Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EhQwA9GQZtetwmyx6

BEFORE MY START: My 36th race of 2021 was the SNIPSA 5K held on September 25 in Alamo Heights, and ‘affluent’ area of San Antonio that hosts some really nice homes, good parks, a public swimming pool and some really good running areas. SNIPSA is a non-profit spay/neuter and rescue/adoption organization for primarily dogs, but I think they take cats also. This was the 14th year this event has been done. I’ve don’t this one several times in the past so I knew what to expect. This 5K was also on the same day as another very good event I;ve done quite a few times in the past too, San Antonio KSAT-TV’s Head For The Cure, a 5K to raise funds for brain cancer research, so I had to make a choice of which one I would forego since it’s not possible to be in two places at once. At least, not yet anyway. I chose SNIPSA this year over Head For The Cure because (a) I love dogs and (b) I recently started my own cancer treatments for prostate cancer, so I just wanted to go out and run today and have fun and forget about cancer for a while, including my own. No regrets. Arrived with just under an hour to go to the 8 a.m. start time. I had picked up my race packet the day before so on race morning I just wandered around chatting with friends and fellow participants and also, with the permission of their humans, handed out treats to the doggies from a big jar of Milkbone soft-and-chewy biscuits I had brought with me. I soon got pretty popular with the dogs, lol. There really was a lot going on at this event pre-race, with lots of various booths there – all kinds of give-aways from the various sponsors – and doggies everywhere.

ON THE COURSE: We had some really nice weather for this, so that was a bonus; felt very cool and comfortable weather-wise. Local race management company iaap did the course set-up, timing and results for this one. They got us lined up in the start chute about 5 minutes before race start time, and then we were off. Since I had done this before I knew what to expect: some hills along the way since this is Alamo Heights. One thing about this area, the roads are nice and wide and smoothly well-paved so lots of room for everyone, which was good as there was a really nice turn-out for this one, 500+ or so participants, not including the doggies, from what I saw on the results list. Yes, they also got to run or walk. There was even a separate awards category for Runners With Dogs. As usual, because of my spinal-and-hip arthritis, I did my 8-min run/2-minute walk thing and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks, which helps me not notice those walk breaks so much, lol. I was a March of Dimes baby and had a birth defect when I was born, and all adult life, my docs would tell me I was doing okay – I guess I was because I managed to serve in the Air Force for 24 years – but probably when I got to my 50 or 60, this would most likely flare up in arthritic form; and so it did. Hence, the run/walk. All good though, since I really started enjoying doing this and then sharing my photo reports so others who were there could save their photos if they wanted to. I am certainly no professional photographer, lol, but hey, the photos are free. I felt pretty good for this one and did my usual 12-something minute miles, and my pacemaker, which I have had implanted for 2 years now, behaved itself and let me run all the hills quite adequately. I ended up with a 37:18 chip-time finish, averaging 12:01 per mile – Woohoo, I may yet get back to 11 and under minute miles, what I used to do pre-pacemaker and pre-cancer – and was 10th in my 60-69 age group, and I was quite happy with that. Actually, I am quite happy just being able to still run and at my age I only have 2 race goals now: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me after the finish. Anything after that – age group award, better result time, etc. – is a bonus. If I get that, fine; if not, what the heck, I still got my run in. My first priority, after being a runner for 38 years now, is just…keep on…running!

AFTER MY FINISH: First off, walk around a bit and cool down, and I always get a kick post-race out of watching my monitor as my pacemaker works to bring my heartrate down; always amazes me how fast that darn thing works. Went and found some water and got one of the post-race sausage wraps, found a nice shady spot to sit for a while and just relaxed for a bit, enjoying the goodies. After that, I went wandering around like I did pre-race, getting some post-race photos, chatting with various people and, of course, more treats for the doggies.

