Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2G37vvvuqiCw49h39

Before The Start:  My 38^th race of 2022 was the Walk, Run, Have Fun BryceStrong 5K held on July 16 at the D. W. Rutledge Stadium in Converse, Texas. Put on by the Bryce Strong Foundation, this event is named for Bryce Wisdom, a young man and former Judson football player, who sadly died of kidney cancer at age 17.  He fought courageously and really touched the hearts of several people during his battle. Being a UTSA staff member, I knew of Bryce from his association with his brother, Rashad, a member of the UTSA football team. I also had the pleasure at packet pick-up of meeting Bryce’s oldest brother, Sean, a really great guy, and ended up staying at the pickup for a while as we chatted.    The stadium is an athletics/events facility of Judson Independent School District.  Nice early start time of 7:30 a.m.  Weather actually cooperated for us a bit and was a little cooler on this race-day than a few previous races I’ve done this year during a very very hot Texas spring and summer – we’ve already had over 35 days this season where the temp has been 100+.  I had picked up my packet the day before so after arriving, I wandered here-and-there chatting with other participants and getting a few pre-start photos, including one with my new friend, Sean.

On The Course: Start/finish was on school grounds, just outside one of the stadium access gates.  This was the 2^nd year of the event. Considering, this was on the same day as the very popular San Antonio Road Runners women’s 5K and 10K, a pretty nice turn-out with 102 finishers.   Our route took us out to the front parking lot of the stadium,, then to the side parking lot, and then we proceeded on sidewalk off the stadium grounds.  We went up a long incline, then into another parking lot, circling around another building – which I think was a school property building, but not sure of that – and then back down the sidewalk the way we’d come out. Right turn back onto school grounds, putting us behind the stadium. This road took us to the course water-station and the halfway mark.  After passing the district buses parking lot, we went down another road that brought us to the soccer fields. This part of the course was natural grass, as we wound around the fields, which brought us back to a concrete walkway that took us back to the stadium.  We then entered a stadium gate to do one loop around the stadium track that surrounded the football field– really nice track, by the way – and then we took an exit gate – which was where the 3-mile marker was – and that put us back onto the stadium parking lot for the last short bit to the finish.  I was first in my 51 – 77 age group with a chip time of 41:49. I think all the others in my age group were walkers.

After My Finish:  Did a short cool-down walkabout and then went around chatting with other participants and friends and event supporters and got a few after-my-finish photos, including some of others coming into the finish.  My friends from Athlete Guild did the course setup, timing, and results.  It was nice to see them on this race day.

Epilogue: This is a smaller event right now – hopefully it will grow in the future – and very well done.  Easily accessible packet pick -up area and race area with plenty of parking for both – the stadium grounds are really large, which makes sense as Judson ISD is the 4^th largest school district in Bexar County. The course was well thought-out, with both route and the safety of participants in mind. Really nice quality tech-tee race shirt. Lots of parking and great facilities with the use of the stadium – indoor restrooms, yay! I will definitely do this one again and certainly would recommend it to others. As a cancer survivor myself, and someone who is currently fighting a bout of cancer, I sure hope this one does grow.  It is a very worthy cause and the foundation makes a real effort to help those in need. Sean was telling me after the race about some of the things the foundation does to help people and it really is amazing how they try to connect and reach out to people in need. Give this one a try, I bet you will not regret it. Much thanks to all those who were involved in giving we participants this event; all the volunteers, Judson ISD authorities, Athlete Guild race management company, and of course, all the many sponsors; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Also a huge thanks to the Wisdom family and the Foundation-associated people who founded this event.  My heart goes out to the Wisdom family for their loss and my admiration goes out to them for turning this sad happening into something positive to help others. I bet Bryce in Heaven was right here along with us in spirit, cheering us all on.  Thank you all!           

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rVYUMaojbhSooMe1A

Before The Start:    My 37^th race of 2022 was the Texas Too Hot 5K held at Boerne Lake Park on July 10, 2022. There also was a 15K.  Put on by Mitch and Michelle Allen’s iRun Texas, a very popular local running store, that also puts on group runs, coaching, training, etc., this is a very popular event that has gone on for more than 10 years. The 5K had 243 finishers and the 15K had 209 finishers. I initially thought this was my 40^th race of the year, but apparently my old-man brain has trouble remembering, lol. When I checked my log, it was #37 for the year.  Still not too bad, though. Very nice race venue too, with beautiful lake views, lots of shade trees to sit under post-race, and a small pavilion too.

