Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:       https://photos.app.goo.gl/CjyhZRb7jwfPvw2y5  

Before the Start:  My 58^th race of 2025 was the 911 Heroes Run, held on September 20^th at Mission County Park in San Antonio, Texas.  There was a 5K held for runners, walkers, and those who wanted to ruck  the event.  There was a total of 151 finishers for the 5K. Put on by the Travis Manion Foundation, the run honors the heroes of 9/11, service members, and first responders who have served the nation. The run also “aims to fulfill a promise to never forget the sacrifices of 9/11 heroes and to empower local veterans, active duty personnel, first responders, and their families” per the foundation’s description of this event. The Travis Manion Foundation is headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Per the foundation’s website “Lieutenant Travis J. Manion was killed by a sniper on April 29, 2007, in Iraq during his second deployment. He was leading a counterattack and exposing himself to enemy fire to draw attention away from his wounded teammates, allowing all members of his patrol to survive. For his heroic actions, he was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Valor. His mother, Janet Manion, founded the Travis Manion Foundation to honor his legacy and inspire others to serve through the motto, “If Not Me, Then Who…”.  Race start time was at 7 a.m.  I arrived at the park around 6:15 a.m., got my race packet, and then got a few pre-races photos. Prior to the start, an honor guard presented the colors,  and a young lady beautifully sang The National Anthem. After that, we lined up for the start and got going.  The race was chip-timed, so the race director asked all those running start first, and the walkers would start about 5 minutes after the runners got going. The weather was pretty warm, with a temp around 76 degrees and the humidity was a whopping 91%.

On the course:  We were on a sidewalk adjacent to the Mission County Park pavilions area, with the pavilions on our right. We went over a timing mat and then proceeded to paved trails that are part of the San Antonio Greenways Trails system, As we departed the park area, we made a left turn and then went down a short, fairly steep hill.  We had a very short flat area for just a few minutes and then began climbing up a long hill. This is a very hilly course, so we continued going up-and-down for quite a way. We also passed under a few high bridges, some of which had traffic going over it. If I remember correctly we went under 3 of these bridges. After going under the third bridge, we then did a downhill and that took us to the only flat part of the course, with nice views of the river on our right. We went down this flat part of the course to a bridge that was our turn-round point, and then proceeded back to the finish the way we had come out.  As usual, I did my 8-mi-run/2-min-walk thing and got a few on-course photos during my walk breaks. Going out to the turn-round, I had several other participants around me. After making the turn-round, the participant crowd had thinned quite a bit, especially with my slow pace, lol, so I had much more room on the course heading back to the finish than I had when going to the turn-round and even had the course all myself at certain points. This is a dog-friendly event also; so, since I carry dog treats with me, I stopped along the way at times to hand out treats to the dogs.  Yes, I am the “Good Humor Man” for dogs, lol.  Of course this slowed my time down, but I didn’t mind; at my pace I didn’t think I was going to win anything anyway. I only have two goals when I do a race: finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting specifically for me, lol.  I was feeling pretty good, so the last mile, I pretty much ran non-stop.  I ended up with a chip time of 44:28 and ended up first in my 70-and-over males age group since, lol, I was the only one in that age group. I’ll take it.

After My Finish:  I got some water and did a short-cool down walk and then got a couple photos of others finishing.  After that, I wandered here and there, chatting with friends,  other participants and their friends and family, race volunteers,  etc., and getting a few after-photos.  Finally, it wat time to go, so, as a member of the YMCA, I headed right up the road to the Harvey Najim YMCA, located about a half-mile from the park, where I got a nice hot shower and changed into some dry clothes; very nice; so I didn’t have to drive home all wet-and-sweaty.

Epilogue:  This is a very nicely done event, well put-on by the organizers. There was water available before the event and also on the course, so that was nice. As noted, the course is very hilly, but the paved trails are nicely done, very smooth.  Pre-start and after the finish, there were several vendors/sponsors there that had a variety of things to eat and drink.  The race shirt is really nice quality and the medals for the age-group placers are really nicely done. I would do this event again, and I would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all who made this event happen for us, e.g., all the many volunteers; sponsors; vendors; the folks who did the timing and results for us, and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/BvkvWH2Kr4gyavFCA

