Scottydog Reports

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kdZAsVxBNrMkVD7k9

Before The Start: My 11^th race of 2023 was The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Diploma Dash 5K held on February 25^th.  Put on by the UTSA Alumni Association, this event helps raise scholarship funds for students. UTSA Diploma Dash 5k is the largest chip timed 5k in San Antonio and serves as the San Antonio city championship, so it always gets a nice turnout.  There were at least 3 to 4 other local area races being done on this day too, so that may have taken away from the total count of participants, as several area runners, including some friends of mine, were doing some of the other events. Even so, really nice turn-out.  I arrived at UTS around 8:15 and started getting a few pre-race photos when one of my friends and co-workers told me “Scotty, you better get going; the race started at 8 a.m.”  What?  I found out later I had looked at last year’s event website on Runsignup,, not this years, duhhh . Oh well.   So off I went after getting maybe about 4 pre-start photos. The weather was actually pretty chilly for me  – in the low 50s, with a fairly good wind blowing at maybe 10 – 11 mph, making it feel a bit colder than the actual temp, so I was glad I had chosen to wear a base-layer under my regular running shirt and felt very comfortable before my start, during my run, and after my finish.

On The Course:  Since the starting-pack had left 15 minutes before I did, I pretty much had the course all to myself, lol.  Also, as I started my race, the overall winner of the 5K was coming into the finish, good grief, and lol, with a time of 18 minutes and change, if I remember correctly, and my  friend Andrew was also coming in, finishing at 19 minutes.  I did not really need any of the course markers since I do this event every year. I also am UTSA staff, so sometimes after work I run this course on campus as a training run, so I knew the route exactly.  Since I was late, I pretty much had most of the course to myself until I started catching up to some of the walkers on the course, around Mile 1; some of those walker go faster than I run, lol.  I did my usual 8-min run/2 minute walk break thing and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks.  This is a loop course, starting and finishing in front of the Convocation Center. After the start, the course turns onto the road that heads toward UTSA Boulevard, passing a parking garage on our left and large parking lot, and some of the buildings housing some of the colleges.  Before UTSA Boulevard, the course takes a left turn and goes up a short incline, passing by some parking lots on the left.  This road took me to a left turn on Baurle Road. At the first intersection, a right turn that took us partway up the hill that goes to the campus Upper Parking Lot near Valero Way. Just before reaching the top of this, we did a turn-round, went back the way we had come up. After getting back on Baurle Road, we then went past the Main Building, made a left and then made a right onto the road directly in front of the Alvarez Business College building,  Left turn onto the service road next to the business building. Right turn onto the road that took us past the Physical Plant and the building housing ROTC. Left turn took us to the first course water stop and past the campus police station. At the end of this road, a right turn took us past a student housing building on our left, and up a fairly steep hill, going past the Roadrunner Café parking lot. At the top of the hill we made a left turn on Tobin Avenue.  This took us down to a left turn on Barshop Blvd. Once on Barshop Blvd, we went all the way down this to the on-campus traffic circle just up from UTSA Boulevard.  Left turn by the round-about and this took us past the Campus Rec Center, then to a left turn on Brennan, and then we entered the Convocation Center parking lot to finish in front of the Convocation Center. I felt pretty good and was clipping right along, lol, at my usual 12 – 14-minute miles pace.  Used to do 10 – 11 minute miles, but 15 months of prostate cancer treatment during 2021 – 2022 has slowed me down a bit. Thankfully, I am now cancer-free, but still dealing with some side-effect issues.  Even so, it’s all good, and I am just happy I am still able to run at all.  I ended up finishing with my watch time of 40:38, averaging 12:56 per mile, and did negative splits too, nice, with my last mile being my fastest.   As usual, I carried dog treats with me and whenever I encountered a dog on the course, doggie got a treat from me, with its human’s permission, of course.

After My Finish:   After eating a banana and getting some post-race water into me, I then enjoyed chatting with friends, other participants – several of my running friends were there – co-workers, students, other staff members, volunteers, etc., and handed out some more doggie treats. One area where this event is no slacker is in post-race goodies and amenities, wow.  All kinds of various food-and-drink, from fresh fruits to sausage wraps, beer, Gatorade, water, and other drinks, donuts, and a whole lot of other good stuff.  There was a photo area, also our sound guy playing music for us, and lots of sponsors freebie stuff. Also available was post-race massages, a compression blow-up thingy – I am so technical, lol – you could put over your legs – I think it helps with blood-flow, etc – and lots more. The convocation center is also open, so as well as porta-potties on site, you can also use actual indoor restrooms if you’re willing to wait in line for those, there usually is a line.

Epilogue:  This is a very popular annual event.  I don’t think the results are publicly posted yet, so not sure how many participants there were for this one, but it was a LOT. This is also a dog-friendly event.  Very nice quality shirt, and the goodie bag even included an extra shirt from one of the sponsors.  The goodie bag was nicely packed with lots of other stuff too. My cat’s favorite goodie back item is this little miniature hand-held fan you can hold and squeeze to make the fun blades go round-and-round – a miniature cool-down device, with my cat trying to catch the turning plastic blades., lol.  I love this event; have been doing it for years; will continue to do so; and certainly would recommend it to others. See you next year at this one if you decide to do it.

