Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/1EAzxBTY2m3HtzLt5

Before The Start: My 32^nd 5K of 2023 was The Big Run 5K, held on June 10^th during the week of Global Running Day/Global Running Week.  Presented by Michelob Ultra, E-Dragon Productions, and Fleet Feet, this event had a 5K;  12-and-under 1 mile run; and a Fleet Feet staff competition.   The Big Run is, to quote, “a celebration of running and the community it pulls together.”  Start and finish at McAllister Park in San Antonio on the Dog Park trailhead.  I live only about a 10-minute drive from the park, so got to sleep in a bit for this one that had a scheduled 7:30 a.m. start. I arrived at the park about 40 minutes from the scheduled start time and got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course: The start/finish line was on the parking lot/pavement slightly down from the beginning of the Dog Park Trailhead.  The Kid’s Run went first.  After they finished, the elite runners got a 5-minute head-start in front of the rest of the pack. The rest of us got going after that.  The course was out-and-back on paved concrete trails.  For the first part of the course, we had some pretty nicely shaded areas, which was nice as we had no cloud cover; it was a very bright sunshine day, already in the 70s, with expected heat indexes to reach over 100 later in the day. The course took us on a gradual downhill as we headed in the direction of the Wurzbach Parkway.  After getting down the hill, we then went under an overpass, with the parkway above us. Once on the other side of the parkway, we then took the trail that went in the direction of Lady Bird Johnson Park. On this side of the course, there was virtually no shade at all, and we also had some up-and-down climbing to do on some pretty fair-sized hills. There was one water station on the course. We climbed up a pretty good-sized hill and then went down a hill to get to the turn-round point. Since it was downhill to the turn-round, we then had to go back up that hill on our way to the finish. The first uphill we had on the way out now became a downhill for us, taking us back past the water station, then down to the underpass once more and back to the concrete trail we had started on as a downhill; so now, of course, it was an uphill for us on the way to the finish. Thankfully, however we were back in shade for this part of the course. Once we crested this hill, we then had a flat route that took us back to the finish.  Local race management company iaapweb tabulated the results. I ended up 4^th out of 6^th in my 60-69 males age group, gun time 42:10, chip time 41:49.  For the last mile I ignored my watch beeping at me for a walk break and ended up with a negative split for Mile 3, nice.

After My Finish:     Dang, it was WARM!  After getting my finisher medal, I went over to my car and sat in it for about 10 minutes, lol, with the a/c on full blast while I got some hydration into me.  Ahhh, felt much better.  Then it was off to mingle with the other finishers and get some post-race photos and enjoy some of the post-race goodies, which included various fruits, sausage wraps, beer, water, Gatorade, and other items.  This is also a dog-friendly event, so I was very popular with the canines as I handed out treats to them.

Epilogue:   This is a nicely done event, well organized, and with a pretty nice course. My only suggestion for a change is to start us at 7 a.m., since this is Texas summer, lol, and it gets pretty warm out there pretty quick. Other than that, well-done. REALLY nice quality tech-tee race shirt/singlet – I chose the singlet –  and lots of post-race goodies and some sponsor freebies hand-outs. Considering that there were several other local area events on this race day, this one had a nice turn-out with 216 finishers;  actually a few more than that, but the dogs aren’t counted as finishers…what’s up with that?  Lol. For those that wanted it, some pretty darn good cold beer from Weathered Souls and Black Laboratory Brewing.  I would do this one again and would recommend it to others.   Mucho thanks to all the people that made this one happen for we participants; E-Dragon Productions – and thanks to Erik for his MC duties; iaap; all the sponsors and all the volunteers; our sound-and-music guy; the official photographer(s); the patience of the other patrons in the park – and thanks to all those cyclists that called out as they came up behind us – and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/RarSsohWJyB3TknV9

Before The Start:   My 31^st race of 2023, and second race of the June 3 – June 4 weekend was Race 2 of the Summer Series 5K, a total of five events put on by e-Dragon Productions, done over the summer at various San Antonio city parks. Participants can register for all 5 at once, or separately for each one they want to do.  Race 2 was held at Lady Bird Johnson (LBJ) Park in San Antonio, with a start time of 7 a.m. This series races funds for a scholarship for a young San Antonio runner that will be selected and, if I remember correctly, announced at the last race of the series. Participants register for each race individually or register for all 5 at once.  As I live only about a 15-minute drive from LBJ Park, I got to sleep in a bit for this one.  I arrived at the park around 6:20 a.m., got my packet and bib number, and then got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course:   The course was an out-and-back on the park’s paved concrete trails, with a crossing over a short wooden bridge. We had a temperature of  70 degrees and feeling very humid at 88% humidity and very overcast. Some rain and wind had blown in the night before so there were a few places on the course with a bit of standing water in a few places on the course, but at least we did not get rained on. The start and finish was just slightly down from the park’s pavilion.  We did a loop around a short traffic circle and then proceeded down to the park’s trails. On the way down to the trails, there was a slippery mud patch on the left side of a short bridge we crossed; that had been coned off for us, so we proceeded past that on the right side of the bridge. Once on the main trails, we then went to a turn-round point near the frontage road of the 410 highway.  Right before we got to the turn-round, we went through the Los Patios area of commercial shops, food places, etc. After making the turn-round we went back to the finish the way we had come out. I had pushed myself a bit at the 5K I did the day before this one, so for this one I just took it easy, even taking a couple of extra walk breaks, and did my usual thing of getting some photos along the way.  There were 115 finishers for this event, both runners and walkers; for the most part, especially the back-to-the finish part, I pretty much was alone on the course.  I really thought I would be the very last runner in, but that turned out not to be the case. I did manage to run most of the last mile non-stop and ended up with a chip time of 42:17, finishing 4^th out of 6 in my 65-69 males age group, doing a negative split for Mile 3. 