 Before the Start: My 57^th race of 2025 was the El Grito 5K held on Sunday, September 14 at Mission County Park in San Antonio, put on by Andiamo Race Productions.  This was my 3^rd race of the September 13 – 14 weekend, after doing the Gruene 5K in New Braunfels on Saturday morning; and then the Battle of Salado Creek 5K at Lady Bird Johnson Park on Saturday at 6:45 pm.  I got up pretty early on Sunday morning, got some breakfast and then headed down to Mission Park.  Unfortunately, even though I’ve been to this park several times, I had an old-man brain dump and took a wrong turn and ended up having to back track to get to the park. Start time for the 5K was 7:30 a.m., with me arriving just a bit past 7 a.m., so I got hustling and got my race packet, got my race bib on and still had a bit of time to get some pre-start photos.    There were 214 finishers for this event, so a pretty nice turnout.

On the course – There were some musicians there who played the National Anthem, accompanied by a young lady who did a great job of singing it. After that we all lined up behind the starting gate and got ready to go.  The course was done on the greenway paved trail in front of the park that was next to the river, so going out, we had some views of the river on our right and on our left coming back to the finish, as the course was an out-and-back.  The trail is fairly wide but to be safe, the organizers had us go across the timing mat in groups of 15 to 20 to get us started. The 5K was chip-timed so this procedure did not affect our results time, since the timing chip started after the mat was crossed. I got across the matt with about 3 minutes ‘gun-time’ showing and was off and running. The course is VERY hilly.  It does not have those crazy “Helotes Hills” or Eisenhower Park hills, but they were fairly challenging, being long up slopes and then down slopes.  We started downhill after crossing the start line; then had a very short flat part, and then we were climbing up again.  Although not super steep, these hills were pretty long in places, so we did a lot of climbing. I did my usual 8-minutes-running/2 minutes walking and took photos during my walk breaks. Considering I had done two races this weekend already, I was feeling fairly good and went along pretty well. The course was open to other users of the trail not doing the event, so we did encounter some cyclists and other walkers and runners doing their own thing. The cyclists were pretty good about giving us warnings as they came up behind us.  After doing I don’t know how many hills – 6 in all, if I remember correctly, we then got to a very flat part for about ¼ mile, with the river on our right and our turn-round was a bridge right ahead of us. This was the flattest part of the course, with some nice views of the river. After the turn-round we then of course had to climb up the downhill we had come down to get to the turn-round, and this hill was one of the longer ones on the course, taking us under a bridge and then after the bridge around a bend where the next part of the  uphill was; and so it went, lol, negotiating all these hills in reverse of the way we’d come out. I admit my legs were beginning to feel those other two 5Ks a bit, so I took a few extra walk breaks. Finally, we got go the last downhill and could see the finish line ahead of us and hear people cheering. Of course, since we had started on downhill, we now had to climb up that hill to get to the finish line. Somehow I made it u that hill nonstop, lol, and crossed the line, ending with a chip time of 45:40, averaging 14:42 per mile, good enough for 2^nd out of the 4 in my 70 – 99 males age group.  I was happy with that; I had really expected to finish closer to an hour, so this was a nice surprise.

After My Finish:  After getting some water and eating a banana and doing a cool-down walk, I then wandered around chatting with others and getting some post-race photos of happy finishers, supporters, vendors, and so forth.   As this is also a dog-friendly event, I also handed out treats to the doggies there, with permission of their humans; I usually carry dog treats in case a loose one starts chasing me and treat the friendly ones. Epilogue:  Andiamo gives out overall awards and age group awards to the first in each age group, so I didn’t expect an age group award, being 2^nd in my age group, but I still got a very nice medal, as Andiamo has some very nice finisher medals, and they are pretty large too. Their race shirts are all nicely done too and very nice quality.  They also had several post-race goodies and on-site musicians and dancers who entertained us post-race with a very nice show. Mission Park is a nice park in the San Antonio Greenway Trails system; it has very nice indoor restrooms; water fountains; 2 covered pavilions, and one of them is huge and has a stage to do presentations. There were also Park Police officers at the event for our safety, as well EMT folks which, thankfully were not needed, but nice to have them there, just in case, especially as I have a pacemaker, lol.  I will definitely do some future Andiamo events and would recommend them to others. Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us participants, e.g., iaapweb for the timing and results; all the many volunteers there for us doing packet pickup and other things;  all the vendors/sponsors out there too, as they help pay for all this to happen; the ‘official’ race photographers; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here; thank you all! May all stay happy and healthy, and may you always succeed at whatever goals you have. Stay happy, stay healthy, and stay saf

