Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/GygUssosBgovk2A39

Before the Start: My 68^th race of 2025 was the Carry Forward 5K on October 25^th.  Held at Morgan’s Sports, a division of Morgan’s Wonderland park, this event raised funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. The initial start time was to be 8 a.m., however storms rolled into the San Antonio area late Saturday night, with quite a bit of rain, lightning, and thunder. My wife was flying home from an event she had been attending most of the week, with an arrival time around midnight, so I was sitting up watching old-time movies, waiting for her to call me when she landed to come pick her up. Apparently the flight was delayed, so I ended up getting her a little after 1 a.m. Got to bed around 2 a.m., then got up at 6 a.m., got some breakfast and then headed out to get my packet, which was supposed to start at 6:30 a.m.  As I left my garage, I was welcomed by Mother Nature with a lot of rain and quite a lightning show peeling across the skies, so was not sure if this event would be cancelled or postponed. I only live a very short way from Morgan’s Wonderland, so got there pretty quickly, and the parking lot was already pretty full. Found some parking, then went to get my packet; one of the packet pickup volunteers told me the race day pickup had been delayed for a while, so I went back to my car and sat there for a bit watching Mother Nature continue to put on her Wild Weather Show; lots of thunder and lightning flashes. I returned to packet pickup and got my packet. We were supposed to start at 8 a.m., but one of the volunteers told me we were now in a ‘wait’ pattern until 8:30 a.m., when there would be a decision made to continue with the event or post-pone it to a later date. Well, at least the rain had let up, although we were still getting some occasional lightning flashes. I wandered around the ‘gathering’ area, chatting with volunteers, other participants, supporters, etc., and getting a few pre-start photos.  We finally got the word that the event would go on, starting around, or just a bit after, 8:30 a.m. The National Anthem was played, and then we all got going.  The weather actually had improved quite a bit; lightning was done and, although it was a bit humid, it did not feel too bad out there at all. I was kind of way in the back of a lot of participants, both walkers and runners, who all started together, so it took me about 5 to 10 minutes just to cross the start line. We shuffled forward a bit, stopped, shuffled some more, slowly getting there. I kept thinking, this must be how cattle feel, lol, when being herded in the stock yards. 

On the course:  I finally crossed the start line, started my Garmin and then began carefully running, weaving in and out and around slower people ahead of me, both walkers and runners.  We exited the Morgan’s Sports area, made a left turn and then headed toward Morgan’s Wonderland Park, passing by The Lighthouse at the park’s splash-pad just before the entrance to Morgan’s Wonderland. Upon entering the park, we then did a loop around the man-made lake on the park’s paved concrete trail that goes around the lake, giving us nice views of it. With this many people doing the event – not sure how many but, dang, this was a PACKED event – it took me a while to get around the lake, negotiating ‘passage-way’ in and out and around other participants in front of me. I also did my usual thing of run-8-minutes-walk-2-minutes and took a few photos during my walk break. After going around the lake, we exited the park, making a left turn, following some traffic cones on the course. We rounded one at the end of this part of the course and then headed back in the direction of Morgan’s Sports, passing the splashpad lighthouse on our right now. We were pretty much going back the same way we had come out from the start.  I’ve done this 5K course before at other 5Ks held here, so knew what to expect; however, I got the unexpected. When we got back to the road we had started on, we turned onto that and then went directly to the finish line…what the heck? This sure won’t be a 5K. I saw my speedy friend Johnny, who had already finished, and asked him if they’d changed the route. He said yes, they sure had, they changed the event from 5K to a 1K, so once we crossed the finish line, we were done.  My garmin had stopped for a few seconds when I started, so I don’t think I have what the exact distance we did was, but my Garmin showed a finish time of 15:23, with a distance of 1.08 mile. I believe 1k IS 0.62 miles, if I remember correctly, so my mileage might have increased a tad from that by me doing a bit of back-and-forth when I was taking photos during my one walk break.  I was kind of disappointed that they changed the route and I did not get to do the full 5K, but I get it.  Morgan’s Wonderland Saturday hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 5 pm so, between the weather and that, they may have lessened the distance to help get us of the park area, maybe; and maybe there were some other issues too.

After My Finish: I got my finisher medal and then wandered around, chatting with other participants, volunteers, race sponsors, and so forth, and getting a few after-photos. There were a few dogs there too – mostly service dogs – so I did hand out some doggie treats, with the permission of their humans. I enjoyed chatting with several people, including one very nice young lady who worked for Morgan’s, and she told me the company was in the process of now building a YMCA, which should open next year sometime. I assume it will be a fitness center adapted to accommodate disabled, like the park and the other Morgan facilities, so that’s nice. I’d like to check it out though. When I told her I am already a member of the YMCA, she said, well then, you are able to use our facility too,  after it’s built; nice!

Epilogue:  As noted, although disappointed that we didn’t do the 5K distance – and I get that, between the weather situation, the time allowed for the event, and so forth,  this still was a very enjoyable event for a great cause, and they sure got a nice turn-out, raising quite a bit of funds for The Wounded Warrior Project. All finishers got a very nice finisher medal, and the race shirt is really nice quality. The race bib is also well designed and has a space underneath the bib number with the phrase “I CARRY FOR: and then a line where participants can put the name of a veteran being honored by him/her.   There was also a very large contingent of race sponsors with booths, etc., that had all kinds of various items, food and drink items, various clothing items, tote bags, and so forth; some for sale, some were free give-aways.  This is also a very friendly event with lots of friendly people and lots of my fellow veterans participating; lots of ‘war stories’ told at this event, lol, by several people, including me; I did 24 years in the Air Force, 18 of those years at overseas locations, and had some quite unique experiences.    I also enjoyed interacting with my fellow veterans and hearing what their military experiences were – including some of the spouses; they also served in their own way. I thank them all for serving our country.  Mucho thanks to all who helped make this event happen for we participants, e.g., all the many volunteers; the sponsors/vendors who helped pay for it all; the law enforcement folks out there for our safety; the person that played The National Anthem for us in a very unique way; our MC who kept us apprised of the race status as the morning went on; the EMTs on sight for us; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much! Whatever your personal goal may be, may you always stay safe while striving for it, and I hope you thoroughly enjoy what you are doing.  Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime, or maybe you might see me, lol; if so, give me a shout-out; I always enjoy meeting and chatting with my fellow participants.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5b14Lj1tMssZSCYF9