Photos are here:

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

Before The Start:  My 10^th race of 2023 was the Street2Feet 5K held on February 19^th at Brooks in San Antonio, Texas.  This is one of my ‘streak’ races; I have done all the live Street2Feet 5K races ever since this event started. Brooks is the former Brooks Air Force Base which became Brooks City Base and now is known simply as “Brooks”, an open community with the mission to benefit the economy of San Antonio’s South Side. Brooks is owned and managed by the Brooks Development Authority with a board of 11 members appointed by the San Antonio City Council.  Founded in 2008, Street2Feet is a wellness program for those experiencing homelessness. Start and finish was at Hanger 9, where all the pre-race and post-race activities took place.    Lots of pre-race activities included photo ops at the Street2Feet backdrop and there was a kids run before the main event.  We also had music from our DJ Pau, and indoor restrooms, which was really nice.  I arrived with about 40 minutes to race time and wandered around chatting with participants and supporters and got a few post-race photos.

On The Course –  8 a.m. start time and you better be ready because local race management company iaap, who did the course setup, timing, and results, has a good reputation for starting right on time. The course was an out-and-back on the very wide roadways of this former Air Force base, plenty of maneuvering room for everyone. It is also quite a flat course, which is nice.  After my 5K the day before, in which I pushed myself a bit, I just kind of took this one easy for a bit, finishing in 40:39 chip time, although I did get a negative split for my last mile, as I ran most of Mile 3 nonstop, instead of taking my last walk break. I was 10^th out of 14 in my 60-69 males age group.

After My Finish:  Did my usual post-race cool down walk, eating a banana and getting some water into me.  After that I enjoyed wandering around the area chatting with participants and supporters, giving treats to the dogs there, and getting some post-race photos. Also enjoyed some of the post-race goodies, and there were quite a few offerings from some of the sponsors that were there.  

Epilogue:  This is a very popular annual event.  This year the 5K had 428 finishers.  Very nicely laid out course; nicely designed race shirt, and lots of sponsor freebie stuff.  Inside the hangar, there was also a photo booth, which was popular. I would certainly recommend this event to others and I will continue to do this one myself.  Our MC, Lana – and I think co-founder of Street2Feet 5K –  did a great job, and our music man Paul rocked out the tunes for us. Several local community running organizations were represented too, including Wolfpack Running, San Antonio Roadrunners, Munsters Squad, iaap, and more.  If you’ve never done this event, this is definitely a ‘to do’ race to put on your list for the future. Much thanks to all the people that made this one happen for we participants: all the sponsors, volunteers, La Gloria Restaurant for allowing packet pickup to be held there, the police officers on the course, iaap crew, of course, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Hope to see you out there next year!

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ob5GxZphh4QD83Hb6

Before The Start:    My 9^th 5K of 2023 was the Aiden Alexander Memorial 5K for Stillbirths and Infant Loss, held at Lady Bird Johnson Park on February 18^th.  This event was started by the parents of Alexander, who sadly was born Feb 15,  without a heartbeat due to some complications.  The first year of this event in 2022 was held as a private family-and-friends affair. In 2023, Alexander’s parents opened the 5K to the public, with race proceeds benefiting stillbirth and infant loss organizations. When I found out the cause of this event and that it would be public, I immediately signed up to show support, since I could relate to the cause – my first wife and my 4-month old infant son were killed by a drunk driver. In a perfect world, no parent should ever have to go through this but, unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. All we can do for the parents is show support and understanding and, for those of us who have experienced a loss like this, empathy also, and support the event’s cause.  Race start time of 9 a.m., so I got to sleep in a bit, as I live fairly close to the park. On arrival I got my race packet and then got a few pre-start photos.  For a first-time event that was held on Saturday – a popular day for local area races, and there were quite a few this day in our region – it had a pretty nice turn-out, with 100 finishers.  The weather was fairly decent with some sunshine and temp of about 43, with a pretty strong wind making it feel a bit chillier.

On The Course – We started in the traffic circle of the park, did a loop around that and then went onto the trailhead taking us down to the park’s paved trails.  We turned left onto the trails and followed the trail that took us out to the Los Patios area near Loop 410.  Once we got to the Loop 410 underpass, we made a turn-round at this point and went back to the finish the way we had come out.  The course is mainly flat, with just a couple of short inclines along the way.  With my ‘blazing pace’, lol, pretty much all the other runners left me in their dust and I was mostly alone for the majority of my outing. Some of the speedier walkers even caught up to me and passed me, lol.  I did not mind at all; I just settled in, did my usual run/walk thing, and got some photos of a few of the other participants when I encountered them.  With just a tad over a mile to go, I encountered another runner, and he and I ran together for the finish, having a nice chat along the way. I did run most of the last mile non-stop and managed to get a finish chip time of 39:54; first time in a quite while I’ve been under 40 minutes, so made me feel good that I am slowly but surely starting to come back a bit from the 15 months of prostate cancer that I went through in 2021 – 2022. Yay me, lol.

After My Finish: Did my usual post-race procedure of getting some water in me and ate a banana as I did a short cool-down walk.  After that, I got some post-race photos, chatted with friends and hopefully made some new friends, and enjoyed some of the post-race goodies, which included some really tasty pastries, and 4 different kinds of breakfast tacos. Race awards were given to the overall winners  and first in age group in each category, and some of them got a nice $50 Starbucks gift card. I was 2^nd in my age group and was not even close to the finishing time of the first guy in my age group, lol.