Epilogue: No matter what my race time turns out to be, this is one of the most enjoyable events I have ever done, it is always a lot of fun for me. I love interacting with all the doggies and their humans; some of them – both dogs and humans, lol – are very entertaining, with a good sense of humor – yes, dogs, too, you can just tell from the way they act – and very friendly. The dogs were especially friendly when they found out I had treats, lol. Of course, I only give them out if I have permission from the doggie’s humans, since some may have allergies, medical issues, etc. Most agreed, so I was quite ‘dog-popular’, lol. Lots of booths at this event and lots of free give-aways from various sponsors. Really nice course, very nice race shirt, nice post-race goodies, and a lot of photo-ops for me as there were also lots of people in costume, and the Spurs Coyote was there and, of course, all the doggies. As noted, have always enjoyed this event and will continue to enjoy it in the future, god willing. I certainly would recommend this to others, both walkers, runners, and dogs.

MUCHO THANKS TO: The SNIPSA folks and all their volunteers for all their hard work in once again getting this event organized so well. Thanks to all the sponsors and contributors who helped make this one happen; to the police officer out there on the course roads for our safety during the run; to the ‘grill masters’ that fixed up those sausage wraps – they were really good – and to all those volunteers I saw at the food table who had all that ready for we participants when we finished; and thanks to the course marshal volunteers also; and especially thanks for the patience of the neighborhood residents as we participants invaded their space for a while; and to anyone else I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bSw4ESRjKvQCvWHh9

BEFORE MY START: My 35th race of 2021 was the Loteria 5K held on Sep 18 at 6 PM in McAllister Park, San Antonio. Put on by iaap, a local race management company, this event is based on a Mexican card game and several participants dress up in costumes representing the characters on the cards. There was also a Kids Run. This was my 2nd 5K of the day after having done the Oktoberfest Beer Garden 5K in the morning. I arrived at the park with about 40 minutes to go to start time, got my packet and then took a few photos before we got started.

ON THE COURSE: The course was an out-and-back on one of the park’s paved roads and one of its off-road paved trails. After a fairly hilly 5K done in the morning, I decided I would just take it easy for this one and do positive splits for each mile, instead of negative splits, and just have fun with it. I ended up doing most of the course with a friend, Bob, whom I had not seen in quite a while, so that was a nice bonus for this event. Everything went according to plan, with me doing Mile 1 in 12:28; Mile 2 in 13:22; and Mile 3 in 13:53. The last part of the course, Bob and I ran in together to the finish line. I did not expect to place, but I ended up 3rd in my age group, probably because there were only 3 in my age group, lol. My friend Bob was second in our age group. Other than the occasional hot-flash – my wife calls it poetic justice, lol – not having many side-effects from the treatment I am getting right now for prostate cancer, so I was pretty comfortable for the majority of the route.

AFTER MY FINISH: Pretty warm out in Texas summer at 6 PM, so found some shade – which is abundant in this park, thank goodness, and just sat for a bit, drinking my post-race drink and cooling down a bit. Then I wandered around chatting with friends and taking a few ‘after’ photos. There also was a costume contest and then a few door prizes were given away – none of which I got, darn the luck. After that, time to go home and get off my feet and just ‘veggie” in front of the TV – watching college football – and let my old-dog body really get a rest.

Epilogue: iaap events are really good quality ones and Race Director Ceci does quite a good job getting everything organized. Iaap is a family business and the whole family gets everything done pretty smoothly. This was a fairly small event but very well done. Nice course, nice quality race shirts and unique ‘painted’ age group awards with Loteria characters on them. My 3rd place award was a mermaid, which was appropriate because after this race I was ‘finis”. Post-race goodies included beer and chicken tacos – or maybe it was fajitas, I forget – from the excellent local company Kiolbassa. Race shirt of very nice quality. I’ve done Loteria in the past; will do it again; and would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO: all the iaap folks, race volunteers, sponsors, and the park police that were out there for our safety; and to anyone else I may not have mentioned here.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GSgMXcmh6twzYhnD6

BEFORE MY START:  My 34^th race of 2021 was the Helotes Oktoberfest Beer Garden 5K held on Sep 18 in Helotes, Texas, a small city bordering on San Antonio city limits. This event was limited to 800 participants. They sure came close to that, with 785 finishers, wow.  Start time of 8:30 a.m.  I arrived with about 45 minutes until start time and got a few pre-start photos between chatting with several friends.  There were a few dogs at this event too. Since I am known by the running community as Scottydog – and I actually register for all the races I do as “Scotty Dogg” – since I carry dog treats with me when I run, the pooches did great treats from me, with the permission of their humans.