Before the Start:   My 67^th race of 2025 was the Spooky Sprint 5K held at McAllister Park, San Antonio on October 19^th.  There was also a Kid’s Run; a 10K; and a half marathon. Race start time of 8 a.m.. This event was put on by Bodies Race Company. Headquartered in Greenwood, Missouri, this private sports company that organizes and manages racing events at several locations across the country for family wellness and fitness. Per their website, the company is “dedicated to getting communities active and healthy by offering high-quality, affordable events.”   I arrived around 7:15 a.m., got my race packet and then got a few pre-start photos. This event had a really nice turn-out; for the 5K alone, there were 250 finishers.   I could not verify the totals for the other races because every time I went to the Bodies  Race Company website, their results kept taking me to RunSignUp, which had a crappy results listing for this event. It did not even list me as a participant and I know darn well I did this one, good grief. I don’t get why Bodies just does not put the darn results right on their own website, it would make them so much easier to find.  Anyway, thankfully, we had a ‘cool front” move into San Antonio over the weekend, so the temp at the 8 a.m. start time was only around 71 degrees – yes, lol, that is a cool front for San Antonio at the time of year, and the humidity was about 82%.

On the course:  The start and finish was at the trailhead of the parking lot where the dog parks are located. This is the trailhead that you first come to, if you enter the park via the Wurzbach Parkway, and it is right across from the baseball fields on the right. We started a bit after 8 a.m., but that was okay. The National Anthem was played and then all participants for each of the events all started together. The course was done on the park’s paved trails of the San Antonio Greenway System. We had level ground for about ¼ of a mile or so and then started downhill. When we reached some level ground we then went under the Wurzbach Parkway overpass, and made a left turn. This took us up a short incline, and then we had a bit of flat for a while before the hills started. These were no baby hills, either. Not quite as steep as the ones in Helotes or at Eisenhower Park, but they were a climb.  We went up the first hill, curved around a bit, and then went up part 2 of this hill.  Other participants, way faster than me, lol., were already heading for the finish. They were on my left; I was on the right side of the trail, heading for the turn-round. After we crested the hill, then we had a winding downhill trail that took us to the 5K turn-round and headed back for the finish. Of course, now we had to climb back up that winding hill we’d come down and it was a pretty good climb too. I finally crested it, and had flat for a bit, and then it was down the hill we’d first climbed on the way to the turn-round.  Finally got back on level ground for a very short bit; went back under the overpass; had about ¼ mile of flat, and then we started climbing again to get to the finish. I did stop a couple of times to get a few more photos, but for the most part, I ignored my watch beeping for me walk break, and just keep going until I finally saw the finish line and gave myself a last push, crossing over the finish line with a chip time of 42:58, averaging 14-minute miles, and I had a negative split from Mile 2 to the finish, nice.

After My Finish:  I got my finisher medal, did a short cool-down walk, and then got some photos of a few others coming in. After that, I just relaxed for a bit, rehydrating, and then wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants and their supporters and, as this is a dog-friendly event, handed out treats to the doggies, with the permission of their humans, and, of course, took several after-photos. There was no awards ceremony per se; you just checked your results and if you placed then you went to a table where a very nice young lady gave you your age group award; I ended up 3^rd in the 5K for my 65-99 males age group.  I did not have my phone with me, so Bigfoot Running folks were kind enough to look up my finish time for me. I left the race area later than most 5K finishers, as I had a friend who was doing the 10K, so waited for her to come in, to get a couple of photos of her and my friend with her, Lucy Dog, finishing, and then a couple of after photos. I also took a few more photos of other participants still there. Finally, time for me to go home and get cleaned up.  

Epilogue:   Bodies Race Company did a really nice job with this event, pretty well organized from what I saw, with a very quick race-day packet pickup; and, overall Bigfoot Running did a nice job with laying out the course – the distance was right on from what my Garmin had – and they were also very helpful in looking up finish times for people like me who don’t take their phones with them on runs.  The race shirts are quite unique, as are the finisher medals, which are very cool.  Once you crossed the finish line, you went to a  table near the finish line and there was a variety of finisher medals that each had some kind of ‘monster’ on it, e.g. witch, werewolf, and so forth. Since I’m a dog, lol, I chose the werewolf one. At the packet pickup pavilion, there was also a variety of goodies, such as bananas, various types of crackers and other goodies and bottled water.   All-in-all, the event was managed pretty well. Since I don’t carry my phone when I run, the only problem I had was not being able to find results after I got home. Since Bigfoot Running did the timing, I thought they would be there but that was not the case. . I went to RunSignUp, apparently a partner company of Bodies Race Company and got a popup saying my name Scotty Dogg was not in the results…it would be nice if Best Race Company just put them on their site, making it easer to find. However, I do owe them an apology because they were there and I found them after the Race Director emailed me and told me how to get to them..so I am a technology idiot, lol. Oh well, it is what it is. Anyway, overall, a really nicely done event. I’d do his one again and would recommend it to others. Mucho thanks for all the people who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., any sponsors; the Park Police Officers out there for our safety; all the many race volunteers; the patience of the non-race users of the park – other runners, walkers,  cyclists, etc. as we horde of runners ‘invaded’ the park trail for a while; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Whatever your passion is, may you always be safe and successful at it.

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/WEm5CsdZwBmU9dWLA        

Before the Start:  My 66^th 5K of 2025 was the 3^rd annual Paloween Hustle on October 18^th, 2025. There was also a 10K.  There were 247 finishers for the 5K and 9 for the 5K.  There was also a 1-mile walk, if I remember correctly, which was untimed.   Held at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, this event was established in honor of the late Samantha Tapia, a member of the college’s women’s running team. She was a top-notch runner who was very fast.  He told me she had only two speeds: fast and faster.  When talking with her coach at the event, I found out she had epilepsy, wow; I was impressed that she overcame this disability and could run like that.  Sadly, on her last run, she collapsed from a medical-related incident and sadly passed away. This event keeps her memory alive for all who knew her.  The college was quite a drive from where the directionally challenged me, lol, so it took me a while to get there.  When I finally did get there, I saw some signs with the name of the race on it and started following those….until I realized these were the course directional signs for the participants; well, shoot. Thankfully, I came to a parking lot where I saw a lady getting ready to go into one of the buildings, so I assumed she was Palo Alto staff, and I was correct.  She kindly told me to follow her, as she was helping with the race, and led me to parking lot across from the start/finish area; such a nice lady, thank you so much.  I got my race packet and then got a few pre-start photos. This is a dog-friendly event too, so I also handed out dog-treats and soon had some new doggie friends, lol.