After My Finish:   Whew that was humid! When I leaned down to get a cool drink from a cooler I got a tad dizzy – I don’t think I had hydrated well enough before my start – so sat quietly for a bit, sipping my drink, and ate a ‘salty snack” I had brought with me, and felt much better after that.  As I got some post-race photos, I enjoyed chatting with friends, volunteers, other race participants, and also giving some doggie treats to my friend Lucy  Dog – the owner of my human friend, Carolyn. Yeah, we think we own our pets, but they pretty much own us, lol. Carolyn and Lucy did really well and Carolyn got an award in her age group, since there is no age group award for dogs, lol; but Lucy got her awards from me in dog treats.

 Epilogue:  This is a very nicely done event put on by my friends Erik and Kristine of e-Dragon productions, and they do a really really good job with it. Nice certificates for the overall and first-place finishers, and very unique award coins given to all the placers; these coins can be used to get a registration discount for future e-Dragon events. Very nice quality race shirts, which can be bought for each race, which is done this way because the registration fee for each event is a very inexpensive $15 per race – and a bit of a discount if you register for all 5 at once.  I signed up for the first one individually.  After doing that one, I went back and signed up for the rest of the series. I certainly would recommend this event, and I also certainly will be doing them again, as opportunity arises. 

MUCHO thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants:  e-Dragon, of course;  local race management company iaap for the course set-up, timing, and results; the professional photographers out there for us before, during, and after; all the many volunteers – including my friend Anthony Z, who usually does MC duties but today was the volunteer for the turn-round and water station point; Erik for doing the MC duties for this one, and also the awards ceremony; and to the whole Burciaga family who are all involved with the company events put on, even their kids – who are also runners – it ‘runs’ in the family (pun intended) and their oldest son is already getting faster than me, lol; and all others involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  See you at Race #3 hopefully, to be held at Martin Luther King Park – which has personal meaning for me, but I’ll leave that for my next report.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/MZLGoTemKZ7BgsmV9

Before The Start:  My 30^th race of 2019 was Aid The Silent 5K, held on June 3 in Boerne, Texas. The event is put on by the nonprofit organization Aid The Silent which has a mission to, quoting from their website, “help deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teens receive equal access to opportunity by providing financial assistance to enhance communication methods; gain access to education resources; and to improve their overall health, both mental and physical, that leads to individual growth socially, educationally and spiritually. Aid The Silent strives for equality for the deaf community.”  I have not done all of their 5Ks, but I have done quite a few of them over the years.  I am not deaf, but I am somewhat hard of hearing due to an ear problem I had back in my early Air Force days and a subsequent surgery relating to that problem.  Still have some nice scar tissue behind my left ear from that. I try to do this event as often as I can.  For this one, my wife came to the race site with me, which was nice. We arrived a little before 7 a.m.  I got my packet and then, whiile I went and did my usual pre-start thing of chatting with other participants and supporters and Aid The Silent staff and volunteers and more – and of course taking some pre-start photos – Gail went around chatting with a lot of people and looking things over. This is a very popular event that ended up with a total of 684 finishers. The start and finish was at Boerne Main Plaza and all the vendors, sponsors, packet pickup, etc, were located on the grassy area of the plaza. It was very well-done and very well set up, so a lot to see and do before the start. The sound area,, photo op backdrop, and so forth were located at the really nice gazebo area in the plaza. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I handed out treats to several canines there. I was very popular with the dogs, lol.

On The Course:   8 a,m, race start time.  Iaap, with their usual expert precision, started the event right on time. After some crazy thunder and rain and high winds the night before, Mother Nature kindly accommodated us with a sunny day, blue skies, and a fairly good temp o 68 degrees – a nice temp, lol, for oncoming Texas summer – and no wind.  I was lined up way near the back of the pack since my two running speeds are Slow and Slower, so it took me a couple of minutes to get across the timing mat. To start out, we went straight down the road that goes past Bank of America near one side of the plaza. We went down a short incline and then left-turned into a really nice neighborhood. This was different from the race route I was familiar with the last time I did this event, so it was an interesting change for me, with new scenery. After turning farther into the neighborhood we went down a fairly steep hill – but a short one thank goodness, lol – and then up the other side.  We then did an out-and-back through this neighborhood, which meant we did that hill area twice. We then proceeded back to the road we had started on.  After going up a very short incline, we then turned left, going past one end of the plaza grounds, then past The Kendall, an historic hotel located right across from the plaza grounds. After passing the hotel, we then proceed on a paved trail that took us down to part of Boerne’s riverwalk.  Not as elaborate as the San Antonio Riverwalk – but what is, lol – but very nicely done with some nice views of the river to our right on the way out. This also was an out-and-back. With this many participants it did get a bit crowded, but from where I was at any given time, I never saw anyone getting upset, and the runners and walkers pretty much did a really good job of accommodating each other giving way when needed to the faster people, staying out of each other’s way, and lots of cheering each other on.  During my walk breaks, I moved over as far as I could and got a few photos along the way.  We got to a turn-round point and then went back the way we had come out. After coming off the riverwalk, we went past the hotel once more, then went down to the road we had started on, passing Bank of America on our right this time, and then heading to the finish. I pretty much ran most of Mile 3 nonstop, and ended up 14^th out of 32 in my 60-69 males age group, with a chip time of 41:42, about what I expected with the number of participants and my slow old-man legs, lol. I was very happy wih this result, as I met my two primary race goals – Finish Standing Up and No Ambulance Waiting For Me; lol. Overall, after 15 months of prostate cancer treatment from Sep 2021 to December 2022 – my cancer is now gone, so yay on that! – I think I am doing pretty well, all things considered..