ON THE COURSE:   Course started on a dirt/gravel in a no-outlet area where Pete’s Place and other breweries and business places are located.  We proceeded onto Old Bandera Road, making a left turn and going up an incline toward the El Chapparal restaurant. We did a turn-round by some cones there and the went back down Old Bandera Road through Old Town Helotes. At a traffic circle, we made a left turn and did an out-and-back on this road. Back at the traffic circle, we did another short out-and-back, then headed back to the traffic circle, and once more went onto Old Bandera Road.  This time we climbed up the incline to the cones in front of El Chapparal, looped around those, and then back to the finish the way we had come out. Nicely thought-out course but pretty much no shade on it, and I had not really hydrated adequately enough, so did a bit more walking than I had intended to. I finished in 38:36, averaging 12:34 per mile. Tired, lol. Even so, enjoyable event, saw many friends on the course, and ran with a few of them at various times. Being treated currently for prostate cancer, but having very few side-effects, so that did not affect me all that much, maybe just contributed to the tiredness a bit.  Even so, all good, I am still able to get out there and keep doing what I love.

AFTER MY FINISH:  My two race goals are always: Finish Standing Up and No Ambulance Waiting Specifically for Me at the Finish. Anything after that – finisher medal, age group award, etc – is a bonus.  Goals met, lol.  After finishing this one, first thing I did was go find some water and then a shady place to sit down for a few minutes to rehydrated and relax. Being a heavy sweater – one reason my wife really loves me in winter 😉 – I was pretty drenched from my run/walk. Good thing I keep towels in my car. After just relaxing for several minutes and enjoying the music two DJs – is that even a term anymore? – were playing, I felt mucho better, so time to wander around, enjoy some goodies and get some post-race photos.

Epilogue:  Kudos to Race Director Lisa Soler and her crew for putting on a really fine event, especially with this many participants, so a lot of work for her and her volunteers, and the race setup and timing folks. There was also one heck of an after-party that kind of reminded me of the Scallywompus events. Even the packet pickup the day before was a party atmosphere, being held at Stout House, a very nice local pub, where I also enjoyed chatting with friends I saw there. Post-race, there were all kinds of beer vendors there, so those who enjoy beer could wander around sampling all these different beers – I did a couple myself – and other vendors offering all kinds of items from give-away souvenirs to various drinks and food, such as brisket tacos, giant soft pretzels – I love these things and got one of those – and much more.  Very nice quality race tee, and the age group awards were these really nice glasses and mugs. Sometimes people leave early from an event, but from what I saw, not this one. The post-race activities were so enjoyable, and so many friends there, I did not even leave myself until almost noon.  When I finally did get going, there still were several people there, enjoying all the goings-on. Would definitely do this event again and would recommend it to others. One very good event. 

MUCHO THANKS TO:  Lisa Soler and all her crew of volunteers, timers, sponsors who helped pay for all of this; the police officers out there on the course for our safety; the Helotes officials who allowed this “live’ event to happen; all the breweries and businesses that participated and helped make this a really enjoyable event; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here. Thanks so much to all of you!       