On The Course:  Both events started together at 7:30 a.m.  Thankfully, Mitch starts this one early, which helps with the heat, but even so, this is Texas summer, so already at start time it was climbing towards 82 degrees. The course was a mix of an off-road trail and asphalt pavement.  After just having a colonoscopy on the Friday before this event, I rested all day Saturday and decided just not to push it for this one, go at a nice-and-easy pace, walk more, take a few more photo stops and just relax with it and have fun. We started near one of the park picnic areas and almost right off the bat climbed a fairly steep hill – but thankfully short, for the most part – which put us on top of a kind of tall flood-control embankment, upon which we proceeded down a fairly rocky dirt trail.  I’ve done this race ever since it started, and for this year’s event it seemed to me it was a lot less rocky than I remembered for the past events, as if the park officials had groomed this trail a bit, which was all right with me, made for much better going. Along this part of the course we got some beautiful views of the lake, and also a nice cooling breeze coming off the lake. It was still warm, but the breeze did help.  Right after we hit Mile 1 on this trail, we then proceeded onto asphalt pavement.  This took us past a water stop – and the Mile 8 marker for the 15K folks on their way back to the finish. After passing this we turned onto a public asphalt road that was open to traffic.  We all climbed a long up incline.  The 5K people turned around on this road, while the 15K people headed for the hills farther on; and from what my friends who did the 15K told me post-race, these were no baby hills, either. One guy told me the darn turn-round hill was worse than some of the hills at the Texas Tough 10-miler, jeez; tough course!  Meanwhile…after making our turn-round, we 5K folks went back to the finish the way we had come out.  As noted previously, I just took it easy and kept on moving. My garmin told me I was averaging 14:30 minute miles and finally showed me a finish time of 46:50. However, when I looked at the official results, my chip-time was 43:48, averaging 14:01 per mile, so I did better than I thought.  I’ve had this Garmin for a while, so may be time to go see Mitch and get a new one.

After My Finish:  Always a nice touch with this event, the iRun folks have cooling towels on ice at the finish for we participants to drape on our head, neck, shoulders, etc., which felt great after this course. Plenty of bottled water on ice too, right there at the finish line so you don’t have to go looking for it. Very nice finisher medal handed to you after you crossed the line.  Very nice finish line process.  I went and found a seat in the shaded pavilion for a few minutes and just relaxed for a bit, sipping my water and enjoying a post-race protein bar.  Then it was off to chat with friends and other participants, supporters, volunteers, sponsors, etc., and getting some post-race photos. The Village Idiots – that is their team name – kindly invited me to share their picnic area and enjoy some of their food, thank you very much. Awards ceremony done nicely by Mitch and Michelle – although they really need to start with we older folks first; we need to get home to take our nap! 😉 – and very nice award medals.  There was also a bib-number raffle – I didn’t win squat – and Shiner was there with their very good beer; I enjoyed one – my limit at a race since I was driving.  After things began wrapping up, it was nice to be with The Village Idiots Group and just relax by the lake for a while with good company.

Epilogue: This is a really well-done and well-organized event put on by iRun Texas.  I will continue to do this one in the future and would certainly recommend it to others. Yes, it is a warm one but one worth doing.  The race ‘shirt’ is actually a very nice quality singlet, which you don’t get from most races; the finisher medals are nicely designed; and there are all kinds of sponsors and vendors at this event, including Brooks running shoes guy; a company – I think it was Promotion Physical Therapy – giving post-race massage-and-stretches; PhotoWolfe had one of those selfie photo cameras you could use; and SplitSecond Timing did the timing and results.  Mark Purnell – in my opinion, the best race MC ever, followed as a close second by my entertaining MC friend, Anthony Zamora  – did our announcing for us in his usual superb manner. Local race company eDragon Productions – who put on pretty darn good events too – was a sponsor as was PawBasics, a pet nutrition and supply center. Maybe I should get some dog biscuits from them.  😉  All-in-all one very nicely done event.  Thank you, Irun Texas people and all the volunteers, sponsors, and anyone else involved putting this one on for we participants.    

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EM9q1ZJt2xLWAaPD7

Before The Start:   My 36^th race of 2022 was the Schertz Jubilee 5K held on the 4^th of July, 9:15 a.m., in Schertz, Texas.  This was my 3^rd 5K of the 4^th of July weekend, after doing a 5K on Saturday and one on Sunday. The late start time for this one allowed me to sleep in a little longer, with me arriving at the race site about 40 minutes before start time.  Having previously picked up my race packet, I spent the time before the start chatting with friends and other participants and getting some pre-start photos.  San Antonio – which is known as Military City – has several 4^th of July events around the local area, including races; considering that, this one got a pretty nice turn-out with 188 finishers, runners and walkers.  Course set-up, timing and results done by top-notch race management company, Athlete Guild.