After My Finish:  After a short cool-down walk and getting some water, I enjoyed chatting with other participants, the vendors, sponsors, people their supporting their runners who were family, friends, co-workers,  and many more.  Of course, I also did get some more photos of what I call the Happy Finishers – ever notice participants are usually smiling more after they are finished than before and during? Lol – and the supporters, friends, volunteers, etc. Also dogs, there were quite a few dogs at this one, very nice.

 Epilogue:   This event, for a great cause, is always very well done. Nice quality race shirt; I got  a youth medium and asked one of the Aid The Silent volunteers to donate it to one of their deaf children clients; I do so many races, my closet is starting to get a bit full of race shirts, lol.  All kinds of post-race goodies/freebies from the vendors; photo  booth also available; and Aid The Silent had a really nice merchandise area with some really cool things, all supporting the cause when you buy something.  I bought myself a Hank The Dog stuffed dog and found out later my wife had gotten one also.  I most certainly will be doing this one again and I would heartily recommend it to others.

MUCHO thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants:  iaap for the course set up, timing, results, etc;  all the many race-day volunteers;  Emma for her great job as Race Director and all the other Aid The Silent staff there; all the police officers on the street parts of the course for our safety;  and a personal thanks to the lady I chatted with post-race, accompanied by 3 from the deaf community. This kind lady interpreted for me in sign as I chatted with them all, telling a few stories – and giving them some laughs about my antics, and they gave me some laughs too;  I really,  really enjoyed their company and we all had a great time together. That was a very special moment for me and it really hit home with me about what this event really is for, to help this community of people who are NOT handicapped – I hate that word, “handicapped’ – they are DISABLED; there is a big difference between the two – and they CAN function in our society if we  so-called ‘normal’ people just help them have the chance to do just that.  Thanks so much to Aid The Silent and everyone else involved.  See you next time!

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hj7nJpeeqRyBtxKr9

Before The Start: My 29^th race of 2023 was the American Hero 5K, held on May 28^th, part of a series of events held at Comanche Park in San Antonio. The main event was the American Hero 25K Relay. The 25K Challenge was for those who wanted to do the whole 25K individually.  There was also a 25K Hero Ruck, for which you carried a certain weight of equipment while doing this event, and a 5K Wheelchair event. Prior to the start of all these events, there was a 400-meter dash, done primarily by the kids there. This was my second race of the weekend, after having done on Saturday  The Dino Dash 5K at The Witte Museum. I arrived at race-site with just under an hour go  to the 7:30 start time and got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course:  The 5K course was an out-and-back, as was the relay course. The people who did the 25K and the Ruck individually had to do the out-and-back course 5 times. The relay team members each did one out-and-back. Thankfully, Mother Nature as pretty kind to us, with lots of cloud cover – virtually no sunshine at all – and fairly nice humidity; it was still humid, but it could have been a lot worse. The course was done on the park’s paved off-road trails, and we crossed two bridges along the way, one a very short one, the other one a bit longer and a tad bouncy with runners and walkers going back-and-forth on it. It was well-thought-out course, with ample room for everyone. This course also had virtually no hills – just a couple of inclines, which was nice.  If we’d taken the trail on the other side of the park we would have had several hills, so thanks to the course planner for sending us  the other way.  For my 5K the day before this one I had pushed myself a bit, especially in the last mile which I pretty much ran non-stop (shhh, don’t tell my doc; I’m not supposed to do that, lol); so for this one I just planned to take it a bit easy and intentionally took a few more walk breaks than I normally do, to get a few extra photos. Overall, I felt pretty good and went pretty well, albeit slowly. I ended up with a chip time of 42:45, finishing 7^th out of 9 in my 60-69 males age group. I actually was only 10 seconds slower for this 5K from the one I did the day before in 42:35, go figure. I stay pretty consistent in my times, lol.

After My Finish:  After a short cool-down walk and getting some water and just sitting and being lazy for about 5 to 10 minutes, I then wandered around chatting with friends and getting some post-race photos.  Also enjoyed some post-race goodies that included sausage wraps, courtesy of Kiolbassa and some Shiner Beer – a small cup; still on some post-cancer meds, so have to be cautious; did not want a full one, so split one with a friend. There was also  a variety of fresh fruits available, nutrition bars, and much more.  Enjoyed chatting post-race with friends and participant and handing out treats to the doggies that were there – this is a dog-friendly event, and some of the dogs even recognized me, lol, from previous events.  Small world too; talked to a lady whose uncle was in Somalia at the same time I was, and we were both on-site during the Black Hawk Down battle. He was probably more involved in that than I was, since he was an Army Ranger, and I was Air Force, serving as support personnel for the troops there. Still some “hairy” moments at times, though.   

