Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gaAc8FiSwzxwrhZ37

BEFORE MY START – My 18^th race of 2022 was the Dino Dash 5k held on April 23 in support of The Witte Museum in San Antonio.  Race location was Brackenridge Park which is adjacent to The Witte Museum.  There was also a Kids Run.  Start time of 9 a.m. for the 5K.  The Kids Run was held after the 5K was finished.  Weather was a ‘cool’ 70 degrees with overcast skies trying to pretend it was going to rain on us but it never did. Humidity in the upper 60s range. 244 finishers for the 5K.  Since I live fairly close to Brackenridge Park, I was able to sleep in a bit, arriving on-site a little after 8 a.m to chat with friends and other participants and get a few pre-start photos. 

ON THE COURSE – Start and finish was on the park road that is in front of the side of the Witte where the museum treehouse is located. Broadway was at our backs. Event started right on time.   This route kind of reminded me of the Wednesday Evening 2-mile run, as we were on a lot of the same streets.  From in front of the museum, we went toward the park train tracks (for the park’s tourist train), making a right turn that took us past the Koehler Pavilion on our right and the river picnic area on our left.  We went across the Iron Bridge (baseball fields in front of us), then did a left turn, then an immediate right, going down a road that eventually intersects with Hildebrand.  Before Hildebrand, we made a left turn, went through a Zoo office area, and then went on  a road that took us past the cobblestone paved sidewalk and then back to the Iron Bridge.  We went back the way we had come out, going alongside the river once more, this time on our right. Once we got to the intersection where the train tracks were, we made a right and headed down this road until we go to where the water crossing is located.  We turned left here, went all the way down to Mulberry – could see the golf course across the street – did a turn-around here and back the way we came. We then headed in the direction of the finish line, but diverted off the paved road onto one of the off-road trails.  We followed the trails to a ‘roundabout’ in the park, turned left and headed down a trail that took us toward where the train is parked after-hours.  Following this trail, we came back out onto the paved road right near the train tracks.  Here we turned right, crossing over the train tracks and then did an out-and-back on this road.  Once back at the train tracks we turned right, heading back to The Witte, and that took us to the finish line. My age group, lol, was 55-99.  My chip time finish was 39:20, averaging 12:40 per mile, and I had negative splits for each mile, nice.  I was 16^th out of the 23 guys in my age group.

AFTER MY FINISH – Did a bit of a cool-down walk, drank some water, got my finisher medal, and then got a few photos of others coming in. After that I just wandered here-and-there chatting with other participants and getting some post-race photos. There was also a small food-and-drink place on the grounds, so I got some water there and a banana mutt muffin and sat and relaxed for a bit while I enjoyed that. I also went up and explored the tree-house a bit and got a couple of photos from up there. All in all, a very enjoyable time.

Epilogue – This was my first time to do this event and I was pleased with the organization of it and with the course. It really is a nice place to run, walk, or bike ride; we did see a few cyclists while we were out there. The course was well-thought out, giving participants a nice tour of just about all of the park,, except for the part near the San Antonio Zoo area, where we did not go. Finisher medals to all finishers; age group awards to the top finishers in each category (The Witte is on a pretty tight budget in these costly days of rising prices, and I get that). Nice quality race tee.  Some nice post-race goodies, with fruits, coffee, water, and other items; and that nice little store with a very friendly staff for those who wanted something else; they had coffee, water, other drinks, a variety of pastries, breakfast tacos, and more. This was pay-as-you-go, but very reasonably priced. Very nice kids run, well organized, and play area too for the kids – and adults too for that matter, lol – who were there as supporters for friends and family, not participants.  I would certainly do this one again and would recommend it to others. MUCHO THANKS TO:   iaap for the course set-up, timing, and results; all the many pre-race and race day volunteers; the Witte staff members who were there for us; park police out there for our safety, all of the sponsors who made this one happen for us; and the on-call EMT folks in case of emergency and they are quick. After the race I was near a kid (who was with his mom) who I think had fallen (skinned his knee up pretty good and some bruises and bumps) and the EMT guy got there really fast and took care of him in good order, nice. Thanks also to anyone else involved that I inadvertently may not have mentioned here.     

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/unbeHYLrMkDwq3gs5

BEFORE MY START – My 17th race of 2022 was the Poteet Strawberry Festival 5K held on April 16th in Poteet, Texas ant the Poteet Fair grounds, about an hour’s drive from where I live in San Antonio. Race start time of 8 a.m. There was also a Kid’s Run, and a 1-Mile Berry Walk, and also a 5K Wheelchair division in which members of “Ainsley’s Angels” participated.. Since I am ‘directionally challenged”, even with directional devices lol, I made sure to leave pretty early to arrive on time. I arrived a little after 7 a.m., with plenty of time to drink a bit of water and get some pre-start photos. The event is held on the Poteet Fairgrounds, a week before the actual Strawberry Festival starts. Iaap, a very good San Antonio-based race management company, did the course set-up, timing, and results. 126 finishers, including 3 in the wheelchair division.