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sXXRgnpG5Laiv698A

 Before the Start:   My 56^th race, and second 5K on Saturday, September 13 was Battle of Salado Creek 5K, after doing The Gruene 5K in the morning. Put on by local race company Scallywompus, Battle of Salado Creek was an evening event  held at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio. LBJ Park is part of the San Antonio Greenway Trails system, connecting to other parks in the system, but it is also one of the smaller parks in the system, so parking was kind of crazy with participants for all these events. I actually managed to find some pretty close parking to the start area luckily, got my race bib and then got a few pre-start photos.  The park was packed with participants, supporters, vendors, and volunteers as there were several events for this one:  a ½ marathon; 10-miler; 5-miler; 5K; and a 5K competitive walk. Being the shortest event, the two 5K events were the last to get started, with a start time of 6:45 pm.  I got there with about 40 minutes to go to the 5K start time, got my bib and then got a few pre-start photos. The half-marathon and 10-miler folks had already started by the time I got there, and the 5-miler folks started at 6:30 pm after I got there, so got to see them start. My pre-start photos included volunteers, participants, supporters, vendors, and so forth. It is also a dog-friendly event, so I handed out some treats to the doggies there, with permission of their humans.  It was pretty humid and the temp was  around 73 degrees. The bugs were also out in force, so I was glad I had the forethought to put on my bug spray before coming out. We started 15 minutes after the 5-miler folks started.

On the course –  The course started with us doing a loop around the park’s traffic circle near the park pavilion and then heading down a short slope to access the main greenway paved concrete trails in the park. All courses were out-and-back.  I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks. For the most part, the course was pretty flat with just a couple of up-and-down inclines, but nothing you could really call a major hill. The 5K course took us to an area near Los Patios Shoppes, which we passed by. Our turn-round point was right by the frontage road of Loop 410, which we did not have to go under, using the overpass, like the longer-race participants did. We turned around right in front of the frontage road and headed back to the finish the way we had come out. Best Races, another company of which I have done some of their events, should take a lesson from this, lol, instead of having us do double loops in the park. Anyway….even with doing a race in the early a.m., I felt pretty good overall and did okay.  I am no speed demon – my two paces are Slow and Slower – but I am very consistent so managed to keep going pretty well. I ended up with a chip time of 42:30 averaging 13:41 per mile and had a negative split for the last mile. I ended up being first in my 70-74 males age group, as I was the only one in that age group, lol. I’ll take it!

After My Finish:  I got a few photos of others finishing and some still in the finish area. After that, I went to the tent of my friend Gilbert, a very nice guy who often brings fresh fruits for participants, volunteers, etc.  He always has a chair for me to sit in, post-race and enjoy some water an a nice banana; very nice to just sit a few moments and relax; and then I was up and off again to get a few more photos. Finally, it was time to go, so I went home – which did not take long, since I only live about 6 miles from the park – got showered and changed and then just relaxed the rest of the evening, resting up, since I had another 5K to do on Sunday morning.      

Epilogue:  Scallywompus always does their events up very nicely. Their motto is “Come for the race. Stay for the party.”  They are not kidding either. There was all kinds of food goodies; beer; even margaritas, if I remember correctly; and lots more. Very unique finisher medals; nice quality race shirt; and a uniquely designed race bib.  Age group awards are these “Scallywompus drink glasses.” I got one, but ended up giving it to a young kid to take home; I have done a lot of Scallywompus events in the pass, so have several of these glasses, with just no more cabinet space for them, lol; so if I do win something, I usually end up giving the glass to a kid; a fellow vet; or a disabled person (I can relate because I was a disabled kid, and am very lucky to be where I am today).  It’s all good. Mucho thanks to all the many who made this one happen for us: All the Scallywompus folks; the many volunteers and vendors out there for us; our music man, Paul, and our MC Anthony, both doing their usual great job for us; iaap race management company doing it usual great job with the timing, results, etc. and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!   As for my fellow “athletes”, whatever your physical exercise passion is, may you always be successful in all your goals, and always stay safe and healthy.  Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wfv2Ui375d4A31nH6