 Epilogue:  This race was  a very enjoyable experience with unique race bibs; nice quality tech-tee shirt; a nice course; lots of nice post-race goodies; wheel-chair friendly and dog-friendly, finishers medals for all; and unique Dragon’s Den discount count coins for the age group awardees, giving you a discount towards future Dragon’s Den events; as well as some other prizes, and more

MUCHO thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants:  iaap for the course set up, timing, results, etc;  all the many race-day volunteers; Anthony Zamora doing his usual first-rate job as our MC; e-Dragon Productions for being the presenting sponsor; the park police officers out there for us; our music-and-sound-man Paul; Shiner beer and Lisa Haby Soler and her folks for the post-race adult beverages; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all so much.  See you next year, lord willing, and the creek don’t rise.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/hgvnAczfKTMUXtPv5

Before The Start:    My 28^th race of the year was the 12^th annual Dino Dash 5K and Kids Run put on by The Witte Museum. Held on May 27^th, this event supports scholarships for the field trips of young students to visit The Witte Museum. Race start time of 7:30 a.m., with the Kids Run held after the main event. Mother Nature was very kind to us, with a nice temp in the low 70s, fairly low humidity, and a sunny day. Free parking for this event was at the Brackenridge Park parking garage, which is quite close to the museum, so very convenient. I had picked up my packet the day before race day, so arrived on site with just under an hour to start time and got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course:  The course was in Brackenridge Park, a mix of the park roads and off-road trails. We started on the park road that is directly behind the museum – Tuleta is the road name, if I remember correctly. We started by going toward the park’s train tracks, then making a right turn onto the road that is near the San Antonio Zoo Aviary.  After crossing The Iron Bridge, we then turned left, going past the park’s baseball fields. We then headed toward the park’s Hildebrand Road entrance-and-exit.  We did not go up to Hildebrand, but turned left onto a service road which took us back the way we had come out, and crossed over The Iron Bridge again.  This took us back to our start/finish road, with the Zoo’s tourist train crossing tracks in front of us.  We turned right onto this road, heading in the direction of the San Antonio Zoo entrance.  At the end of this road, we turned left.  This took us along another park road that took us to Mulberry Street, where we could see part of Brackenridge Golf Course across the street.  We did a turn-round here and proceeded back the way we had come out. Once we were back at the railroad tracks crossing, we turned right, heading in the direction of Broadway. Near the end of this road, we then made a right turn that took us onto one of the park’s off-road trails.  We wound around on this trail until we reached a circle- kind of like an off-road roundabout, lol. We looped around this circle – where there was also a water station; no beer 😉 – and then went on trail that took us back to where we had started the off-road part of the course.  Once back on this road, we then went back to the railroad crossing, made a right turn, and then headed for the finish line. It was quite a nicely laid out course with lots of opportunities to  see friends coming-and-going to cheer each other on.  I did my usual run-walk intervals – 8 min run/2-min walk – taking some on-course photos during my walk breaks.  I met my two race goals – finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting for me – and had a chip time of 42:55, averaging 13:49 per mile.  In my 60-69 males age group, I was 7^th out of 12 finishers.

After My Finish –   Got a few photos of some others finishing. After that, a short cool-down walk and got some post-race photos of happy finishers – including dogs; this is a dog-friendly event – and their supporters.  The Race Director also asked if I would be interested in doing an interview with KENS-5.  Sure, why not; so did that for about 5 – 10 minutes.  The camera guy and I hit it off – like me, he has cats too, lol – and it was a very enjoyable experience.    Not sure when, or if, it will air, but it was fun.

 Epilogue:   This is a very enjoyable event to do. Entry fee is higher than those for most 5Ks, but The Witte offers a lot, and you do get free  access to the museum, including all their ‘special exhibits too.  All finishers get a nice little finisher medal, and the race shirt is a very nice quality tech tee; with, of course, a running dinosaur on it, lol. Lots of vendors with pre-race and post-race goodies, including a coffee company, which my friend Woody would have loved. Also nice that the museum gave us use of their indoor restroom facilities; much nicer than porta-potties. This is the 12^th year for this event. and I have done a few of them over the years since it started. I missed 2021 and 2022 as  I was dealing with prostate cancer which, thankfully, I did beat, and then its side effects from my treatments, which I am still dealing with; those make take quite a while to resolve but while I get through it all, I try to do as many races as I can. Never Give UP! I would certainly recommend this event to others, it’s a lot of fun – and those participants that ran in those dinosaur outfits just cracked me up, lol.

MUCHO thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants: All the museum staff involved; all the volunteers; all the sponsors; the police officers out there for our safety who monitored the road closures; iaap face management for their usual great job of course setup, timing, and results; KENS-5 guy for being there to film the Kids Run – and thanks for the interview, I had a great time interacting with you – and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned.  See you next year!