On the course:  We had some nice weather for the 8 a.m. start, with a temp in the upper 60s/lower 70s and the humidity was not too bad at all. The course was a loop course, with the 5K doing one loop on the campus grounds and the 10K doing 2 loops. The course was mainly pretty flat, with a few up-and-down inclines, but nothing you could really call a hill. I did my usual thing of 8-minutes-running/2 minutes talking and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The course took in most of the campus, so we got a nice race-tour of Palo Alto College. I was feeling pretty good and ran/walked my usual 12-to-14 minute mile pace.  The last mile I pretty much ran non-stop and ended up with a finish time of 44:07 which, surprisingly, was good enough for first in my 65-99 males age group.

After My Finish:  I did a short cool-down walk, and then enjoyed chatting with participants, volunteers, supporters, etc. and getting a few after-photos.  Some family members of Samantha were there, as well as her coach, and they spoke a few words about how this all got started; it was pretty moving; I so feel for Samantha’s family; the loss of a child is something you never get over, you just learn how to live with it day-by-day, as I know from personal experience, having lost my first wife and 4-month old son to a drunk driver.  I hope her family can find comfort and solace.  The awards ceremony was nicely done – although they started with the overalls first, as expected, and then did the age group awards, starting with the youngest first; so, being 71, I had to wait a while, lol, before I could get my award and head home for my nap 😉. 

Epilogue:   This is a very nicely done event, one I will continue to do in the future, and certainly would recommend it to others.  The course was very nicely laid out by my iaap friends and since it’s an out-and-back, lots of participants cheering each other on as we passed by each other.  There were also 3 water stations, if I remember correctly – I jokingly asked some of them if they had beer – as well as ‘cheer groups’ along the course. As noted, the course is pretty flat, with only a couple of long up-or-down inclines, but nothing you could really call a hill. Post race, there were a couple of photographers getting video of some of the participants, including me, and there were all kinds of booths there that have various kinds of give-away goodies; one even had chicken-on-a-stick. The race shirts are really nicely designed, and all finishers got a finisher medal.  My age group award surprised me; it is a really nice full-plaque award – very heavy too – with the race name, and Samantha’s name on it, and the age group that I was in; wow.  The information on the back of the plaque noted this was made by the Palo Alto College Welding Program to help students improve their skills, so thanks to them; they did a great job with this award.  I would definitely recommend this event to others, and I certainly will continue doing it in the future.  Mucho thanks to all who made this event possible for us participants, e.g., Samantha’s family; the Palo Alto College leadership; iaap for the timing and results; all the many volunteers and race sponsors; the Palo Alto College law enforcement officers along the course for our safety; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much. Hope to see you all again next year; especially now that I know where everything is, lol.

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/QbeJAvN42AzrnPCv8     

Before the Start:  My 65^th race of 2025 was the CleftStrong 5K held on Sunday, October 12^th at Eisenhower Park in San Antonio, Texas. Per the race website “The Cleftstrong 5k is the primary fundraising event for CleftStrong, a 501c3 non-profit organization which works to promote a healthy understanding of cleft lip/palate and other craniofacial conditions, create events that foster hope, motivation, and connection for those in the cleft community, and raise money to advance cleft patient care and medical research.”   The event featured an opening ceremony, with some info provided on the reasons for this event; the singing of The National Anthem; and then  the starting of the events, which included Kids Run, the 5K, and an untimed 1-mile walk. The kid’s run started first and then the 5K and 1-mile walkers started after that, with an 8:30 a.m. start. I had picked my race packet up on Friday, so after arriving, got some pre-start photos. The race start/finish area was quite busy, as there was race day registration, and there was a total of 235 finishers for the 5K, so a nice turn-out.

On the course:  We started right on time at 8:30 a.m.   The weather, although a bit humid, was very cooperative temperature-wise with a nice temp of around 68 degrees, which is a ‘cool-front’, lol, for San Antonio at this time of year. The course was an out-and-back and was open to other users of the park, e.g., walkers, other runners, cyclists, even saw a couple of roller-bladers – not doing the event. We 5K folks started in the pavilion area of the park, then a short jaunt across part of the parking lot, and then onto the park’s asphalt paved trails. The asphalt trail connected us with the concrete Greenway trails of the park. For the first half-mile or so, the course was fairly flat, and then we started climbing. I’ve done events on this course before, so I knew what to expect, and these hills on the course, both uphill-and-downhill, were no baby hills, lol.  They were not ‘super-steep’, straight up, but some were pretty long, so everyone doing this course got a really good workout for sure. I did my usual run/walk thing  – can’t run nonstop for any long length of time anymore, due to my spinal arthritis – 8-minutes-run/2-minutes-walk and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks and, as this is a dog-friendly event, handed out some treats any dogs I saw, with the permission of their humans . Overall, I was feeling pretty good and went along pretty well. Per my Garmin I did Mile 1 in 14:31, Mile 2 in 13:59, and Mile 3 in 13:01, as I pretty much ran that last mile non-stop. For that last mile, I was pretty much running with these two young lads, maybe 7 to 10 years old, and wow, I wish I had half their energy, lol. They’d stop to walk for a bit as I kept running and then suddenly they were there running again and passing me. This went on right to the finish, with me encouraging them on, and right near the finish they really picked up their pace and left me eating their dust, as they finished a good 2 minutes ahead of me; good for them. I ended up with a chip-time of 42:45, which was good enough to be first out of the 3 in my 70-99 males age group. 