Before the Start:  My 55^th race of 2025 was the Gruene 5K held in the historic district of Gruene, Texas on September 13^th.  There was also a 10K and a Kid’s Run.   Gruene is in the New Braunfels, Texas area. Put on by a top-notch race management company, Athlete Guild, the start and finish of these events were right across the street from Gruene Hall. Built in 1878, Gruene Hall is the oldest and most famous continually operating dance hall. Music artists who have performed there include Willy Nelson, George Strait, Lyle Lovett, and many more. This event is a very popular one, so I knew the race area would get crowded pretty quickly, so I got up around 4 a.m., got myself ready, had my breakfast and then headed for the venue, arriving at 5:30 a.m., and got really nice parking. Start time for the 10K was 7:30 a.m., and 8 a.m for the 5K, so I had plenty of time.  I got my race packet, got a few photos of some of the race day volunteers – thanks to all of them for being there so early for us – and then enjoyed a short nap in my vehicle. After that, I wandered around chatting with supporters, vendors, other participants, and so forth, and got a few more pre-start photos. The Kid’s Run was held first, followed by the 10K folks heading out on their course; and then we 5K participants started after that. All the events started right on time.

On the course –   The start/finish timing chute was directly across from Gruene Hall. We 5K participants made a left turn after crossing the timing mat and headed up the paved street. The entire 5K was done on paved streets that including passing by some businesses and private homes on the main street and then looping through a really nice residential area with some very nice apartments and houses. The 5K course was very flat – the course of the 10K folks took them down a hill that went past Rockin’ R river rides, and I think into a neighborhood near that, which also has some hills if I remember correctly. After they came back up that hill, they pretty much did the 5K course too, so they had quite the workout.  I did my usual run/walk thing – 8 minutes running/2 minutes walking – and took on-course photos during my walk break.  I also had to slow down a tad, as the draw-string on my darn running shorts broke, thus once in a while I had to grab the waistband on them and occasionally pull them back up a bit, which made for some interesting running at times, lol, especially since I did not want to freak out participants behind me by having them see “the moon” come out so early. I did manage not to let that happen and, surprisingly, ended up with a finish time of 42:34, which is about my normal race time for a 5K, so I did better than I thought I would in spite of the wardrobe malfunction, and making a few stops to hand out dog treats to the dogs I encountered during the event, lol. I was 2^nd in my 70 -74 males age group, mainly because there were only 2 in my age group, lol. My speedy runner friend Robert was first, literally finishing almost twice as fast as me in 23 minutes and change.     

After My Finish:  I stood a little up from the finish line and got some photos of others finishing. After that, I then got some water continued to wander, chatting with friends and other finishers, and some after-photos of happy finishers, friends, volunteers, etc., and also handed out more dog treats.  This is a dog-friendly event. All-in-all, I was quite happy with my results, and how everything worked out.    

Epilogue:   I can’t remember how many years this race has been put on, but it is always a very popular event. The 10K had 104 finishers and the 5K had 250 finishers, so a pretty nice turnout.  I am happy I got to do this one, as it is one of my favorite events of the year. I wasn’t sure if I would make it or not since, in late August I was found to have skin cancer on the back of my neck so had a surgical procedure for that. However, the doctor did clear me, telling me I could run a week after the procedure, so I actually got to participate in 2 other 5Ks before this one; doing okay at those two helped me validate that I should be okay for this one also; and, nicely, two days before this 5K, I got the news from pathology that it had not spread out, so they had gotten it all, so I was coming into this event as one happy runner, lol, let me tell you. Would I recommend this event? Absolutely! A very nice course; nice quality  race shirt; a very nice, unique finisher medal; and post-race goodies that included these small sandwich things – not quite sure what they were – Shiner Bock beer, lots of water, of course, and some fresh fruits too. This one is definitely a keeper on the race calendar. It was also good seeing my friend Scott Wood, co-owner of Athlete Guild, and all the Athlete Guild crew members; I have a long history with them, and Amy, who is also a co-owner, is a fellow cancer survivor and one of my personal inspirations to keep on going and stay strong. MUCHO thanks to ALL the people who made this one happen for we participants, e.g. Athlete Guild; the many volunteers out there for us; law enforcement folks on the open roads for our safety; the EMT that was there; all the many race sponsors of course – and thanks to drivers, residents, business owners in the area, etc., for their patience in letting us invade their space for quite a few hours. Whatever your passion is, may you always be successful.  Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime; if so, give me a shout-out; always happy to see fellow participants at the races.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HRCiucCzzec5qGoR6