ON THE COURSE – Weather was humid (81% humidty) and overcast, no wind, with a temp of 70 degrees. The course was interesting, kind of a mix of loop and out-and-back, all done on paved roads. We started by going down a paved road toward one of the access gates, did a very short stint on part of a sidewalk and then went looped around one of the park’s paved roads, going up a fairly long but not too steep uphill. After coming to an intersection it was a right turn that took us down an incline to a long road as we headed to a turn-round point. We wound around this road for a while – and had another uphill incline along the way – finally getting to our turn-round point. We then headed back on this road the way we had come out. As we headed toward the finish, we now went up the down incline that started us on this road, passing by the street that had gotten us onto this road. After we crested the top of this incline I was then a flat and straight path to the finish line. My friend Ian and I had run a bit together on the course, and then he surged ahead of me on the finish line, letting me eat his dust, lol. I also ran for a bit towards the finish with my friend, Lizzie – the Race Director of the very popular San Antonio Confetti 5K – who is nice company on a run, enjoyed chatting with her as we went along. Out of the 8 people in my 60-69 age group I was dead last with a chip time of 39:56, which is okay, I met my two primary race goals: Finish standing up and have no ambulance waiting specifically for me at the finish.

AFTER MY FINISH – First, walked around a bit to cool down, and got some water in me. Got a few photos of some other finishers coming in, and then wandered around chatting with friends and getting more post-race photos. Two very nice lady volunteers let me sit for a bit on one of their chairs, relaxing, and gave me a very tasty “protein cookie” as a post-race treat. I am going to get some of those, that was one nice cookie. After my short break, more post-race photos and watching the awards ceremony – very unique age group awards for this one – and then went exploring around the fair grounds for a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Epilogue – This is a very nice venue for a race. Nicely paved road course, lots of pavilions, lots of restroom buildings, and lots of things to see, with the fairgrounds, the amusement park rides, several buildings with drawings on them, and so forth. There is a very nice finisher medal to all finishers and a nice quality race shirt. As noted, the age-group placers got some very unique awards. This is also a dog-friendly event.

MUCHO THANKS TO: the Poteet Fairgrounds staff for their hospitality; iaap for another quality event; the color guard for a nice presentation of the colors for the National Anthem; our excellent race director (his name went right out of my head) and all the race volunteers and all the sponsors that made this one happen for we participants; the police officers out there for our safety – there were work vehicles on the grounds as we were running – and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Also, thanks to the EMT I talked to – I am supposed to take my blood oxygen level after I run, as I keep a log for my cardiologist, but forgot to bring my oximeter, but it was okay my pacemaker behaved well – I had a very enjoyable chat with him and his wife who was there; very nice guy. Thank you all so very much!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pn4S6HwDEE7vLrqX6

BEFORE MY START – My 16^th race of 2022 was the 10^th annual Beards vs Beans Run To Remember 5K held on April 9^th at Comanche Park in San Antonio.  There was also a 10K, a Kids Run and a 0.5K beer run/walk, in which contestants walked or ran with a glass of beer, with the winner being the one with the most beer left in the glass.  Beards to Beans is a friendly contest between the brothers who organized this event as a way to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Association and see which brother can raise the most. If Matt winds, Miguel has to eat a plate of beans (I’m with Miguel on this one, yuk). If Miguel wins, Matt has to shave his beard. Since this event started, this event has raised more than $65K, with all the funds going directly to the San Antonio and South Texas Alzheimer’s Association.   Race start time was around 7:30 a.m., with the 10K folks starting first and the 5K participants shortly after them. I arrived at the park with about 35 minutes to go to the start and got a few pre-start photos. 

ON THE COURSE – Course was out-and-back for both the 10K and the 5K. Races started in the park’s pavilion area and was done on off-road paved park trails. Most of the participants found the weather nicely acceptable: sunshine, hardly any wind, blue skies, and a temp in the mid 50’s. Personally, since I am like warmer weather – I prefer it 60 and up, lol – I found it a little chilly for me so wore a base layer under my race shirt.  I talked to one guy who was visiting from Alaska and he told me he was ecstatic about being able to run in shorts and a singlet, since when he left Alaska it was 27 degrees there.  BRRR! I did my usual run/walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks.  I am not speedy – never was, lol – and these days, since getting my pacemaker in 2019 and being also currently treated for prostate cancer my pace runs around 12 to 13 minutes per mile.  At this event I finished 4^th in my 60-69 males age group at 38:47 chip time, 24 seconds behind the 3^rd place guy in my age group.  Guess I should not have stopped to get that last on-course photo, lol. All good though.     

AFTER MY FINISH – Immediately after I finished, instead of continuing to do a cool-down walk around as I usually do, I stupidly stopped cold right off, which, of course, caused my blood pressure to drop somewhat and cause me to get a bit dizzy for a moment or two.  You’d think after 38 years of running that I would know better, lol – and I DO know better – so then got walking again, slowly and carefully, and after a few minutes felt much better. However, just in case, I went over to the medical tent and sat with them for while getting hydrated again and having a nice chat with these two ladies, so thanks to them.  Felt much better and so it was off to get some post-race photos.