On The Course:  The course is a loop course, starting near the city’s community center and going along the city’s 4^th of July parade route. Many parade spectators were already positioned along the route.  We began the 5K before the parade started, running in front of hundreds of cheering spectators. Pretty cool.  As this was my 3^rd race of the weekend, I mainly just took it easy for this one, chatting with spectators along the way and, with a pocketful of dog treats, stopping on occasion to hand give a treat to each doggie I saw – with the permission of its human, of course. The humans thought this was quite humorous and lots of laughs and nice chats ensued along my way. After leaving the two primary streets the parade would be on, we entered a really nice neighborhood with wide streets and lots of shade. Texas July 4^th can get pretty warm – 81 degrees at start time – but a lot of cloud cover and a pretty nice-blowing wind made it actually feel not too bad at all. I ended up running into the finish with a fellow veteran and his grandson, finishing with a chip time of 43:05, averaging 13:52 per mile. I was dead last out of the 4 people in my 65-69 Males age group, and thoroughly enjoyed myself on the course; lots of interaction fun with the crowd and other participants.

After My Finish:  First, a cool-down-walk. After that, enjoyed a banana and some water and Gatorade Zero to rehydrate a bit.  I then got some post-race photos of happy finishers, supporters, Team Athlete Guild, etc. Very nice quality race shirt.  There were also some very festive participants, decked out in various holiday attire. Dog-friendly 5K too; I saw a couple of dogs on the course.

Epilogue: This isa fun event which I have done in the past and will continue to do.  Yes, a later start than most 4^th of July races, but going along that parade route is quite a rush and a lot of fun. Lots and lots of smiles at this one.  Post-race goodies included hot dogs, various fruits and other treats, and more. Our MC, Mark Purnell – in my opinion the top race MC for our local races and beyond; he MCs quite a variety of events – did his usual great job, as did the Athlete Guild Team. All the volunteers too were great.  Thank you to all who were involved in making this event happen for we participants: sponsors; Athlete Guild; Mark, and his dad John, who started this one way back when; all the police officers, EMTs, and firefighters who were out there for our safety; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!      

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/MscimADGUHthVsCw6

Before The Start:  My 35^th race of 2022, and the 2^nd of the July 4 holiday weekend, was the 4^th race of the 5K Summer Series, a series of 4 events held at different San Antonio public parks. Today’s 5K was held at Martin Luther King Jr. Park with a start time of 7 a.m. Nice turn-out with 155 finishers.  Funds raised from this series provides a scholarship to a local-area athlete. The series is put on by e-Dragon Productions, owned and operated by the Burciaga family, with friend Erik Burciaga acting as Race Director for the series.  Top-notch local race management company iaap provided course setup, timing, and results for the series. Being Texas summer, nice to have an early start time, but even at that time of day it was pretty warm, with the temps already in the mid-70s.  

On The Course: The course was out-and-back.  We started at the front of the park and went onto the park’s off-road paved trails. MLK park is a very nice park with lots of shade along the trails, which was much appreciated on a warm morning.  The course has virtually no hills at all, just a couple of mild inclines Turn-around point was very well-marked and there was a water station along the way.  I slogged along at my usual two running speeds – Slow and Slower – but somehow managed to do fairly well for me.  I hit the first mile in 13 minutes; relaxed a bit for Mile 2, done in 13:38, and then pushed myself a bit more for Mile 3, done in 12:46.  Per the official results, ended up with a chip-time of 40:29, averaging 13:02 per mile.  This was 4 minutes faster than the 5K I did the day before, nice.  Got 2^nd in my age group, as there were only 2 in my age group, lol.  The other one was my good friend Woody who finished in 25 minutes and change, about twice as fast as me, lol.  All good, I enjoyed myself and did take photos on the course during my walk breaks.  

After My Finish:  After crossing the finish line, I slowed myself easily down, and then did a cool-down walk for a few minutes.  It was pretty humid so I went and sat in my car for about 10 minutes with the a/c on while I drank some of my ‘fortified’ water, with electrolytes, etc, and ate a protein bar. Felt much better after that and then it was off to chat post-race with friends/other participants and get some more photos. Nice awards ceremony done by Erik – although, in my opinion, he really needs to start with the Old People first; we need to get home to take our nap! 😉   The award ‘medals’ were unique e-Dragon coins with a number on the back of them that can be used for a discount when you register for an e-Dragon upcoming race, very nice.  There were also finisher medals for participants at this last event of the series.