Race photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/533hB2uezX3C48Gf8

BEFORE MY START:  My 33^rd race of 2021 was the Patriot Day 5k held on Sep 11 at Pleasanton River Park.  This was my 2^nd 5K of the day, after having done the Gruene 5K in the morning in Gruene, Texas.   This event, in honor and memoriam was held on the 20^th anniversary of 9/11/2011 in honor and memory and recognition of the victims of that day; survivors of that day who were present at the targeted sites; all First Responders then and now; and the family members of those both lost and involved at “ground zero.” The 5K start time was at 6:30 with a well-done commemorative ceremony done at 5 p.m. with various local dignitaries speaking on what this day meant to those of us who lived that day, only the 2^nd time in US history that an unexpected ‘sneak attack’ of this magnitude occurred on US soil, the first being Pearl Harbor. Pretty much everyone in the US who lived during that time knew exactly where he/he was the news of this tragic day began to come in. As a couple of the speakers noted, we must never forget and hopefully generations after us will always remember this day too with some type of dignity and respect for all those involved.  After the ceremony there was a placing of wreaths. At the conclusion of the ceremony packet pickup resumed.  I had gotten my packet earlier and before the 5K began I got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:   Thanks to my good friend Woody and the Atascosa County Running Club folks who had previously invited me to Pleasanton to do a couple of events in the past, I was already familiar with the 5K course so knew exactly where I was going for a change, lol.  This was a loop course, starting in the park.  We went along a very nice trail alongside the river, then did a brief stint on one of the park roads.  This road took us out of the park, where went up a short incline – not something you could really call a hill – and then proceeded on a route that looped us through a very nice neighborhood with wide streets and lots of room for everyone. The streets were open to traffic but no problem.  All the drivers I encountered at any given moment were very polite and waited for the participants in their immediate vicinity to pass by before they continued driving.  From what I have experienced whenever I’ve visited her, Pleasanton is a very polite and friendly little city.  Our loop through this neighborhood took us back onto the town street we had started on. We turned back onto that, now went down that incline, and then made a left turn onto another park road.  This road took us back to the finish line. This is an excellent course and just really tailor-made for anyone who might want to shoot for a 5K PR.  Which was not me, lol. I did my usual 12-something minute miles, took photos on my required walk breaks (stupid arthritis!) and just enjoyed myself.  Even got to treat a doggie along the way, with its human’s permission.  Third out of five in my 65 – 69 age group, with a chip time of 39:42, averaging something like 12:47 per mile.

AFTER MY FINISH:  My two race goals are always: Finish Standing Up and No Ambulance Waiting Specifically for Me at the Finish.  Goals met, lol. Although, like a dummy, right after I finished, I stopped moving for a minute, forgetting to keep moving for a bit, and of course all the blood went right out of my head, making me dizzy for a second. After being a runner for 38 years, you’d think I’d know better, lol.  There was no ambulance but thankfully there was a nice police officer right there who caught me by the arm so I did not fall and crack something, idiot that I am.  Moved around for a few minutes, just relaxing and letting my pacemaker take my heart back to my ‘normal’ range and felt much better.  Got a few photos of some others finishing and then went back to the park pavilion where all the action was. In between getting some food and drink and the awards ceremony, got a few after photos.

Epilogue:  A very nicely done event, organized by Race Director Tony Garcia, the Pleasanton Express newspaper, and all the many volunteers involved, including a local Jr Army ROTC detachment, some members of the Atascosa County Running Club, and more. Chip-timing by iaap, a very good race management company based in San Antonio area.  Post-race goodies included sausage-on-a-stick, lots of water, beer, and various other sundries. Even a DJ there, providing sound and tunes. 79 finishers, so not too bad for a first-time event, especially considering this was the 20^th anniversary of 9-11, so in the morning there had been held multiple types of races in the San Antonio-Austin Corridor, so lots of people probably did those in the morning and may not have wanted to do a second event. So, as noted, all things considered, a pretty nice turnout. I would do this one again if it was held annually as a regular event, and I would recommend it to others.  Actually, I did recommend it to a few.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  The City of Pleasanton for the use of the venue; and to the city dignitaries that came out to speak at the ceremony; the Jr Army ROTC detachment for their involvement; Race Director Tony and all the race day volunteers out there for us; our sound guy; all the first responders – firefighters, police officers, EMT folks, etc – who were out there for the event, and especially to those officers who were out on the course for us to keep us safe; and, of course to any sponsors who helped in making this event happen; and to anyone else involved I may not have mentioned.  Thank you all!     

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NPQqGHGWhg3rPU6K9

BEFORE MY START: My 32^nd race of 2021 was the Gruene 5K on Sep 11 by Athlete Guild in Gruene, Texas, the home of Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas and a performance venue of many famous musicians.  There was also a 10K and a Kids Run.  Pretty nice turnout for this one, with 148 finishers for the 10K and 291 finishers for the 5K. Weather was really nice with clear skies, sunshine, a temp of around 68 degrees at the 8 a.m. start time  and low humidity.  Felt very pleasant and comfortable.   I arrived about 45 minutes before start time, got my packet and got a few pre-start photos.  Dog friendly event so, as I wandered around, a couple of the dogs actually recognized me, lol, and headed toward me for treats, to the surprise of some of their humans.      