Epilogue – This is a really nicely done event put on by Miguel and Matt.  I have not done all of them since it first started – at least, I don’t think so – but I have done quite a few of them over the years. Erik of Dragon’s Den was our MC and did a great job.  Dragon Productions puts on some pretty darn good events over the years too, and they also support a lot of events. Top-notch local race management company iaap did the results and timing. There was also some nice post-race goodies that included barbecue sandwiches, various chips and other sundries and fruits, and post-race Alamo Beer, nice, along with water, Gatorade, and more. Very nice quality race shirt and finisher medals to all participants. I will definitely continue to do this race in the future whenever able and most certainly would recommend it to others.  Also, check out the next upcoming race of the brothers – the Longest Day in June.  This one is like ‘part 2” of raising funds for Alzheimer’s and is also a very nicely done event.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  Matt and Miguel for giving us this quality event for a great cause; all the volunteers out there for us; all the sponsors who made this one happen for we participants; the police officers and the two medical ladies who were onsite for our safety; the “official” photographers at the event (I am the unofficial one, lol), our sound and music guy, and anyone else I may inadvertently not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!            

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fDkL3KRtv7f3pBQ89

BEFORE MY START:   My 15^th race of 2022, and second of the April 2 – April 3 weekend, was the San Antonio Roadrunners Missions 5K, held at Mission County Park in San Antonio on April 3. I did this event after doing the Our Lady Of The Lake University 5K on Saturday, April 2. Put on by the San Antonio Roadrunners, this event was held during Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day celebration which officially started on Thursday, March 31. This event had a half marathon, a 10K, and a 5K. The half marathon participants started at 8 a.m., the 10K folks went at 8:10 a.m. and we 5K folks started at 8:15 a.m. All the courses were out-and-back and went along parts of the San Antonio Riverwalk.  I arrived at race site with about 40 minutes until the 5K start and got a few pre-start photos. 

ON THE COURSE:   All the courses were out-and-back, staring from the Mission County Park pavilion area. We proceeded out of the pavilion area and onto the Mission Reach part of the San Antonio Riverwalk.  I started out running with friend Ralph, but after my watch beeped for my first walk break, he was long gone and I never did catch up to him. Like me, Ralph too did the Confetti 5K the day before – I managed to finish before him for that one – so don’t know where he got all this extra energy, but he did really well.  Meanwhile, just did my own run/walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks.  I ended up 6^th out of 10 in my 60-69 males age group, with a chip time of 39:50.  My legs were feeling the day before 5K, so I kind of goofed around a little more on this one and took it easy and  got a few more photos on the course, Since this was out-and-back and the 5K folks were the last to start, we did see some of the speedier 5K and 10K folks coming back toward us at they headed to the finish. Some of the half marathon folks too. My speedy friend Marie, who did the half, actually passed me on my way to the 5K finish and finished her half well before I finished my 5K, lol. Mile 1 for me was 13:04, Mile 2 13:05, and then I did manage to get a negative split for Mile 3 with 12 minutes and change.  Slow, but that’s okay, just happy to still be able to do any running at all while going through this prostate cancer treatment.  I will take what I can get.

AFTER MY FINISH – First, got some water and walked around a bit sipping that and cheering other people coming into the finish. I got a few photos of some others finishing.  After that, I enjoyed wandering around partaking of some of the post-race goodies, which included sausage wraps, beer, and other assorted drinks – I think there were even bloody mary’s if I remember correctly – and there was a ton of various types of snacks, treats, etc.  The after party was a lot like the party of the Confetti 5K. 

Epilogue – Put on by the San Antonio Roadrunners – the oldest running group in San Antonio – this is a very nicely put-on event.  This event has been around a long time – I think our MC Anthony mentioned it was the 44^th annual, wow – and is a popular event. Nice that it is held on Sunday too, as it gets less competition than the normal Saturday-held events. As noted, really nice after-party. It is also a dog-friendly event, and also stroller/wheeled chairs friendly, with wide Riverwalk paths, room enough everyone.  The only part of this course that freaked me out a bit, lol, were the wooden bridges we had to cross; lots of motion movement by these bridges as several people crossed them at the same time, coming-and-going.  I have a bit of ‘motion vertigo” so was worried a bit that might kick up on the swaying bridges – and then I’d really freak some participants out, lol – but I was okay by just taking my time and going across carefully and slowly; probably much to the chagrin of the people behind me, lol. Apologies to anyone who was directly behind me on these bridges. Overall, a pretty nicely thought-out 5K course where friends could greet and cheer each other on, coming-and-going Very nice quality race shirt, finisher medals to all, and very nice age-group awards for the age-group placers. .  I definitely would recommend this one to others – even with those  wooden bridges, lol – and I would do this one again.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  Everyone who helped make this one happen for we participants: all the sponsors, volunteers, university staff and students who helped out, the y police officers out there for us on the parts of the route that went by the public roads, our MC Anthony Zamora who did his usual great job – his second gig too; he was also the MC at the Confetti 5K – to our sound and music guy, the medical folks that were onsite for us and anyone else I may not have mentioned here.  Kudos to the SARR organizers and volunteers for getting this all put together very nicely for we participants