Epilogue:  This is a fun series of events that gives you a look at various San Antonio parks. I signed up for all four, but did 3 of the 4, missing one of them due to some issues/side-effects associated with my current cancer treatment. Thoroughly enjoyed the ones I did complete and certainly would recommend this series to runners/walkers.  They are also dog-friendly if you want to run or walk with your dog. Nice quality race shirt too. You can purchase a shirt for each event – all the money raised goes toward the scholarship – and the shirt color choice is different for each 5k in the series.  The race entry fee is VERY reasonably priced too. Mucho thanks to all the people involved in providing this one to we participants; all the sponsors, volunteers, park police officers that were at these events for our safety; our Music-and-Sound Man, Paul; iaap for all the course setups, results, etc; and, of course the e-Dragon Burciaga family who organize all these events. Apologies if I missed anyone, thank you too if you are involved.     

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ny5Py8mB2u4xfHTA8

Before The Start:    My 34^th race of 2022 was the Freedom 5K held on July 2 at the Poteet Strawberry Festival fairgrounds in Poteet, Texas, starting at 8 a.m. Put on by the TRiCity Road Warriors and the Poteet Rotary Club, this event featured a 5K and a 1-Mile walk.  Start time of 8 a.m.  52 finishers for the 5K and 4 participants for the 1-mile walk. I arrived shortly after 7 a.m., got my packet, and then chatted with friends there and took a few pre-start photos.

On The Course:  The course started and finished in front of the Veteran’s Pavilion at the fairgrounds on the paved access roads. This was a combination of a loop and out-and-back course.  We headed in the direction of Highway 16, toward the fairgrounds access gate.  Once there, we made a left turn and proceeded along a road that took us up a hill that was not too steep, but fairly long. This was followed by a down incline that took us to an intersection where we turned right to go to a turn-around point.  This road was fairly flat at the start, with a couple of hills along the way; first a downhill incline; then uphill past the course water-stop, and an uphill just before we accessed a flat part of the course that took us to our turn-round point. Once there, we went back the way we had come out.  Back at the intersection we proceeded straight to go to the finish line. Out of the 14 in my 18 – 99 males age group, I finished last with a chip time of 42:03.  Having signed up for 2 other races for the 4^th of July holiday weekend, I pretty much just took it easy for this one, stopping for more photos and also to have a chat with the very-nice guy local Constable at the turn-around point after I found out he was also a cancer survivor.  Of course, this killed my time, but what the heck, I enjoyed myself.

After My Finish:  Did a cool-down walk and then returned to the finish area to get a few photos of others finishing and a few photos of some of the happy finishers.  After that I sat for a bit, relaxing and chatting with friends and watching the awards ceremony. Awards were given to the Top 5 male and female finishers and to the Top 3 in the Kids Division age group (5-17). All finishers got a pretty nicely designed finisher medal. 

Epilogue:    A fairly small event that had a lot of competition from other races. There were quite a few holiday races all over the area, from down in Poteet, up to San Antonio, and beyond, even up to Bastrop, which puts on a very popular 5K event. Also, lots of 4^th of July races scheduled on the holiday, so probably several runners/walkers may have opted to wait until that day.  Even so, this was a nicely organized event with a good course; very nicely designed quality race shirt and finisher medal; and treats too; participants got to take home a tub of ice cream – H-E-B Creamy Sensations – of various flavors, nice. Good location for an event, with ample parking, indoor restrooms, and an interesting area to be in.  I would certainly do this one again and would recommend it to others.  Hopefully, it will grow in the future. Much thanks to all those who made this one happen for we participants:  all the sponsors, race volunteers, race director, the Volunteer Fire Dept guy that was there for us, the Constable at the halfway point, and any others involved that I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ro7W5Xs6G5ey3mwq9

Before The Start:   My 33^rd race of 2022 was Beans vs Beards: The Longest Day 5K put on by brothers Matthew and Miguel on Sunday, Jun 26^th at Comanche County Park in San Antonio. There was also a 10K, a Kid’s Run, and a 0.5K Beer Run. This event raises money for Alzheimer’s research, a cause close to the heart of the brothers who have had family members pass on from this awful disease. I am sure several of us, including me, can relate to that. The 10K started at 7:30 a.m, with the 5K start following at 8 a.m.  I arrived with just under 45 minutes until the 5K and got a few pre-start photos. This is a very popular event put on by two very popular members of our local running community, so a nice turn-out, especially considering that on Saturday, the day before this one, there were several other local area events which some of these participants had done too – one even in the late afternoon at 5 pm with a 102 degree temp at start time, jeez!