Epilogue: This is a well put-on event, as all iRun Texas events are, with a very nice course, nice quality race shirt  and some pretty nice overall awards.  Besides the pastries and tacos, there were also some other things, like fruits, nutrition bars, etc. The organizers also provided a few of those space heaters – the ones that kind of look like an old-time Franklin stove – which was nice before-and-after with that wind putting a chill into the air. I also had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, the event founders.  These are two of the nicest people one could ever hope to meet.  I really feel for them for what they are going through – I say, ARE, because those of us who have been through something like this know we never really get over it, we just learn to live with it a day at a time – and admire them greatly for their founding of this event and showing their big hearts in trying to help others from their own experiences. Mucho thanks to: the Alexander family for this event; iRun for the course setup, timing, results, etc; to all the many volunteers for packet pickup, water stop, and lots more; to the other runners, walkers, and cyclists in the park – which was still open to the public – for their patience aw we race participants invaded the park trails; to all the event sponsors; and to anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all and see you next year!  This one is definitely a keeper and I certainly would recommend it to others.  

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/EvRFM7fG1RmBPC1Y9

Before The Start:   My 8^th 5K of 2023 was the Be My Valentine 5K held on February 11^th at McAllister Park in San Antonio, Texas.  This is a very popular event, put on by local race management company iaap, and the event sold out with 351 finishers. With a late morning start time of 9:30 a.m., I got to sleep in a bit longer; probably a bit too long, lol, as I made it to the event with about 35 minutes to go, found some parking, got my packet, and then got a few quick photos before we all got onto the course.   The weather was pretty sunny, which was nice for a February day, but Mother Nature also gave us quite a windy day too, making it feel pretty  chilly out there.   45 degrees at start time with a ‘feels like’ of 41 degrees.  I much prefer running in the 60s, 70s, even 80s.  Some of my running friends think I’m nuts, lol, but I just prefer warm weather running to colder weather.  Maybe it has something to do with my cancer side-effects.  I’m cancer-free now after a 15-month treatment session, but ever since I finished my radiation treatment last year, I just seem to feel chilly more easily. Even so, not going to let it get me down or stop me running. I just slap on those layers – I had 3 layers on for this event – and keep on going.

On The Course:  As noted, this event took place in McAllister Park.  I did my usual 8-min run/2- minute walk thing (stupid arthritis!), taking photos during my walk breaks. We started by the park pavilion located near the lower soccer fields and the youth baseball field. The terrain was primarily off-road paved trails and one of the park’s paved roads. For the most part, a very well thought out course; we started in front of the pavilion on a park road and went past the soccer fields and youth baseball stadium.  We then proceeded to a turn onto one of the off-road paved trails.  This took us behind the baseball stadium, then along another trail that took us across a park road that was just up from Becken Pavilion in the park. After crossing this street, we were on another off-road paved trail. We proceeded up this and made a left turn onto another trail – if we had gone right, the trail would have taken us to the Turkey Roost pavilion area. Once on this trail, we went down to a road that used to be the original entrance way-back-when to McAllister Park. We crossed this road, and made a left turn, going down another trail.  This trail came out just down from Becken Pavilion.  We turned right, going away from the pavilion, coming to a trail intersection.  We went left. If we had gone right, this would have taken us past the police substation near the park.  The trail we did take wound around for quite a bit, eventually bringing us back to the first trailhead we had entered, just down from the youth baseball field, with the finish line on the road to our left. Now came the part of this course – which I have done before – that I really absolutely hate, lol.  Instead of turning left to just go to the finish, we had to make a right turn and do a short out to a cone turn-round and then finally headed for the finish.  What?  When I come out on that trailhead before that out-and-back, I always think to myself, “What the heck…I know the finish is to my left, so I just want to come off this trailhead and GO TO THE DARN FINISH right now, lol.  There must be some way to extend the course a bit on the other trails so we can do that.  However, it is what it is, and I’ve never cut a race course in my life and wasn’t about to start now. So I just did that darn out-and-back, and finally got to the finish 7^th out of 10 in my 60 – 69 males age group with a chip time of 41:29, averaging 12:28 per mile.  I did stop a few extra times to get a couple more photos, but I did run nearly all of the last mile nonstop, with just a shorter walk break than I usually take.

After My Finish  –  Got some water, did a short walk-about so I would not get dizzy and fall over, lol, and then enjoyed some post-race goodies – they had quite a bit of stuff, including beer too – and chatted with friends, volunteers, other participants, etc., while getting some after photos. Epilogue –  In spite of that short out-and-back just before the finish that drives me crazy, lol, this really is a well-thought out course and a very nicely done event, as all iaap events are.  They’ve been doing this for a long time now and have it down to an art; they definitely know their stuff. They also throw some great after-parties; not quite as crazy as the Scallywompus parties, but iaap sure does a good job. There were lots of post-race goodies; very unique finisher medals; and the race “shirt” is a nicely designed hoodie. My wife and I were married on Valentine’s Day, so when I registered, I got one in her size, figuring she would like this design. It fits her pretty well too.  There was also a costume contest; a selfie-photo area, where you stood in front of a camera with balloons behind you formed in a heart-shape;  and we had our sound-and-music man, Paul, playing tunes for us. Mucho thanks, also, to our MC Lana for her great job. Also, of course, thanks to the iaap crew; all the sponsors of this event; the park police officers out there for our safety, and anyone else involved that made this one happen for we participants. I would do this one again and recommend it to others.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/LdjkykTYRvS7fCaA7

Before The Start:  My 7^th race of 2023 was the San Marcos 5K put on by Scallywompus running group on February 5^th.  There was also a Half Marathon and a 10K. Start and finish at Tanger Outlet Stores iin San Maros, TX, about a 40-or-so minute drive from San Antonio. This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend, after having done the San Antonio Stock and Rodeo Show 5K the day before.  I arrived with about 40 minutes to start time, picked up my packet – and found my race Bib number was “1”, lol; wow, were they way off on that – and then wandered around getting some pre-start photos and chatting with friends and other participants. The Half Marathon started first, followed by the 10K, and then the 5K started at 8:35 a.m. The weather was pretty cooperative with just about no wind, a temp in the mid-40s, pushing up to the low 50s, and plenty of sunshine, but sometimes ‘watery-looking” sunshine as we had a lot of mist and fog at places along the course, with the humidity being pretty darn high.