ON THE COURSE:   The 10K folks started first, with the 5K folks going about 10 or so minutes after them.  We all started out on pretty much the same route.  The 10K folks had just a slight diversion from the 5K course where they made a turn, while the 5K entrants continued on.  The 10K folks then went back toward the finish line area, bypassing that and then doing an out-and-back on the road that took them past the Rockin’ R tubing company.  This meant that for their finish the had to get back to the finish line by coming up that big darn hill that is right past the Rockin’ R. area. The 5K course was pretty much all flat with just one very miniscule incline just past the Mile 1 mark.  Having got my 2^nd injection on Friday morning for my prostate cancer,  was not sure if this would affect my in any way for the event. Luckily, I had just about no side-effects from my treatment and was feeling pretty good. I ended up doing negative splits and finished with a chip time of 37:57, 7^th out of 8 in my 65-69 age group. The first three in my age group all finished under 30 minutes, zowie.

AFTER MY FINISH:  Cooled down a bit, drank some water, ate my protein bar I had brought with me and just relaxed for a while.  After that, wandered around chatting with friends and other participants, making new friends, and getting some post-race photos.  Everyone I chatted with seemed very relaxed and pleased with the event – it really is a well-done event – and seemed to be enjoying themselves. 

Epilogue:   As noted, very well organized event.  Also, some very nice post-race goodies that included beer; 4 kinds of tacos; various nutrition bars and other goodies; and, of course, bottled water. Nice quality race shirt and finisher medals for all finishers.

MUCHO THANKS TO: Athlete Guild for this nice event; all the sponsors of this event and all the race volunteers out there for us; our MC David; the residents and business people of Gruene as we invaded their space for a while; the police officers on the course for our safety; the providers of all the post-race goodies; and anyone else I may not have mentioned.  Thank you all!  

Race photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Px4fPj3fgDAxkADL8

BEFORE MY START:    My 31^st race of 2021 was the Battle of Bankersmith 5K, put on by Scallwompus running company on Sep 4 as part of its 2021 Alamo Beer Series, a series of 4 races for which you could register for all 4 or each one individually.  The main event was a half marathon and there was also a 10-miler, a 10K, and a 5-miler.  Bankersmith, population 0 is a small, privately owned property between Fredericksburg and Comfort, Texas, with a saloon, dance hall, and events center.  The final road on the drive to get there is one crazy, hilly, curves everywhere road, kind of spooky in the dark, and first morning light.  At one point on this road I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone and thought I would see Rod Serling waiting for me around the next bend.  My friend, Woody, when he drove it, told me he kept hearing banjo music in his head, lol.  Finally arrived at my destination, got parked, and then wandered around chatting with friends and fellow participants and getting some pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:   All the courses were out-and-back.  We 5K participants were the last to get started, at 8:15 a.m.  I have run the Bankersmith 5K before so thought I knew what to expect – a very hilly course – but what I did not know is the course was changed a bit since the last time I’d done this event.  So after going down a hill from the start, then proceeding up a long hill, instead of then going flat-and-straight to the 5K turn-round point and then back the way we came, we instead turner right onto one of the cross-roads…and had THE HILLIEST part of the course on our way to-and-from the 5K turn-round.  These hills were no joke – not as steep as the ones in hilly Helotes, Texas – but still fairly steep and long. After making the turn-round point the hill going back up as we headed to the finish was a real bear, and I ended up walking a bit more than I had planned.  Finally knew I had finished this hill when I could once again see the Team RWB water-stop tent – thanks guys! – good grief.  Then it was back out onto the road we had started on, downhill for a while, and then just before finishing, going up the downhill we had come out on…and then there was finally a nice flat part of the course just before we turned into the finish.  Mile 2 was my longest-in-time mile – that big hill – and I guess I was ready to be done after that, lol, because Mile 3 was a negative split for me. 39:13 chip time, averaging 12:37 per mile, and was 3^rd out of 4 in my 65 – 69 age group.