After My Finish: I stood near the finish line and got a few photos of others finishing and then got a banana and some Gatorade and went to my car and sat for a few minutes enjoying those, with the a/c on to help cool me down.  After that, it was back to pavilion area to get some after-photos and enjoy chatting with other participants and some of the sponsors, supporters, volunteers, etc. The award ceremony was nicely done, and they did start with we older folks first, thankfully; we need to get home to take our nap after a workout like this, lol.

Epilogue:    The CleftStrong folks who put this one on did a really good job. It is a very well-thought out course, with the trails wide enough to accommodate a lot of people; the race shirt is nicely done, and both the finisher medal, put into the race packet, and the award medal are well done too; nothing really fancy, just a nice little medal, which is great, so more funds I hope, can go to their cause.   try to do this one each year that I can.  It is for a great cause and their organization, which includes medical associations and several doctors and other medical folks, as well as numerous volunteers, do such a good job in helping those in need. This one will be a ‘main-stay’ event for me as long as I am able to keep on being a runner. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., CleftStrong: all the many volunteers – including the bike leads who lead the 5K leading runners;  that must have been quite a bike workout on those hills; all the sponsors supporting this event; the law enforcement folks that were out there for our safety; iaap for the start/finish line setup and doing the race results; and thanks to the patience of all the course users not doing the event, as we invaded their space for quite a while.; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all! May you all stay safe and healthy and meet all your personal goals you’ve set for yourself.  Maybe you will see me at a future event sometime; if so, give me a shout-out and we can chat and maybe get a photo together.  Next up for me is the Palloween Hustle 5K at Palo Alto College. I just hope I can find the place, lol, since I seem to be directionally challenged at times.

Photos are here:          https://photos.app.goo.gl/htW22DB4NCdmXziA8

Before the Start: My 64^th race of 2025 was the Project Mend “Let’s Roll” 5K held at Morgan’s Wonderland park in San Antonio.   Project Mend provides refurbished medical equipment – such as wheeled chairs for the disabled, and other items – and then donates them to individuals who may not be able to afford the equipment they need. The event, officially named the ¡Viva Mobility! Let’s Roll 5K, is a Día de los Muertos -themed race that supports Project MEND. The race was put on by Soler’s Sports race management company, owned by my friend Lisa Soler. The company also does shirts, medals, souvenirs and other ‘swag” for events, groups, and individuals. Lisa did the printing for several of my race shirts, putting my personal motivation motto on them.  Timing and results were provided by iaap, a top-notch San Antonio-based race management company.  There were two categories of runners: adaptive – those in the race using their race chairs, and also those with a mobility issue who were walking using a walker, etc.  – and non-adaptive, the rest of we 5K participants. Race start time was 8 a.m., so, since I live pretty close to Morgan’s Wonderland, I was able to sleep in a bit. I arrived around 7:45 a.m., got my packet, and then got some pre-start photos.

On the course: We started inside Morgan’s Wonderland Park and did a loop that took us around the park’s man-made lake. After that loop, we exited the park, making a right turn and went past the Lighthouse at Morgan’s Wonderland Splashpad on our right and on our left was Toyota Field, the home stadium of San Antonio’s professional soccer team.   We followed the road that took us in the direction of the Wurzbach Parkway. We made a right turn and this we passed on our left Heroes Stadium, the stadium of the North East Independent School District of San Antonio. After passing the stadium, we made a left turn and passed by the side of the stadium on our left.  This road took us down to one of the stadium’s parking areas. We made a left turn into this, went past the back of the stadium, and then got back on the main road and returned to the finish the way we had come out, doing a second loop around the man-made lake.  I did my usual 8-minutes-run/2 minutes-walk thing, taking photos during my walk breaks. After passing the Mile 2 marker, I then did the last mile non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 41:38, averaging 13:24 per mile and for my last mile of the race had a negative split of  12:56. This was good enough for 2^nd  out of the 3 in my 70-99 males age group.  

After My Finish:    After getting my finisher medal, I then got a few photos of some others coming in, and then got a few more photos of happy finishers, participants, volunteers, and supporters.  There was also an awards ceremony at the outdoor stage area of the park, with the ‘adaptive’ participants getting their awards first, and then we non-adaptive participants getting our awards.  They started with the younger participants first, so being in the 70-99 males age group, I had to wait a bit, lol. Note to Race Directors: um, we are old; start with us first; we need to get home and get our naps after all this, lol. It really was a nicely done awards ceremony, with recipients going up onto the presentation area, getting the medal, and then a photo taken.   After that, I went wandering around Morgan’s Wonderland for a bit, getting a few more photos in the park.  Gordon Hartman started this park for his daughter, Morgan – an ‘adaptive person’ herself, and hence the name Morgan’s Wonderland  – and designed it so that people with disabilities could enjoy park rides, the splash pad, and more. The park ferris wheel, for example, actually accommodates wheel chairs. Mr. Hartman started a trend and many other parks across the country now have similar things to accommodate those considered disabled. I am a great admirer of his; as well as the park he created, he and his family via their foundation, also do so much more other things for our local area.

Epilogue:   The 5K was a fairly smaller event with 57 finishers and 6 in the adaptive category.  This is probably because this was a very busy race day, with several other popular events in our local area, including those up the I-35 Corridor in New Braunfels, etc.  It was okay, though, because it felt like we were a large group of friends who had all gotten together to support this great cause and just enjoy being with each other, which we did. I will certainly continue to do this one and I would definitely recommend it to others. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, including the Hartman family for allowing use of the park; Soler’s Sports for putting this event; iaap race management company for the timing and results; all the many volunteers involved who were doing packet pickup; race day registration; course marshal duties, food preparers, etc.; Push Button Photography, the official event photographers; the several law enforcement officers out there for our safety; our MC for the awards ceremony, and our sound-and-music guy there; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful at it and stay safe doing it. If you are a runner or walker, maybe I will be at a future event that you do; if so, give me a shout-out, and we’ll get a photo together for my race report that I do. Cheers to all!