On The Course:  All the courses were HILLY, with the half-marathon folks having the most, of course.  All the courses were out-and-back.  All courses went through part of the Tanger Outlet Parking lot, taking us to a paved ‘country road’ – still open to traffic. As we exited the parking area we made a right turn and almost immediately began climbing our first hill.  After we crested this, we had a long downhill, and then another uphill to our turn-round point.  Naturally, after the tur-round, that long downhill became a long uphill for us on the way back.  We then had a short flat part – for maybe about 50 yards – and then did another shorter up incline.  After that it was downhill back to Tanger Outlet, where we made a turn behind the stores – looks like an area where store deliveries are made at the back of the stores – and ran on fairly flat asphalt surface on the way back to the finish.  Pretty nicely thought-out course, probably by “Moe” as this race was previously known as “Moe’s Better Half”, until he retired and turned the race over to Scallwompus, which has been taking good care of it ever since. For my race on Saturday, I kind of pushed myself on the last mile and got negative splits, so my legs were feeling that on this Sunday race. I decided for this one just to take it pretty easy, just have fun with it, and maybe take a few more photos than I normally do.  That last long climb before the finish I was really feeling it.  I ended up with a chip time of 45:42 and positive splits, 5^th out of 5 – dead last – in my 65=69 males age group, so I certainly did take it easier, lol.  So much for being Bib #1.

After My Finish  –  Cool-down walk, and got some hydration into me and just relaxed for a bit.  Then it was off to get some post-race photos. Scallywompus always has a lot going on after the race – their motto is “Come for the Race. Stay for The Party.” They are not kidding either.  Post-race goodies included sausage-on-a-stick, various type of beer and some harder drinks, also plenty of water, some fresh fruits, and more. There was also a drawing for prizes – shoes for the people who placed 1^st in their age groups – and more.

Epilogue –   Love the Scallywompus events. For each series of races, you can sign up for all 4 at one time and get a nice discount, or each one individually, which is what I do, since I am still dealing with some post-prostate canter treatment side effects, so just never know  what the da will bring for me; mostly okay, thank goodness, with the occasional bad days. It’s okay though. I still manage to run pretty consistently – a heck of a lot slower than I used to be, lol, but hey, at least  still can run – and the Scallywompus events are some of my consistent go-to events. If you have never done a Scallywompus event, I encourage you to give it a try. You will experience some of the friendlies participants and volunteers in the running community; great after-party; really nice quality race shirts; lots of post-race goodies; unique age-group placer awards and uniquely designed finisher medals for each race in the series. Tell them, lol, “Scottydog sent me.”,,,,they know who I am. Happy running and walking!

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hNfnSRrM4kg36JXB8

Before The Start:  My 6^th race of 2023 was the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Stampede 5K held on February 4^th, starting and finishing at Milam Park in downtown San Antonio, right near San Antonio Children’s Hospital.  . The race had  a start  time of 9:30 a.m – 0930 for we military related folks 😉 – so got to sleep in a bit more for this one.  This event; put on by the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo association raises scholarship funds for local area students. This is a very popular annual event for runners and walkers and this year was no exception, with 511 finishers.  After some miserably cold weather the previous week, Mother Nature gave us a break for this one, with sunshine and a temp in the low to mid 40s and very little wind.  I remember the one from last year was a lot colder, with a pretty stiff wind blowing, so this was a very  pleasant change.  I arrived with about just under an hour to start time and wandered around chatting with friends and other participants and supporters and getting a few pre-start photos.

On The Course:   The course was changed from the one I remember last year, and the one this year is much better. We started to the side of Milam Park and then turned right, going down Santa Rosa Street. We made a left turn onto Nueva Street.  This took us down to the intersection of St. Mary’s and Nueva. Right before that intersection, we made a right turn to go onto the San Antonio Riverwalk, moving toward the historic Arsenal, now H-E-B headquarters. Right before getting to the Outrigger Canoe Club along the Riverwalk, we made a right turn, going up a short walkway, and then crossed over a bridge to go into part of the Historic King William District – some really nice houses in here. This took us to a path that put us back onto the Riverwalk going toward Nueva. Back on Nueva – with the historic Bexar County Courthouse building behind us – we went toward Hemisfair, then making a left turn on Presa.   Once on Presa, this took us to Houston Street.  After turning left on Houston Street, we proceeded all the way down Houston – with lots of people who were out shopping, eating breakfast or brunch – becoming cheering spectators as we passed by them, which was pretty cool – and we passed by the fairly new Frost Tower, headquarters for Frost Bank, which has a pretty cool design..   Back at Santa Rosa Street, we crossed over that and there was the finish line….DONE!
I did my usual  8 min run/2 min walk for the course, taking photos during my walk breaks, so definitely never set any speed records when I do a race, lol. I ended up with a chip time of 42:31, 18^th out 23 in my 60 – 69 males age group.

After My Finish  – Got some water, did a short cool down walk as I sipped that, chatted with friends, and then got some post-race photos of some of the Happy Finishers and their supporters, as well as volunteers, etc.