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/NPDByXtEdqvhb3MB9

Before The Start:   My 27^th race of 2023 was Race 1 of the e-Dragon San Antonio 5K Summer series held at McAllister Park on May 21^st. This event is part of a series of 5 races, each held at a different San Antonio park.  Participants can register for all 5 races or register separately for each event they want to do. These races are affordable at only $15 each and help raise funds for a San Antonio Running Scholarship, given to a local San Antonio runner attending college. Please visit the e-Dragon website to get all the details on these events and how to participate. Start time of 7:15 a.m. for the 5K and there is also a Kid’s run at 7 a.m., for those kids that ant to participate.  There was some early morning rain on the day of this one, but Mother Nature was kind and held it off for the event. Temperature was in the low 70s and pretty humid, but at least it was not raining on us; actually pretty nice weather for me – I prefer warm to cold, lol – and lots of cloud cover.  I arrived around 6:45 a.m., got my bib, and then got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course: This was a loop course laid out by our Race Director Erik, co-owner of e-Dragon, and laid out by top-notch local race management company iaap. In my opinion, this the VERY BEST 5K course for McAllister Park as it is a nice loop course with participants not having do to that out-and-back crappola right before we go to the finish line. As soon as I saw one of the turns indicated on this course, I knew it was the loop course and was one happy old dog about that, lol. I wish every race director who does a 5K at McAllister Park would always use this course. From the start at the pavilion near the lower soccer fields and youth baseball field, we headed up a paved park road.  Just down from Becken Pavilion, we turned left onto an off-road paved trail that took us past a local police sub-station near the park. After going on this trail for maybe ¼ mile or so, we then crossed a road – which, if you did not know, many years ago used to be the original entrance road to the park – and this took us onto a trail just down a ways from the Turkey Roost pavilion. We then proceeded – yes, “proceeded”; I’m retired military, so I don’t “go” anywhere, I “proceed’, lol – down the park road where Becken Pavilion is located.  We crossed this road to continue on an off-road paved trail.  This trail took us to another trail that went behind the youth baseball stadium. This trail took us to our last connecting trail that took us back onto the road we had started on. After turning left, we passed in front  of the baseball stadium and then back onto the paved road we had started on, and that took us to the finish. I finished with a gun time of 44:06 and a chip-time 43:28, good enough for 2^nd in my 65 – 69 age group, as there were only two in my age group, lol. Also, I probably killed a lot of time on the course because of doggies, lol. When I saw someone coming toward me walking their dog, I stopped and offered the dog a treat, with permission of its human. After doing a VERY hilly 5K the day before this 5K, I was just “kickin’ back’ and relaxing a bit for this one – actually like I do for all my 5Ks, lol.  I was pretty happy with this one, feeling pretty good, and enjoyed interacting with other participants on the course.

After My Finish –   Got some water and did a short cool-down walk and then it was off to enjoy the company of my fellow finishers and race supporters and get some after photos.  Awards were nicely present by Erik – although he always starts with the young people first instead of we older people who need to get home to take our nap 😉 As noted, I got second in my 65 – 69 age group.  The awards were these unique designed e-Dragon coins which can be used to get a registration discount for future -dragon events, very nice. The first place finishers in each age category got a very nice cap.  I enjoyed chatting post-race with several friends and other runners I had interacted with one the course and also, as usual, getting some post-race photos of participants, their friends and family members, as well as some doggie photos.  This is a dog-friendly event, so I soon ran out of treats, which is all to the good.

 Epilogue:   e-Dragon puts on some really nice quality events over the year, including this race series, so definitely check out their offerings. Kristine and Erik Burciaga are two of the nicest people I have ever met, as well as being very accomplished runners in their own right. I expect someday at least one of their kids is going to end up in The Olympics – some of those kids are already faster than me, lol.  Always enjoyable to do one of their events, and also enjoyable seeing friends from iaap, who do a great job with the timing, results, etc. I have signed up to do all 5 of the races in the series, so look forward to the next one, which well be at Lady Bird Johnson Park.  See you then, if you’re signed up!

MUCHO thanks to all the people that made this one happen for us;  e-Dragon for putting the series on and for the unique age group awards.  Due to the registration price being so low, there are no race shirts in the packets, but you can purchase an event series shirt for a really nice price; also, if I remember correctly,  if you do sign up for at least 4 of the races, you will get a shirt, and also a medal, which I think is presented at the last race of the series. Thanks also to the police officers out there for our safety – one of them moved really fast, lol, he was at two of our park road crossings on the course; to all the volunteers for packet pickup, doing course marshal duties, race day registration, etc.; and, of course, to all the race sponsors, donors to the cause, iaap for the timing and results, and everyone else involved that made this one happen for we participants.  Thank you so much!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/rt4RAFj4D3Uxrdu39

Before The Start:  My 26^th 5K of 2023 was The Legendary  Legionary 5K Bier Run, held on May 20^th in New Braunfels, Texas.  This event was an inaugural 5K put on by the Walton F. Hoffman Memorial American Legion Post 179, with the goal of raising funds so the post can better assist local area veterans.  On race day, I woke up in San Antonio to thunder-and-lightning, so I was not sure if this one was going to be a go or not. I checked the race’s website and FB page, but did not see anything about cancelling, etc., so took a chance and just went for it. Mother Nature is so darn weird with Texas, lol.  Pouring rain like crazy when I left San Antonio, but as soon as I got into New Braunfels,  it just stopped, lol. There was cloud cover, and even a bit of sunshine too, go figure, with a temp of 73 degrees.  I had picked up my packet the day before so when I arrived at the race location – The American Legion post – I started getting a few pre-start photos, starting with one of the volunteers who was assisting with parking.  Unfortunately, with my great camera skill, I made him look like he was in Witness Protection, but did not notice until I got home, so my apologies to him.  The Post is a very nicely arranged building with lots of history, some photos, names on the walls,  some  patriotic artwork, and so forth.  Nice to have indoor restrooms too, although there were also  port-a-potties in the start/finish area, which was on grounds below the main building.  The Young Marines excellently did the Color Guard duties for The National Anthem, sung beautifully by a young lady.