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMAKiuXmFKGks7xZ7          

 Before the Start:  My 63^rd race of 2025 was the Gift of Life 5K run held on Sunday, October 5^th at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio, Texas.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after having done a 5K in New Braunfels on Saturday.  This event supports Transplants for Children which, according to their brochure information “provides assistance to families and children to master the lifelong challenges associated with pediatric organ transplantation.” The organization provides tools and support for long-term successful organ retention.”  I try do to this one every year I can; I was not a transplant child, but I was a “March of Dimes” baby, born with dislocated hips, so had to wear some special shoes and braces for a while to help with this; so I feel for any child who has to go through any type of disability, medical procedures, etc.   Packet pickup time was 8 a.m. with a start time of 9:15 a.m., after a Kid’s Run was done.  I arrived around 8:15 a.m., got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos.

On the course:  The National Anthem was played, then the kid’s run was done, and then we 5K participants got started.  We had a bright sunny day for this one, with the temp around 78 degrees, so not too, bad, but the humidity was pretty high. Thankfully, the trails at this park have a lot of shade along the way so it did not feel too bad. iRun Texas via their associated company, Split Second Productions, did the timing and results for this one. I know these folks and one of their crew told me since the Transplant folks wanted the start/finish line in front of the park’s main pavilion, the course would probably be a tad short of a full 5K; which was okay with me, lol, my legs were still feeling my Saturday 5K a bit.  We started in front of the park’s pavilion, did a short loop on the park’s traffic circle, and then went onto the paved concrete greenway trails at the park, first by going down a short hill that took us to the main trails.  We made a left turn, got onto the greenway and followed the trail that took us in the direction of the Los Patios Shoppes Area and the 410 frontage road. I did my usual run/walk of  8-minutes-run/2-minutes-walk and took some photos during my walk breaks. Overall, I was feeling pretty good and managed to run pretty well…at my usual slow pace, lol. The overall course may have been short, but the mile 1 and mile 2 markers on the course, were dead-on per my garmin, so good job there by iRun folks. After getting to the Los Patios area, we went forward until we got to the Loop 410 frontage road which was where our turn-round was and then went back to the finish the way we had come out.  On the way back, I took a couple more photos while on the course, but for the most part ran most of the way back to the finish nonstop.  When I crossed the finish matt my Garmin read 2.99 miles, so I waved off the volunteer handing out the finisher medals to all finishers, and kept going around the traffic circle, with the finish line behind me. I then went back on the course for a bit, then made a turn-round, went back up the short hill to the traffic circle and then went back to the finish area, being careful not to cross the timing mat again so as not to screw up my official results…and so I ended up getting “pie distance” in, with 3.14 miles done so got in a full 5K, lol.    Per the results posted by Split Second Productions, my chip time was 40:48: 16, averaging 13:07 per mile I crossed the timing mat with a negative split for the last part of the course, nice.  There were 99 participants, runners and walkers, and I was 36^th overall per the results. Awards were only given to the first overall in each age group, so the majority of the funds received for this event would go to the cause and I have no heartburn with that; every kid should have a chance to get better to live an active life style and grow up.

After My Finish:   I went and got my finisher medal and got a few photos of some others coming in.  After that, I got some Gatorade and water and sat in the shade of the park pavilion, relaxing and rehydrating and enjoyed chatting with my friend Deborah who joined me at the pavilion. This was also her second race of the weekend.  After that, I was up-and-at-it again, chatting with volunteers, other finishers, supporters, etc., handing out some more dog treats and getting a few after photos.

Epilogue:   This is a very nicely done event for a great cause, one I will continue to do in the future. It’s a very nice course, easy to follow, with lots of room for everyone, including those users of the park not doing the event – other runners; walkers, cyclists;  The majority of cyclists were very good about calling out as they came up behind us, so we could move over a bit to give them room to pass by, and I appreciate them doing that. There was a water station right near the turn-round point, and the volunteers there were great, taking good care of us and cheering us on. The race is very nice quality and nicely done too, with running characters, made to look like organs, on the front and  a list of the sponsors on the back, and there were a few goodies and coupons in the goodie bag. The event had raffle tickets you could purchase to win a prize; and some of the vendors at their booths and tables had offerings of their own. As notes, this is also a dog friendly event, so I handed out several treats, with the permission of their humans, of course. I will definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Transplants for Children staff; all the many volunteers and sponsors; the law enforcement officer there for our safety; iRun Texas for the course setup, timing and results, and any others involved I may not have mentioned her.  Thank you all so much.  Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always stay healthy to enjoy it, and have much success with all your personal goals. If you’re a runner or walker, hope to see you at a future event sometime

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/N31my2c7rP4ZzE7U7

Before the Start:  My 62^nd race of 2025 was the Oh My Quad 5k, held in New Braunfels, Texas at the Guadalupe Brewing Company on Saturday, October 4^th.  I had planned to go up on race day morning but then found a notice from TXDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) that starting on Friday, October 3^rd at 9 pm they would be doing some road construction at the Schertz, Texas exit until 7 in the morning.  Since that is right on the way to the race site, I decided I would just get a motel room on Friday night and go up then, which I did. This worked out nicely. I stayed at a very nice Super 8 Motel just off of Walnut Street frontage road, got settled in, and then went to the brewery to get my packet.  When I got there, one of the owners, Keith, recognized me. He had put on a 5K several years ago at San Marcos High School for the Air Force Jr. ROTC detachment there, and I had done that event.  I got my packet, and he then  asked me if I had a tutu; um, no.  He told me it was a tutu run, so talked me into wearing one for the race, lol.  After that, I went back to the motel, stopping to get some take-out dinner and then enjoyed eating dinner in this very nice room while watching a couple of movies.  I got to sleep early, got some nice rest and then was up at 5 a.m. getting ready.  I didn’t want to sit around the hotel room, so just heading out to the brewery, and was actually one of the first ones to arrive, so got some great parking.  Some race day volunteers were already there, getting ready for race day packet pickup and setting up the course with cones, and so forth.  I got a few photos of these volunteers, and a few other photos.  Around 6:30 to 7 a.m., lots of people began arriving – participants, vendors, etc. – so I enjoyed chatting with them and getting some pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event so, with the permission of the humans, I handed out dog treats to several dogs, which made me very popular with them, lol.   