On The Course: The course was on paved road near the start-and-finish – with pretty uneven surfaces there for a bit, as the pavement was cracked and missing in some parts, so had to watch your step – and then on the off-road paved park trails. Given that this is Texas summer – and we’ve been having a heat wave since May – it was pretty warm and humid, with a temp of 79 degrees at start time. Thankfully, the course up to the 5K turn-round point has lots of tree shade along the way, which helped, and no hills, just a short incline we went down on the way out and up on the way back.  Since I did no go past the 5K turn-round point, I am not sure what the 10K folks had to deal with past that point. I took it pretty easy, doing my run/walk thing and taking some photos along the way – some a bit blurry; my old-time push-button Canon camera is not really great with ‘motion’ photos. I ended up 7^th out of 10 in my 60-69 age group, with a 42:14 chip time, averaging 13+ minutes per mile.  The last mile I ran in with a very nice lady who kept me company right to the finish, and we had a nice chat along the way.  Very much appreciate her running with me, it helped mentally making the distance seem like it was going by quicker.

After My Finish:  First thing, right after I crossed the finish line I went from run to a quick walk and kept walking so at to cool down gradually. I have a bad habit, lol, of sometimes stopping right after I cross the finish line and then, of course, all the blood pools straight down right out of my head and I get a bit dizzy, which scares the heck out of my friends as I have a pacemaker and am being treated right now for cancer, so they right away think I am having some kind of medical episode. No, I am not, I am having a ‘being stupid’ episode, lol; made sure to behave myself this time and I felt fine after about 5 minutes of walking around. I then made sure to re-hydrate and get something into my stomach. There was quite a variety of post-race goodies.  After that, time to wander around chatting with friends, getting some post-race photos, watch the 0.5K beer run – each participant carrying a mug of beer as he/she ran, trying not to spill any – and enjoy the awards ceremonies. Several of my running pals placed in their age groups.

Epilogue:   Very nicely done event put on by the two brothers.  They also have an earlier event each year called Run To Remember, which is also well done.  These are ‘contests’ between the two brothers to see who can raise the most for the cause – and the losing brother has to do some kind of ‘challenge” specified by the winning brother.  All in good fun to raise fund for this very worthwhile cause.  Very unique and nice quality race shirt; finisher medals to all; and unique coin awards provided by e-Dragon Productions for the age group placers. LOTS of vendor/sponsor booths at these events, with lots of goodies, ranging rom various fruits, drinks, and other goodies, including these small cream peanut butter half-sandwiches, which really hit the spot for me.  These Alzheimer events put on by the brothers are definitely “keeper” events which I make sure to regularly include on my race calendar. Thank you so much to all the people making this one happen, including iaapweb for course setup, timing, and results; Miguel and Matthew, of course; all the many sponsors and all the many volunteers; Burleson Yard Beer Garden for pre-race day packet pickup location; my friend Jada for being the ‘medical help’ at the event; our amazing, talented, and humorous MC, Anthony Zamora; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qEP4eCw3S4rg7L8j9

Before The Start:  My 32 race of 2022 was the Dos Rios 5K Splash and Dash on June 18.  Put on by Athlete Guild, this event is a 5K starting and finishing at Cypress Bend Park in New Braunfels, Texas.  Start time of 8 a.m.   There was also a Kids Run before the main event. This 5K gave you the option of doing a regular 5K or doing the 5K with ‘splash’ included, for which those participants stopped along the course to do a chute splashdown in a pool via an inner-tube, and then continue along the course to finish the 5K.   Probably very cooling for those participants as it was already in the upper 70s by the time of our 8 a.m. start.  Gotta love running in Texas spring/summer, lol., and we have had, since May, a record number of 100+ degree days. Crazy. Having done this one before I knew parking was kind of limited in the park; so I arrived early, got some nice parking close to the start/finish, got my packet and then still had time to take a short nap in the car before the start.  I also did wander around before we started and got some pre-start photos.    