On The Course –   As for the weather…wow.  Mother Nature gave us a nice break, it did not rain on us at all. As noted, the temp was 73 degrees, and we even had a bit of sunshine for a short while; a very short while, but it was there, lol.  We started in a grassy area on the activity field below the Post’s main building and then went onto paved roads in the neighborhood where the Post is located. Since I cannot run non-stop anymore with this darn spinal arthritis, I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk intervals and took photos during my walk breaks. This turned out to be one of the most-hilly 5Ks I have ever done. I think we maybe had two flat areas the whole time, lol.  In this neighborhood, you just can’t avoid the hills, and I think our Race Director had us doing just about all of them, lol, as we worked up-and-down across the neighborhood. Some of these hills make the Helotes 5K course hills look like baby hills, lol.   I was very grateful that I do hill training at least once a week, so I got up and down them fairly well. In spite of the hills, the neighborhood really is quite lovely, with lots of old houses, verandah-style porches on some, and some of the residents I chatted with along the way were all very nice people.  At one point I was running with this younger guy and we passed a beautiful house along the way with a big verandah porch and a back screened in porch.  I told him, wow, that house looks like the house in The Waltons.  His response was “Who are the Waltons?”  Dang, I feel old, lol. I ended up with a 38:17 chip time per the posted results – at this link – https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=127&RId=302  – good enough for 2^nd in my 60 – 69 males age group; but even if I’d taken an hour, I’d still have been 2^nd because there were only 2 in my age group, lol. I may have finished faster if I had kept doing my run/walk steadily, but whenever I saw someone walking a dog, I stopped to give the dog a treat.  I did this at one house, and then started up again, and the dog followed me, lol, to get another treat, so I had to stop and take the dog back home to his human, and we had a laugh about it.  He held onto  the dog until I got out of sight.  I think the chip timing might be off a bit, because my garmin had me finishing in 44 minutes flat, which I think is about right. I did do a nice negative split for Mile 3 though, running that mile nearly nonstop all the way.

After My Finish –   Some really nice post-race goodies, including nutrition bars, various drinks (Gatorade, water, juice, etc) and you could go get an “adult beverage’ in the post bar, if you so desired, as well as some other foods and I think there were even breakfast tacos you could purchase from a local food truck.  The sun actually did come out again for us for a while at the post-race activity and awards.  Lots of photo ops too, with various backdrops, the historic American Legion Building, and more.

 Epilogue:  When I first arrived at the race site, I noticed for race day packet pickup, there were a lot more packets than there were participants at the event. We ended up with a total of 48 finishers, so this 5K felt more like a bunch of friends getting together to enjoy each other’s company and have a nice race outing too. The camaraderie at this one was GREAT so those folks who did not make it to the race  really missed out; they were probably thinking, like I did at first,  that the weather would be bad. Well, it was not, it actually turned out to be a bit humid, but overall pretty nice conditions for us; could have been a lot worse.  Also, for slower back-of-the-pack runners like me, we were helping each other out along the way, since lots of times we were by ourselves, and sometimes – since I am directionally challenged, lol, even with signs, – we  back-pack folks helped each other out by calling out the correct times to turn on the course, or go straight, and so forth. It actually turned out to be a pretty well-done and fun event. I would definitely do this one again and certainly would recommend it to others.

MUCHO thanks to all the people that made this one happen for us; all the American Legion folks; our Race Director and the many volunteers for packet pickups, course marshals, water stop folks, etc; al the police officers out there at the intersections and road crossings for our safety; all the sponsors, of course, could not have an event without them; and a nice thank you to all the doggies there – this is a dog friendly event – I loved meeting them all; Personal Best Events for the timing, results, etc.; the  Young Marines; and that lady who beautifully sang The National Anthem; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much!  See you next time!  Hopefully with an even larger turnout.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/X5R3ERAAgnUvfr9Q8

Before The Start –   My 25^th 5K of 2023 was the Gabriella Cupkcake 5K held on May 13, 2023 at Bluebonnet Palace in Selma, Texas, a small community within the Greater San Antonio area. This event is named for a little girl named Gabriella who sadly died at 6 years old, if I remember correctly, of a rare form of brain cancer.  Hosted by Gabriella’s Smile Foundation and supported by Community First Health Plans, this event raises funds to help provide financial assistance/free support for pediatric cancer families and for pediatric brain cancer research. There was some question as to whether this event would even go on, as Texas, including the San Antonio area, was getting some crazy, stormy weather, with lightning, thunder, and predictions of up to 5  to 7 inches of rain and potential flooding. However, God and Mother Nature was kind to us for this event. We did get some really crazy weather the night before and in the morning, but by the time I left to go to the race site for the scheduled 8:30 a.m. start, it was still overcast and threatening, but actually pretty nice, with very little ongoing rain.  This is a very popular local event, and even with the weather threat, it was a nice turn-out with 300+ finishers.  When I got to the Bluebonnet Palace, there was quote a crowd of people there already, most of them inside the dance hall, which made it pretty crowded in there, along with all the volunteers, sponsor tables, race day registration group, etc.  I shuffled along, both inside and outside and got a few pre-start photos before we got the lightning “all clear” and proceeded to the start/finish line.