Before the Start:   My 54^th 5K of 2025 was the 911 Remembrance 5K held in Windcrest, Texas at a small park located In Windcrest, Texas.  There was an option to do a 10K, 5K, and 1-mile walk. Start time of 8 a.m.  I arrived at the park with about 40 minutes until the start time, got my bib and race shirt and then got a few pre-start photos.  I am not sure of the exact number of participants as this race was “old school’ timing with we finishers putting our finish time on a card after we crossed the finish line, and then the race organizers figured out who placed in their respective age groups. It is a fairly smaller event, with the atmosphere of friends/family gathering together to do a nice group outing. I got my race bib and my race shirt and then got a few photos before the start.  Windcrest Firefighters and local law enforcement officers were also present.  The firefighters had brought one of their trucks for which they raised a ladder and then flew the flag from it in honor and remembrance of those lost on 9-11.   All participants lined up for the start and a few minutes before we got going, all of us together sang The National Anthem, very cool and moving.  At 8 a.m., our race director gave us a GO and we were all started on our respective routes.  The weather cooperated by not raining on us, but it was warm with a 78 degree temp and humidity about 83%; we did have lots of cloud cover and gray skies, which was nice.

On the course –    All the routes were through a really nice neighborhood area of Windcrest, with wide streets, some very nice homes, and lots of maneuvering room. The course was done on the paved streets in this area. It was a loop course.  At my pace, the faster runners were soon way ahead of me an out of sight. I pretty much ended up doing my run/walk with just a few other participants near me, and sometimes I had a street all to myself. I did my usual 8-min-run/2-min walk and took a few photos during my walk breaks. I spent most of the course chasing my friend, Rick, who was pretty much ahead of me the whole way. After I passed the half-way point, I changed to 8-min-run/1 minute walk and made up some time.  I did see some residents out doing their own thing – cycling, walking, running, etc., and some of them had dogs with them, so I handed out a treat to each dog I met, if its human gave me permission to do so.  This didn’t help my finish time, lol, but what the heck. After I passed the 1.6 mile mark, I then began to run more nonstop. Overall, I was feeling pretty good. From the Mile 2 marker to the Mile 3 maker, I went non-stop and got the closest to Rick on this mile, just a tad after the Mile 3 maker,  However, in the yard across the street, there was a cool very tall skeleton in a yard, “walking’ its skeleton dog, so I stopped to get a photo of that, and never did get close to Rick for that last part of the course. I ended up finishing in 40:33, which was good enough for 2^nd place in my 70+ males age group.

After My Finish:   I did a cool-down walk, sipping some water as I went along, and then went and filled out my “finish-time-card” and left that with a race volunteer. After that, I enjoyed chatting with other participants and supporters and getting some post-race photos.  Lisa, our Race Director, and her volunteer person, got all the results tabulated from the cards and then announced the placers in each age-group. There were only 2 in my age group and my running community friend who finished first in my age group is quite speedy, he was way ahead of me, lol.   Epilogue: This is a laid-back but really nice 5K, with a really good course, very nice quality race-shirt, and really nice finisher medals. All finishers got that medal and the age-group placers also got a very nice placer medal that is different from the finisher medal.   There was post-race water for participants, and a few small “goody’ things.  Lisa and her organizers did a really good job with this one. I will definitely do it again and would recommend it to others.   Much thanks to her and all the people who helped her get this organized; also thanks to all the firefighters and law enforcement folks out there, and I think there was also an EMT on hand too, just in case, so much thanks there too.  Whatever your passion is, may you always stay happy and healthy doing it and have much success with it.  Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime, or you may see me, lol; if so, give me a shout-out; I always enjoy chatting with my fellow participants.

