many sponsors; volunteers; stock show and rodeo personnel; all the law enforcement and medical folks out there for our safety; iaap for course setup, timing, and results, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  See you next year, the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.  Next up for me: My birthday race on Feb 10, doing the Cupid’s Chase 5K at O.P. Schnabel Park. It is put on by Community Options, an organization that helps people with disabilities – or as my wife says “differabilities” – including children, which I can relate to; I was a March of Dimes baby, born with dislocated hips and this has given me a couple of ‘differabilities’ as I’ve gotten older, so I always try to do these types of races. See you there if you come out!

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/pHvvJK5TGgusTsic7

Before the start. My 5^th race of 2024 was the Das Dreizen 5K held at Prince Sohms Park in New Braunfels, Texas on Sunday, January 28^th.   There was also a half-marathon.  The event had a fairly nice turn-out with 149 finishers for the 5K and 127 finishers for the half. Athlete Guild did the timing and results for this event, and Mark Purnell was our MC, doing his usual great job. I went to packet pickup the day before at Two Rivers Running and then drove down to the park to make sure I could find the place, as I am directionally challenged, lol. After being given good directions from the packet pickup folks, I actually found it pretty easily.  The half had a 7 a.m. start with the 5K starting at 7:40 a.m, so I was up early, got some breakfast and headed to the race site, arriving just before the start of the half-marathon. I saw my friends Jorgina and Krista in the half-marathon start crowd and got a photo of them just before they started. I then wandered around chatting with the volunteers, 5K participants and their supporters, getting some pre-start photos and also handed out several doggie treats, as this is a dog-friendly event.  I also left some biscuits with some of the Athlete Guild volunteers to hand out to the doggies.

On the course: We started right on time. We rounded a grassy area in the park, went up the paved entrance/exit to the park and then proceeded over to San Antonio Street, where we did a short downhill and then crossed over a bridge. After going down San Antonio Street a bit more, we then turned into a residential neighborhood. We did a an out-and-back on this street, which took us to the halfway point. Just before getting back to San Antonio Street, we made a turn into another residential area, through which we did a loop-around that brought us back to San Antonio Street, just down from the bridge.  After making a right turn, we crossed over the bridge again and returned to the park to finish.  It is a nicely thought-out course.  I took it fairly easy for this one after doing a very hilly 5K in San Antonio the day before.  Even so, I did okay, and ran most of the last mile non-stop.   I ended up 3^rd out of the 4 in my 65-69 males age group, with a chip time of 40:47 and also had negative splits for each mile done, nice. I feel like I am slowly and surely getting stronger and back to my old-self as my cancer side-effects from my 2021 to 2022 treatments are now really starting to subside a lot finally, and thank goodness.   I thought it was funny, as I got closer to the finish line, MC Mark called out to me on the microphone “Hurry up, Scotty, the first half-marathoner finisher is right behind you!”  I did end up crossing the line just a tad ahead of him by less than a minute, lol. Yay me.  That guy is very speedy!

After My Finish:  I wandered around again, getting some more photos, this time of happy finishers and supporters, volunteers, the doggies, etc.  There was also a quite nice array of post-race goodies, both edible and non-edible, lol, which included a finisher medal for all finishers, Shiner Bock beer, various fresh fruits, and sausage wraps.  Also saws my speedy friend, Maria, finishing the half, and got a photo of her too.  I indulged in a beer and a sausage wrap, both of them very satisfying. Enjoyed continuing to chat with friends and treat the doggies, and really was surprised when I was called out for an age group award at my sedate pace, but I’ll take it.

Epilogue:  This is the first time I’ve done this event and it really is a nice race.  Although it was a tad chilly for me at 41 degrees – I prefer the 60s and 70s, lol – it was still pretty nice with lots of sunshine and no wind.  Lots of nice post-race goodies to enjoy; official photographers there to take photos; dog-friendly event; lots of port-a-potties available; so many that there were not even any long lines for the use of them, people were in-and-out pretty quick. There were also several vendors, some of whom had a few give-away items.  Participants got a very nice quality race shirt and all finishers got a finisher medal. Age-group placers got an additional medal for that.  The parking was kind of crazy, since the park is pretty small, so only vendors, volunteers, timers, etc., were allowed to use the park lot.  The rest of us parked at one of the Schlitterbahn lots, that company kindly let us use. It was about a ¼ mile walk or so to the park and then back to the lot after the finish.  Running is not my problem, walking is, with this darn spinal arthritis/degenerative disc disease I have – I do have a disabled parking tag to use when needed. For some darn reason, I have no idea why, doing walks kicks up my arthritis/DDD more than running does, go figure;  so I just took it nice and easy, taking my time walking back and enjoying my surroundings and was just fine, although the walk of what, maybe ¼ of a mile  took me about half the time it took me to do my 5k, lol.  Yes, I am a very slow walker.   Anyway, I would do this event again and would recommend it to others.  Next up for me is the Stock Show and Rodeo Stampede 5K on February 3. See you there if you are doing that one!