On the course:  This is the first time I’ve done this event which, apparently, is very popular. There was a total of 302 finishers, per the results list on RunSignUp.  We had a pretty sunny day, with a temp of about 78 degrees and the humidity was pretty high up there. The course is an out-and-back done on paved roads. We started on the road, going over a timing strip that activated the timing device that was put on our shoe lace; first time I’ve ever used one of these. For the most part the course was pretty flat, with just a few up inclines; nothing you could really call a hill. The longest “up” part of the course was a gradual up incline on the road where we headed to the turn-round. I did my usual 8-min-run/2 minute walk thing and got some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The course was still open to traffic, but there was very little during the event; from where I was on the course at any given time, the drivers I saw were pretty careful about it all, giving us ample room.  There were also lots of police vehicles on the course, so that may have had something to do with that too. After making the turn-round, I got a few more photos on the way back and then, after hitting Mile 2, I ran nonstop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 40:28 and a clock time of 40:59, which is about right, as my old-time garmin is just a little off…but I love the darn thing, lol, so keep on using it.  My time was good enough for 2^nd in my 70-and-up males division. One thing I loved and found very entertaining: one lady had a goat with her and she walked the course with her goat.

After My Finish:   I stood near the finish arch and got a few photos of others finishing. After that, I went to enjoy the after-party and let me tell you, the brewery owners put on a really nice after-party, with some music; post-race beer, of course, many different flavors; various vendors there, with products; and more. I wandered around chatting with others and getting some after-photos. I also handed out more treats to the dogs – and the goat even enjoyed one, lol.Epilogue:  This was my first time doing this event, but it won’t be the last. It is one of the “friendliest” events I have ever done, with lots of camaraderie between participants, supporters, vendors, etc. We also had a very good MC in quite a costume, who kept us apprised of things, and also did the awards ceremony – even though he did the older people last, so at our age, we had to wait quit a while, lol, to get our awards. I always suggest to race directors, old people first since we need to get home after a race to get our nap in, lol.  The race shirt is nicely designed; the age group award medal is nice too; and they also had some give-aways post-race, very nice. As noted, dog-friendly event – and goat-friendly too, lol – and a very nicely laid out course with plenty of room for everyone. There are even indoor restrooms, but fairly small, so there were plenty of porta-a-potties too, so the lines went pretty quickly. The doors to the brewery building were open, so it was nice to stand in there a few minutes to cool down post-race. Anna and Keith, the brewery owners, really do a great job with this brewery and with this event.  I will do it again, and I certainly would recommend it to others.   Mucho thanks to all who made this event happen for we participants:  the brewery staff; the many volunteers; all the law enforcement folks out there for our safety; the patience of the residents whose space we invaded for quite a while; our MC for doing a great job; our timing and results guy; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much! Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always have much success and stay safe doing it.  Maybe I’ll see you on the road or at a race sometime, if you are a fellow runner.

Photos are here:         https://photos.app.goo.gl/uA62Va9sjNUACRM89

Before the Start:  My 61^st race of 2025 was Veronica’s Journey 5K, held on Sunday, September 28^th in Shavano Park, Texas, a small city located just off of Northwest Military Highway. This event is named for Veronica Finne, a 13- month-old who battled Ependymoma,, a form of brain cancer, but sadly lost her battle after 11 months. Her parents established the Veronica N. Finnie endowment fund at the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF) and the Veronica Nicole Finnie Fund for Families and Children to support those in need and provide resources for families, in memory of their daughter. It also supports Veronica’s Boutique, a free program for pregnant and parenting families that provides parenting education and material assistance for pregnant and parenting families. The Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio supports this program.  Packet pickup and race-day registration was held at the pavilion near the Shavano Park City Hall offices. I was not able to do the packet pickup on Saturday, as I was still in downtown San Antonio after doing the Head For The Cure 5K, which raises funds for brain cancer research. I arrived at the City Hall around 7:30 a.m.  area and got my packet from the volunteers doing race day registration pickup. Prior to the start, there was a mass held at the pavilion. I am not Catholic, but I respectfully waited until it was was done and then gave my race shirt from Head For the Cure and my finisher medal and my shirt from this 5K also to the priest and asked him to donate it to a family who may have a child who was dealing with brain cancer, and maybe it would bring them some luck. I do so many races that I my drawer space is full of race shirts, so I usually ask for a youth-size shirt, and then donate them, as well as my finisher medals,  to various charities; usually to Morgan’s Wonderland, since I was a disabled kid myself, or to the cancer kids at San Antonio Children’s Hospital. After the Mass, I enjoyed pre-race chatting with friends there that I knew, and other participants, an getting a few pre-start photos.

On the course: The course was out-and-back.  There was a total of 79 finishers for this event, runners and walkers.  There was also a Kid’s Run right before the start of the main event. We went across the street from the City Hall area, with the help of a very nice woman police officer who was doing traffic control for us.  The start/finish line chute was set up on a street in this neighborhood across from City Hall, where my friends from local race management company IAAP, had set up the timing mat, start\finish chute, etc.  I took a group photo of them and then chatted with other participants and some of the start/finish line volunteers and got a few more photos.  Participants then lined up for the start, and we got onto the course at about 8:15 a.m.  The weather was really nice; clear skies and a nice temperature of around 68 degrees, as a cool front had moved in the night before; sweet. The course was done on paved roads in a really nice neighborhood with some really beautiful homes along the way.  I did my usual 8-minutes running/2-minutes-walking intervals and took some photos during my walk breaks. This event is also dog-friendly, so I handed out a couple of treats to the dogs who were participating with their humans. The first ¼ mile or so was nice and flat before we had to climb a not-so-steep hill – more like a long up incline than a hill – and then we were on level ground again for a while and then went down a steeper hill, as we wound through this very nice neighborhood.  As I went along, I saw my very speedy friend, Bob, already heading for the finish and got a photo of him, and then of my other speedy friend, Woody, as he came along too.  After that,  the participants were pretty spread out over the course. There was a water stop near mile 1 and I jokingly asked he guy where the beer was; he jokingly replied back “We sent someone to get it but he hasn’t come back yet.”  Lol.  Sometimes I was in the company of a few other participants, other times I was running by myself. After we came to a water stop, we then started down a hill…..a LONG hill and fairly steep too. Once we got down this, we were on flat ground again, went around a curve, and then got to the 5K turn-round. Of course, this meant that long steep downhill on the way out was now a long uphill for us – quite long, lol.  Even so, I was feeling pretty good – and I do hill training at least once a week – so decided I was going to push myself for this last half of the course and just go to the finish nonstop. We had another fairly steep part of the course to climb, got around that, and then were on up incline we had shortly after the start, which was now a down incline for us.  I could hear cheering going on so, from that, and the distance I saw on my Garmin, I knew  I was fairly close to the finish now, so pushed myself a bit more. I ended up crossing the finish line with a chip time of 42:44, averaging 13:45 per mile and my last mile was a negative split of 12:51, nice. I ended up first out of 4 in my 70-99 males age group.