Photos are here:           https://photos.app.goo.gl/bmfTqK4ziiZAJyEQ6

 Before the Start:  After having some in-office surgery for skin cancer on the back of my neck on August 27, my 53rd race of 2025 was the District 8 Through The Decades Activate 5K held on Saturday, September 6^th at UT-San Antonio (University of Texas at San Antonio), for which I am a staff member (will be a 29-year employee with the university on October 5^th, 2025). This was my first race back, after doctor’s order to take a week off from running after the surgery, so not too long. I did a training run two days before Race Day, then rested on Thursday and Friday. Put on by District 8 Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez. This was a free 5K for those who did not want timing; for those that wanted to be chip-timed, the fee was five dollars. Race start time was right at 7 a.m., with race-day packet pickup from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.  San Antonio Sports Activate program provides “free weekly fitness and wellness classes along with 5K runs throughout the year to encourage play, exercise and healthy habits.” With a free & low cost entry fee, you can be sure this event got a really nice turn-out.  I elected to do the timed run. I am not sure how many actually participated,  but per posted results, the timed participants alone had 423 finishers. With the non-timed runners and walkers, it was QUITE the turn-out and a VERY busy and ACTIVATED (pun intended) 5K. I’d guess there must have been close to 800 or more total participants.   Race Day packet pickup was from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.  I guessed this race, with free entry and low fee for timed runners, would have a very busy turn-out, so I got there very early – 5:30 a.m. – and then got my packet at 6 a.m. After that, I wandered around chatting with other participants, volunteers, sponsors, etc. and got a few pre-start photos.  A little before the start, the Activate folks also led a group session warm-up for those that wanted to participate.

On the course – As a UTSA employee, I run on this campus quite a lot, so am familiar with all the roads, etc.  Normally, races here start and finish at the Convocation Center; however, the Fall Semester has started and there are some Saturday classes, so the main part of the campus would be busy with students walking around, some traffic coming in from 1604 and UTSA Boulevard and so forth, so I expected we would not be going to that side of the campus, and that was correct. We started and finished at the East Campus, which includes a huge parking area just off of Valero Way, across from Valero Energy headquarters. At exactly 7 a.m., a horn blew and we got started.  There were so many in the start crowd, it took me about 3 – 5 minutes just to cross the timing mat. The course was all on paved roads. We made a short loop around a road near the start/finish area, and then went around a curve and proceeded onto a fairly steep downhill – about ¼ mile in length – that took us to an intersection. We turned left here and went up a road that took us toward UTSA Boulevard. At the intersection, we curved to the right, entering a parking lot area, did short jaunt to a traffic cone, went around that and headed back to the road we had been on. We then went up a short incline, took the next right turn, and headed toward the Science and Engineering building. Left turn in front of that, went down this access road, and then turned right. This took us up a short steep hill, that put us into a traffic tunnel that is underneath the UTSA Parking Garage. After traversing this, we exited the tunnel, made a right turn, and this took us to the campus road where the Main Building is. We wound in front of this, did a short jaunt to an intersection, made a right turn, and then were on the road that took us toward the “hill road” we had started on.  This is where I finally realized – duhhhh – this course was going to be 2 loops. The speedier runners who were already on their 2^nd loop, turned back onto the hill road and went to the finish. The rest of us began our 2^nd loop, repeating the same route as described above. Overall, I was feeling pretty good, doing my usual run 8 minutes/walk 2 minutes – can’t run nonstop anymore for any great length of time because of my spinal arthritis – and during my walk breaks took some on-course photos.  When I got to the Mile 2 marker, I then proceeded almost nonstop for that last mile back to the finish, with just a short stop on the hill on the way to the  finish, to get a photo of those in front of me going up this hill right before we finished. After that, I went nonstop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 42:13, averaging 13:35 per mile, dead last of the 5 in my age group which, before the start, I expected would happen when I saw who was in my age group, lol .My very speedy friend, Jim, was first in the age group, averaging 8 minutes-and-change; there are some speedy old guys in my age bracket, lol. Me, I’m more of the fun-and-finish kind of guy and my time is what it is.  As long as I finish standing up and there’s no ambulance waiting specifically for me, well then, my goals are met, lol. Anything after that is a bonus. Every finisher was supposed to get a finisher medal, but the turn-out was so large – which is a good thing – that the supply of finisher medals ran out, and I had no heartburn with that. Whenever I do get a medal, I usually throw it into a bag at home; after I get enough of them, I then donate them either to the disabled kids at Morgan’s Wonderland – I was a disabled kid for a while – or to the kids in the Cancer Ward at Children’s Hospital, since I am also a cancer survivor (4 times); I just hate that kids get cancer; no kid should ever have to deal with that and one day I hope that becomes true,.

After My Finish:  I stood near the finish line and got a few photos of other coming in, including a few friends, and then wandered here-and-there, chatting with friends, other participants, supporters, volunteers, etc., and got a few more post-race photos.  Mother Nature had been kind to us and not rained on us during the event, but post-race gave us a pretty good – but thankfully short – downpour, so we got a nice soaking.  The start time temp was 78 degrees, and the humidity was a whopping 83%, so that shower actually felt kind of refreshing to me, lol. Councilwoman Gonzalez handed out the age group medals – each runner who was first in her/his age group – and there were some Spurs Cheerleaders there too; enjoyed chatting with them – super nice people – and got a photo of them. 