Epilogue –  As noted, this is a very popular race, so sign up early if you’d like to do it. The course this year was GREAT.  I like this course much better than the one we did last year, it’s a lot more scenic, and gives a nice look at some really cool parts of the downtown area. I hope they keep this course for the event.  Way back when, this event used to be a 4-miler, for which you’d take a bus from the AT&T center area to the start point and then run back to the AT&T center, going around the AT&T parking lot a bit before getting to the finish.  That was exciting – NOT, lol.  There was a Cowboy Breakfast after the race back then, so that was pretty good. However, things change, evolve, etc., and this race has done that and I think it is better for it.  Very well organized. Really nice long-sleeved tech tee race shirt, finisher medal for all participants, and very unique awards for the top age group awardees. Milam Park is also a smaller, but pretty nice inner-city park to relax in after a race, very beautifully done. Lots of various post-race goodies, including beer, nice.  I plan to continue doing this one and I certainly would recommend it to others.  MUCHO thanks to our Race Director, Carolyn and her race crew of volunteers, Stock Show and Rodeo staff, etc., they all did a great job for us. Also, thanks to Carolyn for giving me ONE HUNDRED medals for the cancer kids. When I chatted with her at packet pickup, she found out I keep a bag in my car and, since I do so many races in a year, I throw some of my finisher medals in there; when I get enough to fill the bag, usually about 30 – 50,  I them to the San Antonio Children’s Hospital and donate them to be given to the kids in the cancer ward – my preference, since I am a 2-time survivor.  When Carolyn found this out, she told me to see her before I left the race area, she would have some medals for me to donate too. So I did.  After the race I took mine and hers to the hospital and turned them in to the staff and, FYI Carolyn, they were really impressed with the amount of medals. Thanks so much to Carolyn and her staff for doing this, the two ladies I talked to at the hospital were SO appreciative.  See you next year at one my very favorite events!

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jnwCMp2LN7ZDGNFKA

Before The Start:  My 5^th race of 2023 was the das dries.eins 5K held on Sunday, January 29. There was also a half-marathon.  Put on by local area race/running company Athlete Guild, this was the inaugural event of this race, which raises funds for Pink Warrior Advocates, which provides grants for women undergoing treatment for  breast cancer.  Pretty nice turn out on a wet Sunday morning, with 195 finishers for the 5K and 199 finishers for the half, and a pretty darn good turnout for an inaugural event. The half start time was 7 a.m. and the 5K followed at 7:30 a.m. Both courses started and finished in Prince Solms Park in New Braunfels, Texas. This park is located near the Schlitterbahn Water Park. Prince Solms Park is one of the starting points in the summer for toobers who want to toob down the Comal River. Weather was kind of dreary, with overcast skies, temperatures in the 60s, and pretty darn humid, with the prediction of possible storms.  When I left San Antonio to go to the race site, it was raining there, but when I arrived in New Braunfels, there was just some slight drizzle, although the ground was pretty wet, so  looked like the rain had passed through.  I got there a bit after 7 a.m., so the folks doing the half had already started.  I had picked up my race packet the day before, so chatted with friends and other participants and got some pre-start photos.

On The Course:  The Half course took in Landa Park, the Gruene District and the Guada Coma neighborhood.  The 5K took was mainly in the Guada Coma area.  We went of of Prince Sohms park, took a right turn on Liberty Avenue, then made a right turn onto San Antonio Street.  We crossed a bridge, then proceeded down to a traffic circle, which we looped around, and then came back onto San Antonio Street.  We then made a right turn on Comal Street, going  down to a turn-round point, and then came back up Comal. Next, a right turn onto Tolle Street, and then down to Gilbert street, where we made a left turn.  This brought us back to San Antonio Street, upon which we turned right, and then proceeded back to the park; left on Liberty; and then left back into the park and around  part of the loop road there, which took us to the finish. I ended up 4^th  out of 5 in my 65-69 age group, with a chip time of 42:31, averaging 13:41 per mile, with all my photo stops, and had a negative split for Mile 3.  The weather actually did cooperate a bit by not raining on us, but it was still very humid (90 percentile humid) and very overcast, with no wind at all.

After My Finish  –  Got some water and did a short cool-down walk for about 5 minutes or so.  Then it was time to get some photos of the happy finishers and their supporters, chat with friends and other participants and just wind down from the race. 

Epilogue –   This is  very well-done event put on by Athlete Guild and MC Extraordinaire Mark Purnell did his usual superb job; in my opinion, he is our top local area MC – but watch out, Mark, my friend Anthony Zamora may be pulling up on you.  Well, we have enough local events year-round, I think there is room for both of them, lol. Really nice tech-tee long-sleeved race shirt; and finisher medals, and race bibs that can be ‘personalized’ for you if you register early enough.  Very nice race location, with adequate parking only a short walk from the start/finish area.  All kinds of post-race goings-on and good treats, that included post-race massage, various “flavors’ of breakfast tacos, Shiner Beer, Gatorade, water, and more. I will definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to Athlete Guild for this event, and the course setup, timing, and results; Sports and Spine Physical Therapy for the post-race massages; Two Rivers Running for doing being the site of the pre-race day packet pickup; the Pink Warrior ladies that were handing out the breakfast tacos; Shiner Beer for their great beverage; and all the other sponsors involved.  Thank you all for what you do so we participants can have this event.  Also, thanks to all the police officers out there on the course for our safety.  Also, in closing this report, I leave a personal note to my friend Amy, a co-owner of Athlete Guild, who is a fellow survivor, and one of the people  responsible for getting this event started. We both were getting treatment at about the same time, me for my prostate cancer, her for breast cancer. I recently finished my 15 months of treatment in Nov 2022. Amy has done the majority of hers and has a few more things to get through, but I am SO glad we  both made it through!  Amy truly is a Pink Warrior who daily lives Never Give Up and one of my very favorite people;, a wonderful lady with a strong spirit, good heart, and great attitude.  Her posts are an inspiration.   Please keep her in your good thoughts and prayers – and anyone else too you may know who is dealing with this insidious disease.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/oLC8jizKB9gfj2Nc9