After My Finish:  After getting some water and doing a short cool-down walk, I then stood back from the timing mat and got a few photos of others finishing. After that, I wandered here-and-there, chatting with others and getting some more after-photos of participants, volunteers, etc.  Finally, it was time to return back across the street to the City Hall pavilion for post-race activities. One of our participants sang an Hispanic song for us – she was really good too – and there was also a group of folklórico dancers that entertained us, wearing cultural dress. They were really good too.  The awards ceremony was then started. They began with the youngest participants first, jeez, so I knew I’d be there quite a while before they got to my age group.  Race directors really need to learn to start with the older age groups first, so we can get home and take our needed naps after all this exercise, lol. Epilogue:  This is a really nicely done event for a really great cause. Veronica’s parents, whom I met at earlier Veronica’s 5K events, are super-nice people; her father was actually driving the shuttle bus for today’s event, picking up people from where the parking was located and brining them to the race area.  I so feel for him and his wife;  you never get over losing a child, you just learn how to live with it, day-by-day, as I found out after losing my first wife and 4-month old son to a drunk driver. I am so grateful to them for helping establish this event to help those in need. I try to do this one every year but missed a few due to some cancer bouts I had to deal with myself. Never-the-less, I will continue to do this one whenever I can; and I certainly would recommend it to others.  It’s a smaller event, participant-wise, making it feel like a group get-together of a bunch of running friends out to support a great cause, making it feel very personal; it would be nice if it grows in number, which would help raise more funding and more awareness, but then if it gets too large, it might have to be relocated and also might lose that ‘personal touch” you feel with a smaller group of participants.  Either way, though, I will be there for this one whenever I can.   This is a good event with a nice course; challenging in places, but nice, lol; very nice quality race shirt; finisher medals for all finishers; and unique small plaque-type age group awards  A Lots of nice things post-race too:  the dancers and the lady who sang for us; there was also a taco truck there; and post-race ice cream too; and there was a vendor fair right near the City Hall area, for those who might be interested in that. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happened for we participants:  the Finnie family; the Catholic charities organizations; all the many volunteers; the law enforcement folks out there for our safety; the race sponsors, vendors, etc.,  the patience of the residents whose neighborhood we invaded for a few hours; iaap for the timing and results; and anyone else involved not mentioned here. Thank you all!  Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always be successful at it and safely enjoy it

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

Before the Start:   My 60^th race of 2025 was Head For The Cure 5K, held on September 27^th at Providence Catholic High School on St. Mary’s Street in San Antonio, Texas.  Per the race website this event “raise funds, awareness, and hope for the San Antonio brain tumor community.” This used to be one of my ‘streak races”. I did every one of them from the very first one that started it all, until 2021, when I was undergoing prostate cancer treatment and so missed doing it that year, breaking my streak.  This was the 12^th annual event of this 5K.  It was nice to be doing it again; this is a very well-organized race for a good cause. Of course, me being me – directionally challenged, lol – I ended up missing a turn on the way to the race site and ended up getting a bit lost. Thankfully, I started out very early before the start time, so had plenty of time. Fortunately, I encountered a San Antonio police officer, who helped me out by ‘escorting me” to the race site, with me following her there. When I told my wife about this later, she said “Only you could have encountered a woman police officer and get an escort.” Lol; yes, she may be right; I sure have had a series of running adventures during my 41 years of being a runner.  After arriving at the race location and getting parked, I then wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, supporters, volunteers and running friends of mine that were there.  As this is a dog-friendly event, handing out treats to the doggies there; yes, I do carry dog treats with me when I run, hence my nickname and race name of Scotty Dogg, which was bestowed upon me by a friend many years ago when I stopped during a race to treat some dogs.  I’d met some of these dogs at other events and they recognized me, lol, and a few of them came toward me to get some treats; yes, I am the Good Humor Man for dogs, lol.  I enjoyed chatting with all these folks, both participants, and supporters and getting a few pre-start photos.  Before the start, a group of young people nicely sang The National Anthem, and then we all lined up to get going.  Since my running paces are “slow-and-slower”, lol, I made sure to line up more toward the back of the pack, which was quite large. Between runners and walkers, I think there were over 1,000 participant.

On the course:  We started on the school grounds, went down a driveway and made a left turn onto St. Mary’s Street, heading in the general direction of the part of St. Mary’s Street that would have taken us toward the 281 highway, if we’d gone that far.  However, we made a left turn before that, onto Camden Street, if I remember correctly. We went all the way down this street, then made a left turn onto  N. Saint Mary’s again, and this brought us back in front of the school. At this point, there was a turn-round, which we made, and then we proceeded back to the finish using the same route used to get to the turn-round. I got a few more photos on the way back, but pretty much ran mostly non-stop to the finish. There were several police officers doing traffic control for us at all the intersections we crossed, and I made a point of thanking them all.  I also jokingly asked one of them “Where’s that bike police officer that’s supposed to be following me, in case I need a ride?”  I saw one lady – not a participant – who was pushing a stroller with her son in it, and he had service dog with him, so I did a quick stop to give her some treats for the service dog. That was just before Mile 2 and after that, I went non-stop to the finish.  Surprisingly, I ended up with a chip time of 38:52, which I was very happy with, averaging 13:32 per mile, and my last mile was a negative split. My garmin noted the course distance was 3.0, so it may have been just a tad short, but it’s all good.