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nx3T3k3aSFrteuWo9

BEFORE MY START:  My 14^th race of 2022 was the Confetti 5K, held on April 2^nd at Our Lady Of The Lake University in San Antonio, with a 9 a.m. start. Weather was pretty nice with sunshine, blue skies, very little wind, and a temp a bit over 60 degrees, with and fairly high humidity. Very nice turn-out for this event, with 494 finishers. If I remember correctly, there were a lot more registered than actually did the race.  This is one of my ‘streak’ races as I have done this one every year since it started.  When it had to go virtual during the heaviest time of the pandemic, I did it virtual, running the actual course. I kept my streak going by doing it this year too. I arrived with about an hour to start time and enjoyed wandering around the grounds, chatting with friends, and getting some pre-start photos. There were lots of vendor booths at this one, and lots of goodies too, including coffee for those who wanted that before the start, and various pastries and other food items. There was even a food truck on site.

ON THE COURSE:  This is a nicely laid-out course that starts us in front of the main building of the university.  The start cannon goes off  with confetti shot into the air and then we participants are moving  over the start timing mat with confetti floating all around us. We followed a campus road that took us to the back of the building, and then past another building, where we made a turn and did a short out-and-back. We proceeded past a road and parking area on our left and then made a right turn which took us down a road that exited the campus via a gate by Commerce Avenue. Right turn here, running on sidewalk for a brief time and then a right turn that took us up a ramp and over a bridge onto the paved trails of the man-made lake by the university; nicely scenic. We followed the lake trails until we came to a street at the far end of the lake.  At this point we went down a small ramp, made a left turn, and crossed a bridge to the other side of the lake. Once back on the lake trails we crossed another bridge, taking us to the side of the lake we had started on. We then proceeded down to another bridge, crossed the lake again, and then followed the trails that eventually took us back to the sidewalk on Commerce Street.  After that, it was back to the finish line the way we had come out, minus doing the short out-and-back part on the way to the finish. The course for the most part is very flat, with just a few small inclines when you cross over the bridges; nothing you can really call a hill. Very well thought-out course, and since the lake area is also a public park, there are even a few porta-potties out there if anyone needed to use them. There were two water stops on the course, which was nice. I did not see anyone fall into the lake, and I managed not to do that myself either, lol, even though I have a history when I am running around water of having fallen into the water on occasion. My running friends at this event who know my history would kind of edge me toward the middle of the trail when they came along, lol.  I ended up with a chip time of 39:04, 8^th out of 20 in my 60-69 males age group.

AFTER MY FINISH – First, got some water and walked around a bit sipping that and cheering other people coming into the finish. I got a few photos of some others finishing.  After that, I enjoyed wandering around partaking of some of the post-race goodies, which included sausage wraps, beer, and other assorted drinks – I think there were even bloody mary’s if I remember correctly – and there was a ton of various types of snacks, treats, etc.  The food truck on site was doing a brisk business too.   Lots of fun and photo-taking post-race with friends and other participants.

Epilogue – This is really a very well-done event and one of my favorites of the year, thanks to Race Director Liz and all her many volunteers.  Very nicely laid out course, really nice quality tech tee race shirt, nicely designed finisher medal for everyone, and one really great after-party.  Very beautiful location for the race too with the lake and the architecture of the university buildings. Our Lady Of The Lake is one of the oldest and most historic universities in the city and the campus shows this in a really great and positive way. Also nice, that the university staff opens the main building for participants and supporters, so access to actual restrooms – nice not having to stand in a porta-potty line.   I will certainly continue to keep my streak going for this one as long as I am able, and most assuredly would recommend this one to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  Everyone who helped make this one happen for we participants: all the sponsors, volunteers, university staff and students who helped out, university police officers out there for us, our MC Anthony Zamora who did his usual great job, our sound and music guy, the medical folks that were onsite for us – I think it was people from the Methodist Hospital system – and anyone else I may not have mentioned here. Kudos, Liz, another great year of the event for you!          