Before The Start: My 4^th race of 2023 was the Winter Dragon 5K, held on January 22 at Pearsall Park in San Antonio. Put on by e-Dragon Productions, this event included a half-marathon, 10K, and 5K with staggered starting times for each event.  Mother Nature was somewhat kind to us, giving us a lot of sunshine and a temp in the lower 50s, with a ‘feels-like’ temp of 45 degrees as the wind was blowing pretty good, making it feel a bit colder. This would have been Spring-like weather for people living in the ‘true-winter’ states, but for we South Texans, it was pretty chilly, so several of us were all wrapped up. I had on 3 layers myself, lol.  I arrived with about 40 minutes to go for my 5K start and got a few pre-start photos, as I chatted with friends and other participants. e-Dragon events are pretty popular, and this one was no exception, with 70 finishers for the half; 60 finishers for the 10K; and 134 finishers for the 5K.  There might have been a lot more, but this race day was also race day for the Austin 3M Half Marathon, which several of or local area runners had signed up for.

On The Course:   The Half started at 8:00 a.m., the 10K at 8:05 a.m. and the 5K at 8:10 a.m.  I was taking care of a ‘side-effect’ from my recent prostate cancer treatment (finished 15 months of treatment in Nov 2022), so go to the 5K starting area after everyone was starting, and ended up starting dead last, lol.   All good, though, I soon managed to catch up to some other participants, and even passed a few. I’ve done this 5K before and thought I knew the course; but no, it had been changed since the last time I did it, and we ended by starting almost right-off-the-bat  going up a fairly good-sized hill, with more to come.  My friend Erick, co-owner of e-Dragon has a mean streak in him at times, lol. These were no baby-hills either.  The 5K course was a mix of loop and out-and-back, and it is mostly off-road trails, a mix of dirt, some gravel, rocks, stones, etc, and some of the paved trails in the park, so I was glad for this one I had the sense to wear my trail running shoes.  First hill – uphill; second: downhill.  3^rd – downhill; then we went on paved trail to a turn-round point; came back to the water stop and then did an off-road loop trail – flat, thank goodness – through a wooded area, and then back on pavement for a bit.  We then proceeded back to the finish the way we had come out, so 4^th hill – uphill; 5^th hill, uphill; and finally a short downhill, and then fairly flat back to the finish.  Good grief, lol. We 5K folks only had to do this once, so with the longer distance for the 10K and Half folks, they had even more hills than we did.   I just took it pretty darn easy, walked a lot more than I usually do, stopped several times to take photos, and ended up with a finish chip time of 46:52, averaging 15:05 per mile and ending up 2^nd in my 60-69 males age group, I don’t know how; maybe because there were only 4 in my age group.  My good friend Bill ‘Doc’ Byrd was first in our age group, and I was not that far behind him.  One tough course!  I may have over-dressed a bit with my 3 layers, but with what darn wind blowing, I was glad I had kept them all on. This is probably the most challenging course I’ve done since I finished my cancer treatment, so I was quite simply happy that even though it is a very tough course, I was able to do it all, even if snails and turtles behind me were ‘honking’ at me to move the heck over, lol.

After My Finish  – First thing, get some water – they had some Force Water there, which is one of the water brands I really like – and also got a banana  and then simply rested a bit while I got those into me. After that I went here-and-there, chatting with friends, and getting more photos. The wind was still blowing like crazy, so I was glad I had brought with me that hat and my warmer gloves. My friend Lisa Soler – owner, Soler Sports, check them out, they put on some pretty good races too – surprised me by giving me a Wolfpack running shirt – Wolfpack is a local running-and-walking group of great people –  she had made for me, with my “I BEAT CANCER! NEVER GIVE UP!” logo.  It is bright yellow too, which I thought both funny, and great, since I’d been mentioning on FB at times that some races gave me these shirts and SAID they were yellow, but they looked more lime to me, lol; it’s NOT yellow! So now I have another TRUE yellow running shirt, lol.  Thank you so much, Lisa!  I read once somewhere that ‘hill work is speedwork in disguise.’ Well, I don’t know about that, but I sure am glad that I do make a point of doing hill work – usually paved roads – so that did help me get through; not as fast as I usually do a 5K – usually I am about 4 – 5 minutes quicker than my finish time for this one – but given the course, I was quite pleased with my results, as I really did expect this one might take me over an hour. If you’ve never done a run or walk at Pearsall Park – which is pretty close to Joint Base San Antonio Lackland – then go try it sometime; you really will get a workout.