On The Course: Started near the park pavilion and went down by the nearby river.  The portion going alongside the river was nice-and-scenic, but also had to watch your footing as it was a bit of  dirt-and-rock of-road trail.  It was fairly short, so we soon exited off the trail into one of the park parking lots and then went up a short hill.  This took us to the park’s main entrance where we exited the park and then did a route through a neighborhood.  A very hilly neighborhood. Near the halfway point, we runners who were not doing the Splash kept on going while the Splash folks veered off to get their inner tubes and do down the chute into the water.  Some of these folks were pretty speedy too; even with their splashdown, they still soon caught up and passed my slow self, lol. After the turn-round, the route back to the finish was the same way we had come out from the start, only now in the other direction.  Yay, more hills, lol. Once back in the park, we did the trail thing again then headed for the finish after getting back on pavement on the other side of the park.   I did a 41:02 chip time and was 2^nd in my age group.  There were only 2 IN my age group, lol. The other guy finished in 21 minutes and change.  So with only 2, I was in the Hare and the Turtle group.  Bet you can guess which one I was.

After My Finish: Dang it was warm. After I finished, I made sure to walk a bit and got a few photos of others coming into the finish and some of the happy finshers .  I get a little bit dizzy after I stop running after a race – may be making the blood drain from my head into my legs – so find walking around for about 5 – 10 minutes after that helps a lot. Still felt pretty heated though, so went and sat in my car for about 15 mintutes with the a/c on high while drinking some water. Ahhh, much better!  I then went back to the finish area and enjoyed chatting with friends and other participants and getting some more photos.      

Epilogue: Very nicely put-on event by Race Director Sherri and her Athlete Guild crew.  Nice quality race shirt and nice age-group medals (10-year age groups).  Some pretty nice post-race goodies, including beer. Park with a pavilion was nice since you could get into some shade post-race if you so desired. Nice views of the river from this park; it was to our left on the way out and to our right on the way back. I’ve done this event before, I would do it again, and I would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to Athlete Guild and all the race volunteers; all the police officers out there for us on the open roads; all the race sponsors and vendors; to the rocks and roots on the trail part of the course for not making me fall down; and to anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all.  Oh, this is a dog-friendly event too, but with this weather, please be sure Fido is hydrated, etc.    

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TeTaw6TSfRFKABeb8

Before The Start:   My 31^st race of 2022 was the Y’all Means All 5K held on June 11 at South Side Lion’s Park East in San Antonio, with a start time of 8 a.m.South Side Lion’s Park East is a very nice city park with a man-made lake and off-road paved trails.  The park’s trails connect to other San Antonio parks – such as Comanche Park – so if you are so inclined you can get in quite a distance run, walk, or cycle ride.  I’ll just stick with the 5K distance.  This event was put on by In The Loop Crew, a social running organization open to runners and walkers of all levels. Managed by San Antonio Wellness, LLC, they put on a variety of training runs and walks and various social events primarily for all their members, but everyone is free to participate.  San Antonio has been having a series of days and weeks with temps hitting the 100s in the late afternoon so this race morning was pretty warm, already in the upper 70s by race start time.  This event sold out with 300+ participants, so I made sure to leave home early, getting there about an hour before start time and found some good parking. I had already picked up my packet the day before giving me on Race Day nothing but time until the start time.  I took advantage of that time to get a few pre-start photos.  As I wandered around doing this, more and more people started showing up and the parking area closest to the start/finish line filled up pretty quickly.  Glad I got there early!

On The Course: We started near one of the park pavilions and made our way around part of the lake trail. We then diverted away from the lake and went onto a paved off-road trail that took us to a turn-round point.  After doing the turn-round, we then went back the way we had come and then back onto the paved trail around the lake. Once on that, we went in the opposite direction of the way we had come out and this looped us back to the start/finish line.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min-walk thing and took photos during my walk break.  I ended up in the ER twice during the past week – thankfully results showed I was okay – so I did not push myself for this one. I ended up with a 41:18 chip time, averaging 13:18 per mile and was first in my 60-69 males age group…what, at that slow pace?  I found out there were only 2 in my age group, lol.  I’ll take it.  Got nice little medal for me efforts.  I did positive splits too, lol, probably because I was trying to take it a bit easy after my ER adventures, like my doc had told me to do – so for once I behaved, lol, and took a few more on-course photos than I normally do, and a couple of exrtra shorter walk breaks.  Also, during my transit from Mile 2 to Mile 3, a cyclist was trying to pass we runners and slid a bit and took a fall off his bike.  Well, shoot, I had to stop and check on him.  No race time is worth leaving a potentially injured person laying out there.  He was okay, thank goodness – and so was his bike – just a bit of skinned elbow, and was soon on his way again.   I was too, and plodded along until I saw the finish line and then sped up bit – that means I went a whole whopping 10 seconds faster than my normal pace 😉 – to get across that.