Epilogue:  This is a very nicely managed event with a good course – there were several disabled participants I saw on the course, as well as some strollers, baby joggers, and so forth and they all handled the course quite well; no super huge hills, etc, on it;  lots of post-race goodies, including various drinks such as water, Gatorade, etc; nice finisher medals for those that got them; LOTS of porta-potties, so did not stand in line all that long; and plenty of parking for all; the East Campus parking lot is HUGE. I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others.

Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Councilwoman Gonzalez and all her staff members who probably had a hand in helping organize this; the Active folks; all the many sponsor groups and volunteer; all the police officers along the course for our safety; my friends from iaap who did the course setup, timing, and results; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!  Whatever your passion is – running, walking, cycling, etc- may you all have great success and stay happy and healthy.  Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y6hbVun651LwJAKQ6

Before the Start:  My 52^nd race of 2025 was the Little Comets 5K held on August 23 in Castroville, Texas. I had originally signed up for Beat The Heat 5K in Kyle, Texas, but that one got canceled, so I was going through ‘no-weekend-race withdrawals”, lol, until I thankfully found this one. This run/ walk is the kickoff to a weekend of events leading up to St. Louis Day. All proceeds from this run/walk go to benefit the St. Louis Catholic School field trip fund. This was a self-timed event held at Houston Square in Castroville, with a start time of 8 a.m.  Since I am directionally challenged – even after given directions, lol – I got a very early start, driving from where I live near the San Antonio airport down to Castroville; and, of course, me being me, I missed my turn when I got to town and had to regroup and go back. I finally got to Houston Square, WAY early at 7:15 a.m. and there was nobody there yet.  There was one guy walking in this park and he told me it might be at that park down the road – if I remember the name correctly, it is Koenig Park –  so I went down there. There were a few people there and one of them was doing the 5K too and told me I had been in the correct place, it was at Houston Square; I was just so early, I arrived before everyone else, even the organizers. He and I chatted a bit, and then I went back to Houston Square and there were now people out there setting up the start/finish line, tables, etc. I provided a bit of help to a couple of them putting up tents, and then more of the organizers arrived, as well as more participants, so I got myself pre-start organized and then took a few photos before the start while chatting with volunteers and other participants. This is also a dog-friendly event so, since I have a pocketful of dog treats, as I usually do when I run, with the permission of their humans, I handed out a few treats; I was very popular with the dogs, lol.

On the course:  I am not too familiar with Castroville, so I was not sure what to expect. We started in the very large parking lot at Houston Square. Our route was a kind of loop-course that took us through a very nice residential area with wide streets.  I did my usual 8-minutes-run/2-minutes-walk thing – can’t run nonstop anymore due to some spinal arthritis – and got some on-course photos during my walk breaks. The course was all paved roads, wide enough to accommodate a lot of people, so we had plenty of maneuvering room. For the most part, the course was pretty flat – but whomever laid out the course put a pretty long uphill after the 1-mile mark; it really was not all that steep, just long. After getting up that, we made a right turn onto another road, mostly flat, thank goodness, and lol, and went down this for quite a ways.  There were several dogs in their yards cheering us on, so I handed out a few more treats. After going down this road we then made a right turn and went on a road that was a down incline; again, not steep at all, just long.  This brought us to a turn onto a flat road, where we hit the Mile 2 marker, and also passed by some spectators at the side of the road bawking cheers at us – chickens, and one rooster, lol, and the next intersection had a small, very friendly black kit in its yard, who came right up to me when I stopped to get its photo. I gave it a behind-the-ear scratch and continued on. After the Mile 2 marker, we got to an intersection where we turned right, and this took us past a small movie theater and then down to a left turn onto another road. After going down this road, we made another left turn, and this took us back to the finish line at Houston Square.  Per my garmin, I ended up with a finish time of 43:21, averaging 13:51 per mile.    

After My Finish: I stood near the finish line and got a photo of another guy coming in, that I had been running off-and-on with for the last mile. I’d stop for a walk break, he’d pass me; he’d take a walk break, I’d pass him back, and so it went. After that, I got some water, did a short cool-down walk and then got some after-photos of some of the happy finishers, volunteers, supporters, etc.; and yes, handed out more dog treats, lol.     