Epilogue –  As with all e-Dragon events, this is a quality event, with a well-thought out – but tough, very tough – course for all distances; very nice quality race tech tee shirt – if I remember correctly,  we 5K folks got short-sleeved shirts, and the half and 10K participants got long-sleeved shirts – and finisher medals for all.  The awards are unique e-Dragon coins, with a number on the back that you can use to get a discount for future registration of e-Dragon events.  Lots of post-race goodies, including fajitas, Shiner Beer, Force Water, and more. Our music-and-sound man Paul was there doing his usual great job, as well as our MC Anthony Zamora, who has become quite a ‘staple MC’ for our local events; always professional, great sense of humor; a very darn good runner himself, so he can relate to all of us; much thank to all these people for being there for us, as well as the park police officers for our safety; all the sponsors of this event, and all the volunteers, some of whom had to be on location way early when it was even colder; to Kristin and Erik, of e-Dragon, our music man, Paul; and a special shout-out to my friend Meghan, who beautifully sang the National Anthem, while friend Louis presented the colors, that was awesome; and to everyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all for giving us this event.  Now I need to go soak my sore old-man body, lol.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dRGXh3JstEzhkC5q6

BEFORE MY START –  My 3^rd race of 2023 was the MLK 5K held on Sunday, January 15^th   at Martin Luther King Park in San Antonio.  This is one of my “streak’ races; I have done every one of the ‘live” ones in person since this event first started. During the pandemic the event was not held live in 2022, so none that year.  Good to be back at this event this year. Put on by the MLK Young Men’s Leadership Academy, this event had a nice return to ‘live’ with 522 finishers.  Smart move to hold it on a Sunday, as there are much fewer events held on that day, so less competition from other local events for getting participants. A nice race starting time of 9 a.m. too, so got to sleep in a tad longer. I arrived on-site around 8:15 a.m. and wandered around chatting with other participants, friends, sponsors, vendors, etc., and getting some pre-start photos.  BTW, An MLK race is also held in various other cities on various dates.

ON THE COURSE –  The course was out-and-back paved trails in MLK Park.  The weather was very cooperative, with abundant sunshine, just a tad of wind, and a temp in the mid-50s. I did my usual run/walk of 8-min run/2 min walk, and took photos during my walk breaks.  This course is pretty much flat all the way, with a short incline just past the course water station on the way out to the turn-round, not something you could really call a hill.  The worst part of the course for me personally was crossing twice – once on the way out, once on the way back – that darn bridge that goes over the river/creek.  With this many people in the race, the darn thing SHAKES as people are crossing it, making me nervous it was going to kick in my vertigo, which thankfully did not happen, as I just took it easy crossing that thing. I was feeling pretty good today and got going pretty well. I even ran the majority of Mile 3 nonstop, foregoing one of my walk breaks, I was feeling so good. Out of 15 people in my 60-69 males age group, I ended up 7^th, with a chip time of 40:03, averaging 12:50 per mile. I even did negative splits for this event, with Mile 3 being my fastest at 12:38.  I have not seen that time in a while, so a pleasant surprise for my 2-month anniversary of finishing my 15 months of prostate cancer treatment back in November.

AFTER MY FINISH –  First thing, did a cool down walk, got some water into me, and a banana, and then changed into a base layer dry shirt that I had brought to stay warm and cozy – I always seem to feel cold now, lol, since my cancer treatments began, so maybe one of the side effects for me – and put my long-sleeved race shirt back on.  The weather could be in the 60s or 70s with people wearing short-sleeved shirts, and I am too, but also have a base layer under that top shirt, lol.  Oh well, it is what it is, and I seem to do okay.  I wandered around chatting with friends/participants/vendors, etc., and got some post-race photos. Also, of course, I treated the doggies that were there.  Some of them even recognized me, lol, knew I had treats and came hauling toward me when they saw me, sometimes to the surprise of  their humans.  It was all good, and the humans were very nice about it.  No award for me of course – did not expect one at my pace; but I met my two primary goals: finish standing up and no ambulance at the finish waiting specifically for me.  Anything I get after that is a bonus!

Epilogue –   This is a really well-done and well-organized event with a really nice course – except for that darn bridge; 😉 – and a very friendly group of participants all supporting and encouraging each other the whole way.  Comedian Cleto was our MC for the awards and did a great job.  Very nice quality long-sleeved race shirt; age group awards for the Top 3 in each age group, and awards for the overall finishers. Lots of vendors there giving away freebies and information about their various organizations.  The park has been renovated too in the past couple of years, so now has a building with indoor restroom facilities, nice. This is one of my favorite events of the year.  I certainly will continue to do it for as long as I am physically able – probably mentally too, lol – and I certainly would recommend it to others.  If you have friends not on FB, they can find my event photos on my blog: Scottydog Reports, which I do just for fun  – no ads, won’t sell you anything, etc, just a nice clean blog with all my race reports and photos.

MUCHO THANKS TO:   All the sponsors, vendors,  and volunteers that made this one happen for we participants; Mr. Brown, Principal of the Young Men’s Leadership Academy – great guy, by the way; our Race Director, whose name has popped right out of my head, so apologies to her, but she did great too;  iaap for the course setup, timing, results; Cleto for his MC appearance and to our sound guy and DJ who also did a great job; officer Ken who was on site for us; the Young Men’s Leadership Academy band – and big kudos to the musician who played the National Anthem for us before the start – with a saxophone I think – and he did it awesomely;   and anyone else involved that I failed to mention here.  Thank you all!     

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kguKkjQDj1QYxnReA

Before The Start – My 2^nd race of 2023 was the River Road Run 5K put on by local race company Scallywompus.  The River Road run is the first in a series of 4 “Hill Country” races. One can register for each race individually or all 4 at the same time and get a nice discount on the registration price.  As I am still in the early recovery stage after completing my prostate cancer treatment, I register for each of these individually for now, as I am still dealing with a few treatment side-effects, and some days I just don’t want to do anything, lol.  Race location was in Comfort, Texas, about 40 or so miles from San Antonio.  Start and finish at the grounds of Hill Country Distillers in Comfort.  The event included a half-marathon, 10K, and 5K.  The weather was pretty cooperative, although it was very humid – 61 degrees and 96% humidity; my kind of race, lol, because I’d rather be warm than cold – causing a lot of fog to roll in first thing in the morning – the drive for me from San Antonio up to Comfort was crazy, with very thick fog all over the road; for a minute there, I thought a bunch of pirates were going to start coming out of it; and if you get that movie reference, then you are old as me, lol. I managed to make it safely IN COMFORT 😉 – arriving at race location in time to see the half-marathon folks starting off.  After that, got a few photos before next two races started.