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5P3R3ni9vubrsxV56

BEFORE MY START:  My 13^th race of 2022 was the Diploma Dash 5K held on March 26, 8 a.m. start, on the UTSA 1604 campus.  We got beautiful weather for this one, with blue skies, sunshine, low humidity and a temp at start time of just around 60 degrees.  Put on by the UTSA Alumni Association, this event supports scholarships for students. Very nice turn-out for this one too – 833 finishers. Start and finish was in front of the Convocation Center.  I arrived with about 30 minutes to go to the start time and got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:  We started in front of the UTSA Convocation Center – primarily the university ‘arena’ for sporting events like basketball, volleyball, etc. – and then went onto a road heading in the direction of UTSA Boulevard. Just prior to UTSA Boulevard we made a left turn, going up a semi-long incline, and then made a turn onto a road that would take us toward the Alvarez College of Business building. However, before getting to that building, we had a diversion, going up the hill – in the direction of Valero Headquarters – that leads to the campus upper parking lot.  We did not go quite all the way up the hill, but pretty darn close.  At a turn-round point, we came back down the hill, mad a right turn, passed by the Main Building on our left, and then went down a service road, with the ACOB on our left.  Right turn at the end of the service road, taking us past the UTSA ROTC building and North Paseo Building on our right, and then a turn that took us past the UTSA Campus police station, where a water stop was located.  No beer, just water.  😉 . After that, right turn, and another fairly steep – but short at least – hill to climb, heading in the direction of the 1604 frontage road, with the Road Runner Café parking lot on our left. At the intersection after the hill, a right turn started us down this road, going in the direction that would take us near the area where UTSA HR is located on the western part of the campus. Another left turn and our route took us past the UTSA baseball field on our left, and another water stop (no beer there either 😉 ). We now had just a tad over a ½ mile to go….but wait…another hill to climb as we headed toward the traffic circle that is just up from the Child Center.  Once we got up this hill, down to the traffic circle, a left turn, and then it was flat to the finish.  The last part of the course took us on the road going past the parking lots near Campus Rec Center (on our left) and student housing (on our right). We turned left on the road that went past Campus Rec and just about right across the street from Campus Rec, we turned right – back into the Convocation Center parking lot – and headed for the finish line. Whew!  I ended up with a 40:01 finish time, averaging 12:53 per mile. I was 9^th out of 16 in my 65-69 males age group. I was one happy dog though, as I have been dealing with some ‘crud” in my system (non-contagious per my doc) and this is the first run in a couple of weeks that I actually felt almost like my old self again, so yay!  The course is ‘challenging’ at certain parts, but well thought-out, with lots of room to accommodate everyone.

AFTER MY FINISH:   I stood near the finish line for a few minutes and got a few photos of somoe of the people finishing that I had interacted with on the course.  After that, went and got a dry shirt on, and then wandered around the post-race area enjoying some of the post-race goodies – and there were quite a few too; Kiolbassa sausage wraps (I smell my running friend Anthony’s hand in this, lol; he is a VP at Kiolbassa); Yeungling beer (I indulged in half a can), all kinds of drinks like orange juice, milk, chocolate milk, and more; and just lots and lots of various kinds of eats from chips to nutrition bars, cookies, and more.  Diploma Dash folks throw one heck of a nice after-party.  There was also a “DJ” playing tunes for us; Rowdy was there, letting people have photos with him – me included – and my friend April Ancira was our ‘host’ who did the post-race awards ceremony.  There was also this ‘selfie’ camera where you got together for a photo, then pushed a button on it, and it would take a ‘selfie’ of you, your group, whomever.  That was a very popular race feature, lots of people lining up for that. While enjoying all this, I also was wandering around taking photos here-and-there – including one of our department VP, Karl, and friends, and had to laugh because he got photo-bombed by Rowdy, lol, and didn’t even realize it at first. Fun stuff.  And an enjoyable time was had by all.  

Epilogue- One of my very favorite 5Ks to do during the year. I usually do a lot of 5Ks over the year. I did 50 last year and my all time high was 91 in 2018.  I am only at 13 this year, mainly because my current prostate cancer treatment has slowed me down a bit – even though I did manage to do six 5Ks during my radiation treatment – but it’s all good, just happy I can still be out here running in any way, shape, or form. Out of the many 5Ks I complete each year – and I have never been DNF for any race I started in 37 years of running – I would rate the Diploma Dash right up there in my Top Ten. Very nicely organized, really nice people – volunteers, sponsors, and participants – dog-friendly and stroller-friendly event, nice quality race tee, very nice age-group award medals, and great race location.  Definitely will keep on doing this one and long as I am able, and certainly would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us: Alumni Association people – kudos to Steve Woodalll and his crew and all his volunteers – all the many sponsors for this event; UTSA campus police for being out there for our safety; April Ancira for being our MC for this one; local race management company iaap for the course set up, timing, results; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much!         

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HvpV9FKvrZ8LVUEL7

BEFORE MY START:   My 12^th race of 2022 was the Prickly Pear 5K on Sunday, March 12 at McAllister Park in San Antonio, put on by the San Antonio Road Runners. .  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend after doing the Helotes Beer Garden 5K the day before this one.  There was also a 50K and a 15K.  The 50K started at 6 a.m., the 15K at 8 a.m, and the 5K at 8:30 a.m, so I got to sleep in a bit, even if we did have to set our clocks forward on Sunday morning for Daylight Savings Time. McAllister Park is conveniently about a 3-mile drive from my house. I arrived with a little over 30 minutes to go for the 5K start, so got to see the 15K folks get started.  The 50K folks were long gone by then.  I had already picked up my packet the day before so I was able to chat with friends and get a few photos before the 5K start.  By the way, it was darn cold too.  Mother Nature once again brought in cold weather for our weekend racing.  We had plenty of sunshine and no wind, thank goodness, but that darn ‘feels like 33’ temp at the start of the 5K – BRRR!  I can’t imagine what the 50K folks must have been dealing with at 6 a.m. with no sunshine, and probably even a colder temp.