After My Finish:  Cool-down walk first.  Then got a banana and some water and sat for a while with two very nice guys who also did the 5K and let me share their picnic table with them, and we had a nice conversation.  Next, time to get some post-race photos. I enjoyed myself doing that; chatting with friends and other participants and supporters too, watching the awards ceremony – really surprised when they called my name, lol – and, as this was a dog-friendly event I handed out quite a few doggie treats, making more 4-legged friends for life. Quite a very relaxing and enjoyable time post-race.  Sadly, we did have one participant down in the finish area post-race and an ambulance had to be called.  Hopefully, nothing serious.  Wishing her all the best and hope she has a speedy recovery.

Epilogue:  I really enjoyed this event.  In The Loop Crew – their staff, volunteers, vendors, sponsors – all did a really great job with this one. Iaap did their usual great job with the course setup, timing, and results – go to their iaapweb.com site and they have all the results already posted there – and my Craaaazy friend – in a good way – Anthony Zamora did his usual great job as MC and entertaining everyone. Finisher medals to all finishers, and very nicely made medallions for the age group placers.  Sponsor Fleet Feet was there and, courtesy of Saucony -three pairs of Saucony running shoes were raffled off by the Fleet Feet crew, using race bib numbers for the raffle, nice. There were also prizes from Rollga Foam Rollers; and Trail Toes.   All kinds of post-race goodies including popsicles, various brands of beer courtesy of Black Laboratory Brewing – which also hosted the day before race day packet pickup – Athletic Brew, Second Pitch Brewing, Real Premium  Hard Seltzer, fruits, CForce Water – I really like this water – assorted fruits, nutrition bars, and much more.  Quite the nice turn-out of participants and vendors/sponsors.  I would definitely do this one again and certainly would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for us, In The Loop Crew, all the volunteers and sponsors, park police that were out there for our safety, iaap for the timing and results, etc., and everyone else involved.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/As87bUmvpnpjHyHK9

Before The Start:  My 30^th race of 2021 was Race 2 of the San Antonio 5K Summer Series, a series of 4 5K events for runners and walkers that raises funds for a scholarship for a locally selected youth athlete. This event is annually put on by e-Dragon Productions, a top-notch race management company that offers several different races over the year, some of them QUITE challenging.  Iaap, another top-notch company, did the course setup, timing and results for this event. Race 2 was held on Sunday, June 4, at Lady Bird Johnson (LBJ) Park in San Antonio. Nice turn out with 161 finishers. Packet pickup from 0600 – 0700 at each of these events.  A kid’s run then kicks things off, with the main event following after that, usually between 0715 to 0730, so a nice early start, which is definitely appreciated with the hot days we have been getting in San Antonio.  I arrived around 0630, got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos.

On The Course:  After the Kid’s Run, we started around 0715 or so. We did one loop around the traffic circle in the park and then went down an incline to access the park’s off-road paved trails. The course was out-and-back, going past a business area known as Los Patios, and then to a turn-around point near the frontage road of local highway Loop 410. After the turn-round, back the way we had come out and then finishing by going around the park’s traffic circle one more time before going over through the chip-timing finish line.  I took it pretty slow and easy for this one, after pushing myself a bit at the 5K I had done the day before this one.  The course at LBJ park is pretty flat with just a few inclines along the way, nothing you can really call a hill. This park also nicely has a lot of shade, which was a blessing with all this hot weather and ‘abundant’ sunshine we’ve been getting lately.  Temp was already in the 70s by the time we started.  I did my usual run/walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks. There were only 4 people in my 65 – 69 age group and I ended up 3^rd with a chip time of 40:22, averaging 13-minuute-miles. 

After My Finish: Cool-down walk for a few minutes and get some water into me. I then enjoyed chatting with other participants, and also the supporters and volunteers there, and getting some post-race photos.  Some nice post-race goodies of water, various fruits, and other sundries.  Age group in 5-year increments, which is nice, allows participants a better change of placing.  As an example, for the race I did the day before, my age group was males 55 to 100, lol, so I knew I had no chance of placing at my slow pace.

Epilogue:  The Burciaga family, owners of e-Dragon Productions – and they also have a really good print shop too, where I get all my printing done for my race shirts – always put on a really good quality event for all the races they manage.   Nice quality race shirt for these events. The age group winners also get a nice, unique e-Dragon coin as the age group placer medal. It has a coin number on the back which, if I remember correctly, can be used for a discount when you sign up for other e-Dragon events.  This is the second year I’ve done this series of events and they really are nicely done. I certainly will continue to do them and would recommend them to others. Mucho thanks to e-dragon, all the race volunteers and sponsors, and my race volunteer friend Gilbert for bringing all that tasty fruit he has to each of these events. Thanks also to Camp Gladiator representative – I think it was Camp Gladiator – who led the pre-race warm up session for all who wanted to do that.  Thanks also to anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here.