On The Course:   As noted, all courses started and finished at the Hill Country Distillers grounds.  All were out-and-back. For the first part of the course, all events started on a fairly narrow sidewalk on the ground which took us out to a street where we made a left turn and got onto asphalt roads.  All courses then made a right turn at the first intersection, went down another road, and then made a left turn, which took us into a local neighborhood.  This road had a down incline – which was an up incline on the way back, and this was the only hill for the 5K; I think the 10K and half had some actual steep hills, from what those participants told me later. After going down this incline, the rest of the 5K course was fairly flat.  We proceeded down the road, making a right turn onto another pretty flat road – where some idiot truck drive with no patience decided he was going to get around all these participants and tried to pass everyone on the grass by the side of the road, nearly running into a couple of participants ahead of him who had moved over when everyone gave the “Car Back!” shout-out; thankfully lots of fellow runners around who warned them, so they got out of Mr. Idiot’s way safely without getting hurt.  Aside from that doofus, all other drivers on the course were pretty patient and accommodating for us.  After going down this road, we made a left turn onto another pretty flat road.  After going down this road, we made a right turn and went down a short slope – nothing you could really call a hill – where there was a water stop, and the 5K turn-round just past it.  There was a pretty good hill beyond the 5K turn-round point, and I saw one of my friends, who chose to do the 10K, coming down that hill on the way to his finish, so I assumed that was the part of the course where the hills began for the 10K and half folks. I gave a shout-out to my speedy friend as he passed me on his way to his 10K finish.  I stopped to get a photo of the water-stop volunteers and thank them; and then continued on.  The 5K course back to the finish was exactly the same way we had come out.  There were 6 people in my 65 – 69 age group and I ended up dead last in it, lol, with a chip time of 41:54, averaging 13:29 per mile. Was I happy with that? You bet! I only have two race goals: Finish standing up, and no ambulance specifically waiting for me, lol.  People often tell me if I quit stopping on the course to take photos, I might even place someday; however, can’t run non-stop any more, or I would not be able to do anything after, with this spinal arthritis, cuz I wouldn’t be able to move at all, lol; and I have fun doing the photos and interacting with the other participants out there. I am just as happy as a blind pig that found an acorn that I can still do any running at all, so it’s all good.

After My Finish:   Cool-down walk, get rehydrated a bit, and then enjoyed interacting with fellow finishers and race supporters, the volunteers, and the sponsors/vendors.  Scallwyompus always throws a fantastic after-party; lots of post-race goodies, beverages for both adults and the kiddies; and I took care of the treats for the dogs attending.  I was quite popular with the dogs, lol.  As I continued walking around, some of the dogs, when they saw me, tried to start heading my way; their poor humans holding their leashes, got some arm-lift exercise, lol. It was a very fun after-party, with lots of smiles and laughs; one reason I call my after-the-race photos the “Happy Finisher” photos; more participants seem to be smiling after the race than before it or on the course.  My friend Woody and I were just about the last participants to leave. We went across the street to the 8^th Street Market and had a nice lunch on their outside porch.  The food is really good, very reasonably priced, and the staff is super-friendly.  After lunch, we wandered around for a bit in the market part of the store – mostly antiques, and some painting and sculpture, old-time furniture, etc. It has some pretty interesting – and some definitely funny and odd – stuff in there; felt like I was back in the Waltons era, lol.

Epilogue:   Scallywompus races are very popular, with nice turn-outs.  There were 122 finishers for the half-marathon; 168 for the 10K; 296 for the 5K; and 12 for the 5K walk, for a total of 598 finishers; and probably more had registered but were possibly no-shows for whatever reason. The motto of Scallywompus is “Come for the race. Stay for the Party.”  They are not kidding. Tons of post-race goodies, including Alamo beer and other adult beverages; sausage-on-a-stick, various fruits, lots of bottled water, and more. Hill Country Distillery is a nice location for an event, with large grounds, restrooms, various types of games on the grounds including the beanbag Cornhole toss, which the kids there were really enjoying; lots of seating with picnic tables, nice stage for announcing, and the awards, and lots more.  Very nice coffee shop and antiques store quite close to the Distillery, where you can get morning coffee, breakfast if you want it – my friend Woody and I had lunch there after the race – and do some shopping too, if you are so inclined. Very friendly staff.  Unique finisher medals to all, and a very nice quality long-sleeved shirt; also unique Scallywompus awards of glasses to all the placers.  If you’ve never tried a Scallywompus event, I would definitely recommend you do so, you will not regret it. Mucho thanks to all the folks who made this one happen for we participants: All the Scallywompus staff; our race Director Tony Garcia; Scallywompus co-owner Bart Childers; Paul, our music and sound guy, Anthony Zamora, our Super MC for the event; all the many volunteers for packet pickup, race day, on course, etc; Hill Country Distillers; Pushbutton Photography, police officers there for our safety – I saw a couple checking on us on the course – the lead cyclists for those speedy up-front runners; and, of course, all the sponsors whose support helped make this one happen, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much!  See you at a future race, I hope!