ON THE COURSE – All the events were trail runs. Since I live so close to this park, I run in it a lot and am familiar with both the park’s off-road paved trails and the natural trails. The start was in a dead-end parking lot directly across from the restroom area near the Optimist Pavilion in the park, near some soccer fields. We started on the parking lot pavement for less than a minute and then were on the natural trails, passing a playground area on our right. I did not look up the 5K route before race day but after we got started and made a left turn to go in the direction of the golf driving range that is next to the park, I was pretty sure then what the route would be, and it’s a pretty tough course with quite a few rocky areas along the way on the trails, and single-track trail most of the way, so not much maneuvering room.  After the ‘start trail’ we came out onto the paved off-road trail and went down a steep, short hill to near the golf driving range that was ahead, on our right. We were not on the pavement long. A left turn took us back onto another trail, which we followed and then crossed over a part of the paved trail and got onto another trail. Jones Maltsberger Road was on our right. Following this trail, we crossed over one of the park roads, then back onto trail, crossed another park paved road, and then headed on a trail that took us onto another small portion of the paved trail.  This took us past the police substation near the park, where we accessed yet another trail. From this point, it was pretty much trail all the way with going by the ‘dam’ on our right, then on a trail that took us near the youth baseball field on our left. We proceeded on this trail until we came out on the paved road just up the road from the lower soccer fields adjacent to a large parking lot . Crossing this street, we were on pavement again, turning left, passing a small pavilion area on our right, then back into the parking lot area, right turn, and across the finish line.  Challenging course, and for a slow guy like me, really could not pick up any speed. Also, of course, being the klutz that I am, it would not be an official trail run for me without a fall, lol, and I took that tumble a short ways past mile 2.  Thankfully, since I run so much in this park, I am well-practiced, lol, in how to fall, so no harm done, just two minor scrapes on my knee.  Surprisingly, I finished 5^th out of 12 in my male 60-69 age group, with a chip time of 47:55.  The first guy in my age group finished in 30 minutes and change; how he kept that pace on those rocky trails, wow…way to go.

AFTER MY FINISH:  Thankfully I had brought some warm stuff to change into after my 5K, so that was the first order of business, get this wet stuff off in this cold air. After getting comfortable again, I enjoyed some post-race Kiolbassa sausage wrap and some post-race goodies, courtesy of the vendors/sponsors. There was a variety of various nutrition bars, chips, crackers, etc. and even beer nice.  Enjoyed post-race chatting with lots of friends and getting some post-race photos.  Since there were 3 events for this one, finishers from the various races were coming in off-and-on for the whole time I was there. I heard our MC announce that the Top 6 people for the 50K finished in 4 hours and change, wow.  I don’t think dogs were allowed on the courses for this one, but it was a dog-friendly event for the before-and-after; several doggies there and they were quite happy to see me, lol with my doggie treats.  

Epilogue –   A very nicely done 5K. It was a bit of a challenging course, but also an enjoyable one, especially as the participants I was near at any given moment chatted with each other, encouraged each other on, and general participant camaraderie, nice. I can’t speak for the 50K and the 15K, but hopefully those participants enjoyed their outings too.  I would do this one again – hopefully without a tumble this time, but I doubt it :p – and would recommend it to others.  I would also recommend Mother Nature clean her act up and give us better weather next time, lol.  Very nice finisher medal, unique age group award for those placers, and a really nice quality race tee. If you have not done this one before – I did once before a few years ago – give it a try, you might find you enjoy some trail running or walking.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us: San Antonio Roadrunners and all their volunteers out there for us;  Park police out there for our safety on the park roads we crossed over; all the many sponsors, vendors, and others who supported the event; our MC, Anthony Zamora, who did his usual great job; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!       

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6wW7s1KzNTCcf29x5

BEFORE MY START:  My 11^th race of 2022 was the Helotes Beer Garden 5K held on March 12 in Helotes Texas, – Old Town Helotes, the historic part of this little city. Put on by Soler Sports – Race Director Lisa Soler – this is a very popular event that features several breweries post-race and free samples of their wares, and several other kinds of vendors.  The event had a very nice turn-out for a cold morning, with 622 total finishers. And a cold morning it was.  After a pretty mild weather week, Mother Nature once again sent us a weekend cold blast.  Temp at the start was in the upper 30s, which is cold for we South Texans, and considering that on Thursday when I did a training run it was 74 degrees. Crazy Texas weather. Thankfully, we had a bright day with lots of sunshine and no wind so that helped. I dressed in a few layers and brough a dry base-layer shirt to change into post-race. Race start time of 8 a.m.  The staging area was in a grassy area alongside of Old Bandera Road just a bit down from where the old Soler Sports store used to be.  I arrived with about 30 minutes to go to start time and got a few photos before I peeled off my outer layers and was ready to go at start time. The race started exactly on time at 8:30 a.m. 