Race photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ap9gtBnwNtkMU28R6

Before The Start: My 29^th race of 2022 was Aid The Silent 5K, held in Boerne, Texas on June 4, 2022. This event supports the organization Aid The Silent.  The organization is “a Texas-based nonprofit that helps 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.”  Race start time of 8 a.m., with start and finish at the Boerne Town Square. Weather was actually pretty nice with low humidity making the warm temperature not feel too bad at all.  Top-notch iaap race management company did the course set-up, timing and results. This event had a really nice turn-out, with 605 listed finishers, but there may have been more than that on the course, with some kid walking with their parents and so forth.  This was also a dog-friendly event but I don’t think they were counted in the results. 😉  I had picked up my packet the day before, thank goodness, so did not have to stand in line on race day. I arrived with about an hour to go to the start time, chatted with friends and other participants and supporters and also handed out doggie treats as I got some pre-start photos.  One really cool thing before the start: They did the National Anthem, playing a recording of it with someone singing the words, and during that they had these kids on the stage ‘signing’ the National Anthem in a really very cool demonstration.  It was GREAT, one of the very best National Anthem presentations I have ever seen; they rocked it.  I just about teared-up, they did it so well.

On The Course:  The 5K started right on time.  Me being a slow old dog, I had lined up pretty far back so it took me a bit to get across the start line. This was a ‘new’ course for me, one that I had not done before in Boerne, so that was nice.  We basically went straight out from the start, turned into a really nice neighborhood, then went down a hill and up a hill on the other side. We did an out-and-back in this neighborhood so had to do those two small hills twice. We then proceeded back toward the finish line, but made a left turn that took us to a hotel by the Town Square and then went onto Boerne City’s off-road paved trail, kind of similar to what the San Antonio Riverwalk is like, but on a smaller scale.  It was a bit crowded with all those runners and walkers on it but, thankfully, where I was at any given time, I never saw anyone fall.  This portion of the course was out-and-back too, so on my way out, everyone on my side of the walk had to watch out for those front-runners coming toward us as they went to the finish.  It is a pretty little course, though, with the river to our right on the way out and on our left on the way back to the finish. I did stop a few extra times to get a couple of photos.  I ended up running and chatting with a very nice lady – whose name went right out of my head just now – and then the last ½ mile or so my very speedy friend Jackie, who had already finished, came back on the course and ran with me back to the hotel, where she then dropped off as I ran to the finish line on the last bit of the course. I did better than I thought I would, with a chip-time finish of 39:28, averaging 12:24 per mile and I had negative splits, with my last mile being my fastest, nice.  Finally starting to get under 13-and-14-minute miles again as I make progress in beating my current prostate cancer, yay! 

After My Finish:  Got a few more photos near the finish line, then went back to my car, changed into a dry shirt, reloaded up on dog biscuits, and then back to the town square area to get some post-race goodies and more photos as I wandered around chatting with friends and other participants. My age group was 50 – 99 males, lol, so I already knew I was not going to place in that age group, lol.  Shoot, my friend Gary was first in our age group, and he finished in 18 minutes and change, jeez.  I was not even to Mile 2 at 18 minutes, lol.  So no pressure for me! I got to enjoy just wandering around having a good old time seeing everything, taking photos, chatting with people and handing out dog treats – to a few people too 😉 – and just having a good ole time.  Very enjoyable. I also got to meet the Aid The Silent founder, Emma, whom my wife and I met once, way back when at an event at Morgan’s Wonderland via mutual friends Angel and Dale Guillot.

Epilogue:  This is a really nice event with a lot going on before and after. As noted before, very dog-friendly event.  All kinds of post-race goodies including some really tasty popsicles – the line was pretty long for that and they went fast, but I managed to get one –  sponsors/vendors offering water, coffee, nutrition bars, various snacks like popcorn – saw two people with bags of that –  and the vendors had a variety of give-away items too.  There was a photo booth and other area with games for the kids and all kinds of other stuff. Really nice quality race shirt. Very well done event, one I will definitely do again and certainly would recommend to others.  Mucho thanks to Aid The Silent for this event and to all the supporting sponsors and volunteers. Thanks to the police officers out there for our safety; to the Boerne residents for letting a ‘horde’ of runners and walkers invade their space for a while; and to anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!