AFTER MY FINISH:  Pretty warm for this one, with ‘abundant sunshine” and no cloud cover.  I went to my vehicle for about 10 minutes, sitting in the a/cl and rehydrating…ahhhhhh.  Much better.  Then it was off to get some post-race goodies – Alamo beer, sausage on a stick, a variety of fruits, etc. – and get some post-race photos.

Epilogue:  This is a very hilly and challenging event for all the courses – I think the drive is part of the challenge too, lol – and, of course, the participants doing the longer mileage events had even more hills than we 5K folks did – but very well organized as all Scallywompus events are.  They are not kidding, either, when they post “Come for the race. Stay for the party.”  Music, lots of food and drink, really nice and unique ‘award’ glasses to all the age-group placers and nice awards for the overall winners, and every finisher got a nice finisher medal.  Nice quality race shirt too. I’ve done several Scallywompus events in the past and will do more in the future.

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z7A4y9bVbnuuYzyV8

 BEFORE MY START:   My 30^th race of 2021 and 2^nd of this weekend was the Big Red and Barbacoa 5K held on August 22 at Comanche Park in San Antonio. Nice turn-out, with 242 finishers. Race start time at 8:30 a.m., with a Kid’s Run at 8:15 a.m.  August in Texas so temp at 8:30 a.m. was already in the upper 70s and humidity was thicker than a double peanut butter sandwich. I arrived at race site with about 45 minutes until start time and roamed around chatting with friends and getting some pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:  Out-and-back course starting from near the park’s main pavilion.  The route was on the paved trails in the park just about all flat, with the exception of a couple of mild inclines that cannot really be called hills; down inclines on the way out, up inclines on the way back. Course was open to other patrons so had to watch out for cyclists – a couple of whom were pretty rude about it – and other runners and walkers.  Like the 5K my friend Ralph and I did the day before, we were pretty much in the same proximity again for most of this race too, until near the end when Ralph found his ‘finish mojo’ and finished ahead of me by a good 2 minutes or so. I ended up with a chip time of 38:48, 2 minutes faster than the 5K I did the day before this one.  Happy with that and my pacemaker, ‘celebrating’ its 2^nd anniversary – it was implanted on Aug 22, 2019 – behaved itself nicely.  

AFTER MY FINISH: Comanche Park has a really nice and large pavilion with fans placed at various spots, so a nice place to just sit and relax for a few minutes and cool down. After that, enjoyed a post-race Kiolbassa sausage, chatting with friends post-race, and getting some ‘happy finisher’ photos. I call them that because most participants seem to be smiling more after they are done than before and during the race, lol.  

Epilogue: Very nicely done event at a nice venue. I personal like running at Comanche Park – a nice selection of trails, good facilities, including indoor restrooms, large pavilion,  and it even has a kitchen area, and has a couple of other smaller shelters just right for packet pickups, serving post-race goodies, and more.  Unique and nice quality race shirt. Goodies included barbacoa tacos, Big Red, and Kiolbassa sausage.  Finisher medals to all and nicely designed medals for the age group placers.  I would do this one again and would recommend it to others.  

MUCHO THANKS TO:  Race Director Eddie; all the volunteers at packet pickup and on race day out there for us; iRun Texas for hosting the packet pickup; park police officers that had a presence out there for us; our MC an music man who did a great job for us; iaap for the timing and results; I think iaap may also have designed the race shirts; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.   Thank you all!

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wf2rEe1EgrDKKoZz6

BEFORE MY START:  My 29^th race of 2021 was the Churchill Cross Country 5K, held on Aug 21 at McAllister Park.  When I originally saw the race title I thought it was an actual cross-country race so did not sign up since I can’t do actual cross-country events – kills my spinal arthritic back. My friend Albert let me know it was actually on paved roads and trails at McAllister Park and the title was because the race supports the X-country team.  Okay, then.  So I did race-day sign up, since McAllister Park is very close to where I live – about a 10 minute drive.  Arrived on-site around 7:15 a.m., got signed up and got a few pre-start photos.  Nice to see friends at this one, including Albert, Rick, Ian, and Ralph. 