On The Course –  We started on the road in front of Bluebonnet Palace, went to the intersection near the front entrance of Bluebonnet Palace and then made a right turn.  Proceeding down this road, we made a right turn and did a loop through an industrial park with lots of business buildings, warehouses, and so forth. The streets were pretty wet in places, but Mother Nature was kind and it never did rain on us the whole way. I think Gabriella in Heaven must have asked God for a favor for her race and God told Mother Nature to behave herself for this one, so we could help children  in need.  I did my usual 8-minute run/2 minute walk intervals and took some photos during my walk breaks. I’d done this course for some other events held her, so knew what to expect.  For the most part it was flat, but we did have a couple of pretty fair-sized up-inclines on the way; not steep, but long. After doing a loop through the industrial park, we then came back to road that had taken us to the industrial park and went back to the finish the way we had first come out.  Surprisingly, I was feeling pretty good and managed to run almost the last whole mile non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 41 minutes even and was very happy with that.  I have been slowly – slow being the key word, lol – but surely getting stronger every week, as I recover from 15 months of prostate cancer treatment – finished my last treatment in December 2022.  I don’t know if I will ever get back to my pre-cancer times, which were a lot faster, but that’s okay. I’m just happy to be able to do any running and races at all.

After My Finish –    It did start spitting a bit of rain on us after we finished, but not too bad at all. Bluebonnet Palace, aside from its indoor area, also has a really nice outside pavilion area that has a lot of covered areas, so we had a lot of options for places to be to keep out of the wet.  I had brought a dry shirt to put on under my running shirt, so got that on to help keep dry and then enjoyed some post-race goodies – and, of course they had cupcakes, but I think, lol, I am one of the very few people in the world that actually does not like cupcakes – some of my friends were appalled to find that out,, lol; how can you not like cupcakes? Now if  if had been brownies  😉  – so I stuck to other goodies, of which there were plenty.  Age group awards went to overall finishers in each age group, which is fine with me; means more funding for the cause. Shoot, this year is my 40^th anniversary of being a runner, so I have plenty of medals, lol.  Nice quality race shirt too; I asked the Race Director to donate mine to one of the cancer kids they support.

 Epilogue: I’ve done this one a few times, and it was nice to be back for this one. It really is a well-organized event for a really good cause, with very unique finishers medals and lots of post-race activity going on. Bluebonnet Palace  is also a very nice race venue with lots of room for everyone, indoor restroom facilities and a place full of some really interesting to see, hanging from the walls, the doors, and even the ceilings, lol. It really is a very fun place to be and to see. The course was very nicely thought-out by iRun Texas, a  local race management/running shoes and other runner/walker accessories stores, and they put on some pretty darn good race of their own too.  Mucho thanks to them and to all the people involved that made this event happen for us, including iRun; the foundation; all the event sponsors; the police officers and medical staff out there for our safety; all the many needed volunteers to make this one happen for we participants; Bluebonnet Palace, of course; and any others involved that I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!   Next up for me is the Legionary 5K Bier Run on May 20^th in New Braunfels,  put on by the American Legion to help fellow veterans.  Nice one to do on Armed Forces Day.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/tWzxGH2SwxJ3J46XA

Before The Start –  My 24^th race of 2023 wat the Spring Thing 5K held on May 6 at the San Antonio State Mental Hospital in San Antonio. This event supports mental health and, if I remember correctly, helps raise funds for patient activities that are not paid for by the state. The event was held on the hospital grounds and had a nice turnout, with 117 finishers, especially considering the free District 4 5K, put on by the District 4 staff, usually has a huge turnout as it is a free event. I’ve done a few of those in the past and  those get crazy-crowded.   Top-notch race management company iaap did the course setup, timing, and results for this one. Race start time of 8 a.m. I got there with about an hour to go, got my race packet, and got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course – Held entirely on the hospital grounds, this course was out-and-back a mix of flat paved roads and a few hills and inclines along the way.  The weather was pretty darn humid – about 90-something percent, with dark clouds hovering overhead as we started.  I thought it might rain on us a bit, but that never did happen, and the sun even came out for a while; could have done without that, lol,  it was warm enough already, with a temperature of 81 degrees…at 8 a.m in the morning, good grief. Gotta love San Antonio weather, lol.  I started out with my friend Sally, with us doing 8-min run/2-minute walk. On my first walk break, Sally and I walked together a bit, and I stopped to get a few photos while she continued on, and I never did catch her for the rest of the course, lol. We got a very nice tour of the hospital grounds, and on our way back to the finish, a nice panoramic view of the hospital building. We also passed by where the new hospital building is being constructed.  After the turn-round point, I had Sally in sight again, just ahead of me, but then stopped to get another photo, and that was that, she finished ahead of me quite handily. She has overcome some issues and is doing really well with her running these days and I am very happy for her.  She was first in her age group.  I ended up finishing with a chip time of 43:21, 3^rd in my males 60-69 age group.  My speedy friend Luke was first in the age group with 26 minutes and change.  I met my two primary race goals, finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me at the finish, lol – and was quite satisfied, especially as I am still dealing with some side effects from my 15 months of prostate cancer treatment, which I finished in December 2022; so to be able to do any running at all is a blessing.

After My Finish – First thing, a short cool-down walk and then get some water into me.  After that enjoyed some of the post-race treats – breakfast tacos, bananas, donut holes, and more; there was quite a nice little spread for this one – and also wandered here and there getting some post-run photos of happy finishers, volunteers, and supporters. There was also a raffle, and I actually got one of the prizes, a spa outing, which I gave to my wife when I got home.

 Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event with a good course that gives lots of nice views of the hospital campus.  Indoor restroom is nice too.  The race shirt is very nice quality and the post-race goodies were also good. As noted, there was a post-race raffle with several prizes.  Awards went given only to the top overall in each age group, with which I have no heartburn, just means more support for the patients, and the awards were quite unique items that were made by some of the hospital patients, very cool. I’ve done this one a couple of times in the past and it is always enjoyable.  The hospital staff there, the volunteers, etc., all do a great job in accommodating the participants. I will definitely do this one again in the future and certainly would recommend it to others.  Hope it grows a bit more; it certainly is for a very worthwhile cause, especially as my experience is there are not too many 5Ks overall that support mental health causes, but that support surely is needed. Mucho thanks to all the people involved that made this event happen for we participants; all the event sponsors – Methodist Hospital System, University Health, and H-E-B, were the primary ones – all the volunteers and hospital staff members that were there for us; iaap, of course; our bike lead volunteers, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much!  See you next time I do this one!

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/bJdyWj5DpodV4Xcm8

Before The Start – My 23^rd race of 2023, and my 3^rd  5K of the May 29 – May 30 weekend was the Siesta 5K put on by local running organization Sccallywompus.  Held on May 30^th, this was the 4^th race in the Hill Country Series of 4 races, for which you could register individually or register for all 4 at once and get a nice registration discount. If you completed all 4 races, you got an extra medal after you finished the last event.  This race was held at Missions County Park and included a half-marathon, a 10K and a 5K.  Scallywompus events are very popular, especially as they are not kidding with their race motto: “Come for the Race. Stay for the party.”  Scallywompus throws some awesome after-parties.  I arrived early on race day, got my packet for the 5K I would be doing, and then wandered around getting some pre-start photos.  The Mission County Park grounds and pavilion were already getting crowded, as participants, volunteers, and supports continually began showing up.  How popular are Scallywompus events?  There were 214 participants in the half; 245 in the 10K; 388 in the 5K and 8 in the Competitive Walker category, totaling 855 participants. I’d say Scallywompus events are very popular. Mother Nature was kind to us, also, with really good weather, sunshine, hardly any wind, a temp in the upper 50s, low 60s, and the humidity was not really too bad.

On The Course:  Staggered starts for all the events, with the half marathoners going first at 7:31 a.m.; the 10K at 8:15; and the 5K at 8:35 a.m. All the courses were done on the paved trails of the Riverwalk, so it did get a bit crowded at times, but I think everyone expected that, with this many participants, and from where I was at any given moment, we all pretty much accommodated each other as much as possible, trying to move out of the way of faster participants and also lots of encouraging each other on.  You just have to keep your sense of humor and not get frustrated by it all.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2 min walk thing, and stepped to the side during my walk breaks when I was getting some on-course photos. At my two running paces – slow and slower – I figured I’d probably be out here for at least an hour, with the crowd the way it was. For the 5K course, we started from the Mission Park pavilion. When I saw that we were turning left to go down the hill in front of the pavilion, well, right then, because I’ve done events here before, I knew we’d be taking the hilly route.  We went down a hill to start, then it was flat for about 100 good deep-breaths, lol, which you needed because then we hit our first uphill.  We then proceeded down a hill, and under a bridge, and then onto a small bridge that went across the water.  The half and 10K folks crossed this bridge.  For the 5K folks the bridge was our turn-around point, so we stayed on the side of the river that the park was on.  Of course, since we’d come downhill to the bridge, now we had to climb up this hill on our way back and it sure was no baby hill, lol.  The nice thing, though, is we got some good scenic views of the river. I do hills once a week, so really had no problems with the hills; just kept plugging along and doing my thing.  As noted earlier I expected to finish close to an hour, but surprised myself and ran the whole last mile just about non-stop. There were only 4 in my 65-69 males age group, so I was pleasantly surprised when I finished 2^nd in my age group, with a chip time of 43:48, so almost an hour, as expected, but better than I thought I would do. The age group awards were these really nicely designed small drinking glasses.  When I got my ‘award’ home, my wife loved that thing, so I graciously ‘allowed’ her to have it.  Smart, right?  It’s all good though; I prefer cups anyway; a klutz like me should probably not be holding a glass, lol; we lose more dishes and glasses that way. 

After My Finish:  First thing, get some hydration in me, and also enjoyed a post-race Kiolbassa sausage. Then wandered around taking some ‘after photos’, chatting with friends and enjoying some of the other post-race treats, and freebie give-aways from the various sponsors and vendors, and there were a whole lot of them. As noted earlier, Scallywompus events are very popular, even for the vendors; a bigger audience for them to show their wares too.

 Epilogue: I really enjoy the Scallywompus events.  I also like “Mr. Scallywompus”, my friend Bart, who is a class-act guy with a great sense of humor.  Also, he and I were both treated for our cancers during the same time frame, so we chatted a lot with each other through that, and I can’t begin to tell you how much that helped me get through, and I hope I helped him do the same. I think we became closer through that experience, and I will always count him as a friend; and now we still continue to support each other because, even though the worst part is done, now we will be dealing with the treatment side-effects for a while – and everyone who was a cancer patient, and is a cancer patient, can certainly relate to that.  We will get through this – and it is gradually getting better for both of us, I think-  and we will prevail.  I don’t plan on letting it stop me from being as active as possible and I keep on scheduling myself to do races, and have 7 in May for which I’ve already registered. Hope to see any of you at a few of them! I also want to throw some kudos out to all the people involved that made this one happen for we participants; Scallywompus folks; all the many volunteers, vendors, and sponsors; iaap folks for course setup, timing, results; our music and sound person; police officers and EMTs out there for our safety; the Junior ROTC guys – I think it was the Young Marines – that did the presentation of the colors ; the grill-masters that cooked those great sausages for us; and all that great fruit from my friend Gilbert; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!