After My Finish:  Did a cool-down walk and went to my vehicle and got some iced-down Gatorade and water I had brought with me and drank those while I sat there with the a/c on full blast to help me cool off after being in that high humidity.  After that, I then returned to the race site area to chat with other finishers, participants, volunteers, supporters, etc. and get a few after-photos. I think ALL the dogs there now recognized me, from the previous handout of treats, since whenever I came near one, it would stand up or come toward me…”the Treat Guy, the Treat Guy.” lol. Yes, I did hand out more treats and also got several after photos of other participants, supporters, volunteers there for us, etc. The dancers there also put on a very nice show for us; very talented. I am so jealous….since I dance more like “Elaine” from the Seinfeld TV show, lol.  

Epilogue:  This is a really very well-done and well-managed event. I can’t remember the name of the company that did the course setup, timing, and results, but they did a great job. BTW, you can find all the results for this one listed on the RunSignUp website, which is convenient. They had a lot going on at this event, too. There was a food truck on-site; a big “soap bubble area” the kids there enjoyed playing in; a really nice Tacos drive through place right next to the school area; and plenty of vendors/sponsors that had some freebies items, and one who was selling reasonably priced tickets to support the cause and you could win a new Garmin watch;  All finishers also got a really nice and quite large finisher medals; and the race shirt is very nice quality; even the race bibs are nicely designed. I would definitely recommend this one to others and will do it again.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us: all the many volunteers; all the vendors/sponsors who help make this one happen each year; our timing and results guy, and our MC who stood by the finish line cheering in every runner and walker as they came into the finish; all the police officers out there for our safety; and I think there was an EMT on  bike, cruising the course, just in case medical aid was needed; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; Thank you all!  OK, time for me to relax and nap, lol. My race #61 is the day after this one, on Sunday. Report and photos to follow on that one too. Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always safely enjoy it and have much success. Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime; give me a shout-out and we’ll get a photo together if you’d like that; if not, we can just chat.  Cheers to all.

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/EfcuSP6zC7sqAUJi8   

 Before the Start:   My 59^th race of 2025 was the Legacy of Courage 5K held on Sunday, September 21^st at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio, Texas. This was my 2^nd  5K of the weekend, after doing the 911 heroes run on Saturday at Mission County Park in San Antonio. This event, put on by Bigfoot Running, included a half marathon, quarter marathon (6.55 miles), a 5K and a 1-miler. There was also a Kid’s Dash before all the main events started.  The event, held in Ladybird Johnson Park, supports The Outdoor Disabled Veterans Program, a Texas-based nonprofit organization that provides hunting, fishing, and other outdoor experiences for disabled veterans, with an ultimate goal to offer therapeutic benefits for veterans’ mental and physical health.  Start time for all events was scheduled for 7 a.m. I arrived a little after 6 a.m., got my race packet and got a few pre-start photos. One of the race volunteers told me there was a total of 200 registered between all the events; a few people were no-shows, so there ended up being around 194 finishers between all the events, if I remember correctly.

On the course: There was a slight delay in the start, so we ended up starting closer to 7:30 a.m. The start/finish line was located right at the end of the park’s parking lot that bordered the traffic circle in the park.  The National Anthem was played and then we got going. After crossing over the starting matt, we then proceeded down short inclined paved trail and made a left turn onto the park’s paved concrete greenway trails, heading in the direction of the Los Patios Shoppes area. I did my usual 8-minues-run/2 minutes-walk thing and took a few photos during my walk breaks, but not as many as I usually take as, for this event, I decided to see if I could run a bit more nonstop than I usually do. After getting to the Los Patios area, we went across the Loop 410 frontage road, then went underneath the Loop 410 overpass, continuing on a paved trail. This wound us around to a short uphill incline and after getting to the top of that, we 5K folks got to our turn-round and then proceeded back to the finish the way we had come out. I also had a ‘wardrobe malfunction with my darn race shorts tie-string keeping coming loose, so had to stop a couple of times to tighten it up, but I pretty much managed to run the last 1.5 miles nonstop to the finish Per my garmin, I ended up with a chip time for the 5K of 48:34, averaging 15:17 per mile.  I tired to find my “official chip time finish via the Bigfoot website and also via RunSignUp, but they are both notoriously bad about making it easy for participants to find online results. I did check with a race volunteer at the event and he verified to me that I had finished 2^nd in my 70 and over age group and got a nice Bigfoot pin that was the award for the age group placers. I

After My Finish:  Did a cool-down walk and went to my vehicle and got some iced-down Gatorade and water I had brought with me and drank those while I sat there with the a/c on full blast to help me cool off after being in that high humidity.  After that, I then returned to the race site area to chat with other finishers, participants, volunteers, supporters, etc., and get a few after-photos.

Epilogue: I am not fond of the course that was laid out for this one. The majority of race companies that hold events in the park use a course where the start/finish line is sent up closer to the small hill we went down to get access to the paved trails; and then we go out to the Los Patios area and right at the 410 frontage road, participants turn around and head back the way they came out, without having to go across the 410 frontage road. This is a much better course, in my opinion. However, since this course does cause the park’s traffic circle to be closed to traffic, it may be that if this course had been used then Bigfoot might have had to pay for Park Police officers to be on site for participant safety, and that can get pretty expensive. Well, it is what it is, and I managed to enjoy myself. The Bigfoot employees are pretty nice folks; there was lots of water post-race, and a table full of various post-race goodies, such as pretzels, some bananas, if I remember correctly, and a bit more. There was no awards ceremony; you basically went to where the packet pickup table was, gave the volunteer your bib number and if you placed in your age group, he gave you your award. I ended up 2^nd in my 71 and over age group – and I forgot to ask him what my official chip-time was – and got a very nice Bigfoot Pin. The race bibs are nicely done and the race shirt is very nice quality, even though it only lists the Half-marathon on it; no mention of the other events on the shirt. Lots of good, fun people did this event, so I enjoyed post-race getting some photos and chatting with other participants, supporters, volunteers, etc.  After that, I drove home, which did not take long at all, as I live quite close to the park, got a shower and then, after doing two pretty warm, humid races, I took a nice nap for a while, lol. 

Would I do this event again; I think I would if they used the “usual” course for 5Ks done at this park.  Meanwhile, mucho-thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., the Bigfoot folks there; all the race volunteers; the water station lady on the course; the one police officer that was out there for our safety at the 410-frontage road crossing; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime. Whatever your passion is, may you always enjoy it with much success, and forever stay safe doing it.