ON THE COURSE:  Start time 8 a.m.  Weather: very humid and already in the 70s.  The start was a bit down from a youth baseball field in the park and the finish was just about right in front of the entrance gate to the youth baseball field. The course was a combination of paved trails in the park and one park road – so no cross-country at all. Living near the park I am familiar with all the trails in the park as I run here quite a bit.  I did my usual 8-minute run/2-minute walk thing and took a few photos during each of my walk breaks. For the majority of the course I was pretty much in proximity of my friend Ralph.  I think I pushed a bit too hard during that first mile and I paid for it the last mile, walking a bit more than I usually do.  With about ½ mile to go, Ralph surged ahead of me to get to the finish. I plodded behind, finishing at 40:46 chip time, averaging 13:07 per mile, and finishing 1^st and 2^nd and 3^rd in my 65-69 age group since I was the only one in my age group, lol

AFTER MY FINISH: I had parked pretty close to the finish line area so went and sat in my car for a bit, with the a/c running, sipping my post-race rehydrate drink and felt much better.  Then it was back out to watch the awards and get a few after-photos of some of the participants and supporters.   Some of the participants are pretty darn speedy. The overall guy finished in 16:47, jeez, and the first lady finished in 21-something. I was not even to Mile 2 by 21 minutes, lol. Felt sorry for my friend Albert who did the course in a pretty good time – but forgot to put his race bib on, so had no official time.  He ran the course pretty well too.

Epilogue:  A smaller event with 72 total finishers, but very nicely done.  The course was well thought out and did give us a lot of shade along the way. It was also a pretty flat course, with just a couple of small inclines along the way, so a nice course to shoot for a PR; however,  all the trails are still open to other park patrons – cyclists, other runners, walkers, etc – so you do have to keep an eye out for other “traffic’ coming toward you or coming up behind you. Pretty nice quality race shirts and nicely done small age-group medals for those who placed. The only thing I would recommend changing – earlier start!  This is Texas summer in August and it gets warm really quick.  7 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. start would be nice, and it is light enough to see by that time.  All-in-all though, very nicely done.  I’d do this one again and would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO:  All the Churchill High School staff, students, etc. who got this one going for us, and all the volunteers out there for us, cheering participants on.  Thanks also to all the sponsors who helped make this one happen, and to the Park Police officers that had a presence out there for us for our safety; and to Athlete Guild for timing, results, etc. and to anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned.  Thank you all!  

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nWYrzucYcr8HyiAFA

BEFORE MY START: My 28^th live race of 2021 was the San Antonio Summer Series 5K held on August 1^st at McAllister Park in San Antonio. This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after doing the American Heroes 5K on July 31.  Start time of 7:30 a.m. for this one.  McAllister Park is only a short drive for me; parts of my neighborhood are actually adjacent to some of the off-road trails in the park. I arrived a little after 7 a.m. at Becken Pavilion, the start/finish area of the 5K, got my packet and then got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:    The 5K was a loop course on off-road paved trails and one park road, that took in quite a bit of the park. For those familiar with the park, we passed by the nearby police substation; went on the park road that took us close to the youth baseball field, and then turned onto a paved trail that took us behind the baseball field. After that, we were on a paved trail that headed in the direction of the Turkey Roost pavilion, but we turned onto another trail before getting to that pavilion, and that last trail took us back to the finish on the trail that we had originally started on. Nicely thought-out route. Even though we had an early start, this is Texas in summer, so pretty darn humid, already 79 degrees at 7:30 a.m., with a feels-like of 84.  I felt pretty good for the most part, although still ended up with my usual 12-somethting minute miles, ending up with a 38:21 finish time. Surprisingly, this was good enough for 1^st place in my 60 – 69 age group, so I think all the speedy runners in my age group slept in the morning of this race, lol.

AFTER MY FINISH:   Got some water and a banana; just sat a bit while I relaxed, ate, and and rehydrated, ahhh, felt good. Then wandered around chatting with various friends and other participants and getting some “Happy Finisher” photos.  Ever notice that more participants are smiling after the finish than before and during?