ON THE COURSE – The usual course for this event was not used since some closures of those streets this year was not allowed. Thus the route we took had us exiting the off-road field area and then making a right turn onto Old Bandera Road.  We went up to a traffic circle, did a loop around that and headed back onto Old Bandera Road. We then proceeded down a long incline/hill, and then it was uphill to just short of being in front of the El Chapparal restaurant. We did a turn-round at some cones and then back the way we had come out. We reached the traffic circle for a second time where we made a right turn, proceeding on this road (I forget the name of it) that took us past a school and a church.  When we reached a turn-round on this road, we went back the way we had come out.  Back at the traffic circle again, this time making a right turn and heading down towards Highway 16 (I think it’s highway 16) to another turnround  Then back to that darn traffic circle –  which I think I can describe by heart now, lol – and then onto Old Bandera Road again, taking the same route we had started out on -going down that first incline, then up again to the turn-round near El Chapparal, and then back to the start/finish line.  We had 5 total turn-rounds on this course.  It sounds pretty boring, but actually it was not at all. I actually liked this course better than the original one.  A couple of the hills were a long climb, but not as steep as the original course, and the good news about all these turn-rounds is you see a lot more of your fellow runners and friends along the way, which made the participant camaraderie really great, with lots of cheering each other on.  I behaved this time and took all my walk breaks (because of this darn spinal arthritis, can’t run nonstop anymore) and even a couple extra ones to get a couple more photos.  I ended up with a chip time of 39:50, 14^th out of 19 in my 60 – 69 age group and met my 2 primary race goals: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting for me at the finish.  Anything I get after that – age group award, finisher medal, whatever – is a bonus, lol.

AFTER MY FINISH – One heck of a party after the event. It kind of reminded me of the Scallywompus after-parties, but a bit on a smaller scale. It was really nicely done. I got out of my wet shirts and put my dry ones on and then had a wonderful time wandering around, taking photos, sampling some goodies, and chatting with friends.  I finally left around 11 a.m. and the party was still going pretty strong. As noted, this is a very popular annual 5K.  

Epilogue – Very nicely done by Race Director Lisa Soler, Soler Sports, all her volunteers, and iaap with the timing and results. The age group awardees got a really nice placer medal. Very nice quality tech-tee race shirt too.  Several people also wore costumes for this event – I believe there was a costume contest – and some of them were quite inventive and very amusing. Besides all the breweries representing their products, there were also many other booths with various kinds of goodies and there was a food truck on location too that was doing a pretty brisk business.  As for the course, as noted, I actually like this one better than the original; it seems more ‘user-friendly’ and appeared to me to get more participants interacting with each other with all those out-and-backs and turn-rounds. I would definitely recommend this race to others and most certainly will do it again myself. MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us: Lisa Soler, Soler Sports and all the many volunteers and people involved with laying out the course, packet pickups, etc.; the police officers (I think there were two) on the course for our safety; iaap for the timing and results; all the sponsors and vendors involved who donated /were out there for us – including the Top Sponsor, Stout House of Helotes, where pre-race day packet pickup was; a nice place to go, very friendly environment with very friendly staff;  our music and sound guys, and our MC; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!      

Photos are here:

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

BEFORE MY START: My 10^th race, and 2^nd race of the March 5-6 weekend, was the LFR Memorial 5K Run held on March 6 in Shavano Park. This race was in memoriam of Lisa Starr Rosenstein (LFR), who passed away on May 2, 2021 in a tragic hit and run accident while out on her morning run. The course was held in Shavano Park as this was her neighborhood where the tragedy occurred.  Race start time of 8 a.m., with the start and finish from the grounds of a local Shavano Park business building just down from the corner of Lockhill Selma and De Zavala Road. A nice turnout for this inaugural event, as 400+ registered. There was also a nice turnout of  employees/police officers and firefighters/EMTs from the Shavano Park Police Department and the fire department. There was a pre-start ceremony with speakers that included Lisa’s father, if I remember correctly, and also Mayor Nirenberg.  The weather cooperated for us – no cold and no rain, but we did have a bit of wind, with overcast skies, 65-degree temp and humidity around 77%. I arrived on-site with about 45 minutes to go and got a few pre-start photos.   

ON THE COURSE – Out-and-back course. From the building where we started, we turned right out of the parking lot and went about 1/10 of a mile up to the corner of Lockhill Selma and De Zavala Road.  We turned right on De Zavala, proceeding down a hill, then up a hill, turning right into one of the Shavano Park neighborhoods. This is a very nice neighborhood with wide streets, really nice homes, and lots of room for everyone.  We wound around the streets in this area, going to our turn-round point and then came back the way we had come out.  This course has a bit of everything; small incline to Dezavala starting out; downhill and then uphill to the turn into the neighborhood; both flat places and inclines on the way to the turn-round point and back from it; and then downhill-and-uphill on De Zavala as we headed back to the finish. As we turned into the finish to head to the chute, we also climbed a very short incline – kind of like going up a ramp for the disabled – just before we got to the finish line. This is a very well-thought-out course laid out for us by Tony Garcia, and included a bit of everything, lol.  After doing the day before this one a 5K that also included some hills, my legs were feeling this one, lol.  So I just took kind of relaxed for this one and took a couple more walk breaks than I usually take to get a few more photos. I ended up with a chip time of 41:09, 8^th out of 16 in my 60-69 males group. I might have finished faster, but the people pushing baby joggers on the course refused to give me a ride when I asked. 😉  All good though; I met my two primary goals – finish standing up and no ambulance specifically waiting for me at the finish. 😊   After I finished, I got a few finish photos of some others on the course I’d been interacting with.