Epilogue: Put on by e-Dragon Productions – Erik Burciaga and Kristine Burciaga, co-owners and co-Race Directors – a company that is a really good local race management company that puts on several events on over the year. Kristina and Erik do a great job with all of them.  This is a well-organized event with a pretty nice course.  McAllister Park is a pretty nice activity venue with both paved and natural off-road trails; soccer fields, baseball fields; dog park; and several indoor restroom locations. Nice quality race shirts and unique age-group award medals.  Post-race goodies included some fruits; iced-down bottles of water; and an iced-down cloth post-race to help you cool down a bit more.  There were also sausage wraps, courtesy of Kiolbassa sausage, nice. The series includes 4 races total and you can register for all 4 at one time, getting a nice discount if you do that, or each one individually. The Summer Series proceeds go to scholarships for local deserving athletes. I participated in this series last year, again this year, and will again in the future.  Most certainly would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO: All the people that made this one happen for we participants, including e-Dragon Productions; all the volunteers who were out there for us, many of whom are Team Beef members; ; the Park Police officers that were keeping us safe at the two locations where we accessed public park roads; friends Dan The Man and Gilbert Weaver for the post-race fruits and grilling up the sausages; and anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you so much. 

Photos are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SWjmwbtFDZZcntoJ7

BEFORE MY START:   My 27^th live race of 2021 was the American Hero 5K held on July 31. The main event was the American Hero Relay 25K, which had 5 team members each running 5K distance.  There was also a Kid’s Run before the 5K and 25K got started. Event location was Comanche Park in San Antonio, a very nice park that is part of San Antonio’s Greenways Trail System.  The park has paved trails and connects to other parks in the system; you can get in a really long run, walk, or bike ride in this park if you so desire.  Start time of 7:40 a.m., after the kids run was done.  Weather…well, this is Texas in late July, so humid, warm – already 76 degrees with 82% humidity at the 7:30 a.m. start time – and no breeze at all.  I arrived with about 45 minutes until the start time, chatted with friends, and got a few pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE:   Start was near the main pavilion in the park. Individual 5K participants and Relay 25K first-leg team members all started together. The course was primarily out-and-back, with a little bit of a ‘loop’ done just before the finish.  Kind of mentally frustrating, lol, because when you did that last little bit on the course, you could see the finish line on your left – and just wanted to turn right then to get there – but had to go past it on the trail to make the turn farther down that would take you back to the finish line to finally get done.  Lots of tree cover on this course, which is nice, but did not really help keep us cooler as, noted before, no breeze at all. Since everyone used this course, the speedier faster relay people were continuously coming-and-going – especially the runners doing the first two legs – continually passing by the slower 5K runners like me. I tried to keep aware of them and just get the heck out of their way, lol, when they came near me.  I ended up 3^rd in my 60 – 69 male age group with a chip time of 38:54, averaging a slow 12:31 per mile. Mile 3 for me was a negative split though, liked that. I felt a bit tired, but pretty good overall, in spite of this stupid prostate cancer I am currently dealing with. It is what it is though, so just have to keep a positive attitude, keep up the good fight, and do the best  I can.

AFTER MY FINISH:  Got some water and a banana and then went to the park pavilion and just sat at one of the picnic tables for a while, relaxing, rehydrating, and enjoying the nice cool breeze of the pavilion fans blowing on me as I monitored my pacemaker bringing my heartrate back down into my normal resting heart rate range. Ahhh, much better. Then off on a post-race walk-about, chatting with friends and getting some photos.

Epilogue: Put on by e-Dragon Productions, a really good local race management company that puts several events on over the year, this was a well-organized event with a pretty nice course. Personally, I like running at Comanche Park.  Also, nice facilities, with a big covered pavilion and indoor restrooms.  Post-race goodies included iced-down bottles of water, chicken fajitas, and more. No beer though; guess the park authorities would not allow that.  Nice little age-group race medals that are also bottle openers; nice quality race shirt; and a music duo entertaining us post-race.  I’d do this one again and would recommend it to others.

MUCHO THANKS TO: All the people that made this one happen for we participants, including e-Dragon Productions; all the volunteers who were there for us for both packet pickup on Friday and the race on Saturday; local running company iaap who did the timing and results; park police officers that were out there for us; the food preparers for providing a really good feed; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here that was involved. Thank you all!