AFTER MY FINISH – Got some water and enjoyed a post-race bagel. Had a nice chat with two EMT techs at the event while enjoying my goodies, and we shared some stories and laughs. Then I wandered around getting a few more post-race photos and chatting with other participants.  The wind really started kicking up too, after we finished.  So glad that did not happen while we were on the course! Anyway, lots of smiles, lots of goodies, lots of laughs and – as my running friends who have known me for a while can tell you – lots of photos taken.

Epilogue – This 5K had a really nice turnout for an inaugural event. I don’t know if everyone who registered showed up, but there was a really nice crowd of both runners and walkers. The course, as noted previously, was really done well, very participant friendly as far as the route and space for everyone to maneuver, and a really nice area to be in. From my viewpoint, everything seemed to go very smoothly. I don’t know if this will become an annual event but I sure hope so, it is really a very nicely done 5K. Very nice quality tech-tee race shirt and a nice medal for all finishers. Race Director Lisa Soler and her crew of people helping her organize this one really did a fantastic job. MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us; all the sponsors, the many volunteers out there for us, local race management company iaap for course set up, timing, results, etc; Lisa Soler/Soler Sports and her crew for getting this one all put together; the people at Crossfit Optimistic, where pre-race day packet pickup was held; Tony Garcia for the course; and all the police officers, firefighters, and EMTs who supported this one; and, of course, to Lisa’s family members, who were a big part of this one; and so so sorry for your loss. . If I missed anyone involved, my apologies.  Thanks to everyone who made this one happen for we participants!      

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZsydmbsXjf6aSzr49

BEFORE MY START:  My 9^th race of 2022 was the Chocoholic Frolic held on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at the grounds of River City Community Church.  This venue, long ago, used to be the Verizon Amphitheater grounds where concerts and various other functions were held. I saw Aerosmith in concert here, way back when. Race start time of 9 a.m. Weather was cloudy/overcast and pretty windy, with a temp of 65 degrees at the start time. Forecasters predicted it might drizzle on us a bit, but that did not happen.  After we started the sun actually came out, making for a warm, humid run/walk.  I arrived with about 45 minutes to go until start time and got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE – The 5K started exactly on time. We ran on asphalt surfaces, with the route taking us on a kind of winding course through the church parking areas. We started near the amphitheater on the grounds.  Our first mile took us down a long but not-too-steep hill.  We then made a turn onto one of the parking areas and did a little winding around that.  This took us out to one of the church parking lot access roads. After going along this road we made a turn and did an out-and-back on another road. Going to the turn-round we went right into a wind that was gusting off-and-on – like a big invisible hand pushing against your face; made for some tough running at times. This would be the way it was for just about all the course, as we threaded around the church parking lots and access roads, sometimes with the wind at our backs, sometimes with it right in our faces. Even so, I was just happy it was not cold; I am not a fan of cold weather and this was the first race I did not have to dress in layers, after doing for 4 weeks in a row before this race, 4 weekend 5Ks that had temps of around 37 degrees at the start. Yeah, give me this 65-degrees anytime over that cold stuff. I felt pretty good the whole way and did my usual run/walk thing, taking photos during my walk breaks. I don’t go fast, averaging about 12 – 13 minutes per mile. Used to be faster (10 min miles) but this prostate cancer treatment (radiation, injections, etc) I am currently getting has slowed my body down a bit as I deal with it. So, slow or not, just happy I can be out here at all. For this one, I was on track to finish at around 37 minutes; but along the last half-mile there were a few horses with their colts along the way, watching us proceed along, so I took a couple extra walk breaks to get photos.  These were horses penned near the local Retama Horse Racing stadium, so I wonder if, as race horses, they were watching us and thinking “Huh, these humans THINK they are running” lol.  Anyway, extra stops affected by time, but what the heck, I had fun, and I met my two primary goals when I do a race:  finish standing up and no ambulance waiting for me at the finish. I ended up with at time of 39:10, averaging 12:34 per mile.  After I finished, I stood near the finish line and got a few photos of others coming in.

AFTER MY FINISH – Got some water and enjoyed a post-race Krispy Kreme chocolate donut, and just relaxed for a few minutes.  After that, enjoyed wandering around, chatting with friends, and getting some ‘after’ photos.  No age group awards for this one, awards to the overall finishers, if I remember correctly.  I was surprised they did not have awards for the Masters overall winners too, but I don’t think they did. I may be mistaken on that, though.  Anyway, enjoyed my post-race time with current friends and made new friends; lots of smiles and fun for me.

Epilogue – They had a pretty nice turn-out for this one. I’m not sure how many actual finishers there were, but it was quite a large crowd at the start line. I am estimating maybe anywhere between 100 – 300 participants. Very nice finisher for this one and a very nice long-sleeved zip-up pullover shirt too. I would do this one again and would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the people that made this one happen for us; all the sponsors, the many volunteers out there for us, local race management company iaap for course set up, timing, results, etc; Race Roster for the timing and results; Mary, our contact person for this event and I think the overall Race Director; the pro photographers out there taking race photos – much better than mine,  I am sure, lol – and our race director Tony Garcia, who gave us a new course route this year which, in my opinion, is mucho better than the old one, so I hope they keep using this one. If I missed anyone involved, my apologies.  Thanks to everyone who made this one happen for we participants!