Epilogue:  This is the first time I’ve ever done this event, so I was not sure quite what to expect. I ended up liking it a lot.  This is a well-organized event with a really nice course and lots of friendly people, one of the ‘friendliest events I’ve ever done. Participants also got a very nicely designed race shirt – except for me, lol, but that’s on me; I do so many events over a year’s time that I am running out of race-shirt drawer space so these days I usually order a youth medium or small shirt and tell the organizers to keep it and just donate it, which I did today too, asking them to just give the shirt to one of their students; or I just save them up and when I get enough of them, I then donate them to Morgan’s Wonderland – since I was also a disabled kid, so know how that goes – or to the kids at the cancer ward of Children’s Hospital in San Antonio. I also do the same with any finisher medals I get at races. I would definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others.

Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants: my friends at Athlete Guild, which hosted the online registration for this one; all the event organizers and volunteers out there for us; thanks also to the neighborhood residents for their patience as we invaded their space for a while; and I saw a couple of patrol cars along the course at times, so thanks for them watching out for us; and thanks to anyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here.  This will be my last race for about a week, as I have to take a break to get treated on the 27^th for a recurrence of skin cancer, and my doc told me NO running for 5 days after that; my poor wife will have to deal with my ‘running withdrawals’ for that week, lol.  My next scheduled 5K is the Whine Run on Labor Day, put on by the San Antonio RoadRunners.  See you there, if you are doing that one. May you all stay safe, happy, and healthy and achieve all your personal goals you’ve set for yourselves.

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/g9SqhwdimbmxES9N6

Before the Start: My 51^st race of 2025 was the Summer Sizzler 5K, held on Sunday, August 17^th at Pearsall Park in San Antonio, Texas. This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after doing a 5K the day before at Ladybird Johnson Park. The races for this event included a Kid’s Run; a 15K; a 10K; a 5K; and a 1-mile walk. There was quite a nice turn-out for this event between all the events, but not sure how many total participants there were for each one, as only the results for the overall top 3 in each race are listed, from what I could find.  There are actually 2 parking/event areas for Pearsall Park, both of which are on Old Pearsall Park Road, a lower one, where e-Dragon did its last Summerfest 5K, and another one up a hill from that one, and that is where these events had its start and finish.  The Kid’s Run went first, and the start time for all the other events was at 7:00 a.m., so we had to be there pretty early. I arrived about with about 20 minutes before the start time; got my packet and got a few photos before the start.  The National Anthem was played and then participants of all races started together.  The 1-mile walk participants and the 5K participants did an out-and-back.  The 10K and 15k participants each had to do 2 laps for their courses.

On the course:  Participants of all events started together.  The first part of the course was on a dirt/rocky trail and after about ¼ mile, we then went down what I call “Erik Hill” that I named in my head for my friend Erik Burciaga, co-owner of e-Dragon Productions; some of his events often have this hill in the courses. This is no baby hill; it is a very steep dirt-and gravel hill that goes just about straight down, which I am not fond of, as I have spinal arthritis and downhills are much tougher on my back than uphills; however, I used a kind of ‘shuffle-and-slide” method that my physical therapist had taught me – it took me a while and few falls, lol, to get it right – that makes the feet barely come up from the ground, so a lot less pounding. I got down in pretty good order, and then the course became some of the concrete paved trails at the park; very wide trails that can accommodate a lot of people. I did my usual 8-minute-run/2 minute walk thing and took some photos during my walk breaks. The course had both flat areas in places and a few hills that were not really all that steep, but a couple were quite long, both up and down. Going to our respective turn-round points, we had woods and Salado Creek on the left sided of us, and we could see off-road trails to our right that had GIANTLY STEEP hills, wow; glad we did not have to do those.   Because all these courses were out-and-back, there was a continuous flow of runners/walers on either side of the trail, participants called out to each other, cheered each other on, and so forth.  After my second walk break, I then got ambitious and went nonstop to the 5K turn. One thing I noticed on the way, for any of you who may have done Erik’s last Summer Series 5K here – which included parts of this course – I saw that ‘infamous’ turn-round branch was lying beside the course. Yeah, I passed it this time and went to the actual turn-round, lol. I continued doing my run/walk thing and getting a few more photos, until I got to Mile 2, at which point I then ignored my watch beeping for my next walk break and ran nonstop back to Erik Hill, since I knew I definitely would be walking some on this part of the course, as this darn hill was just about straight up on the way to the finish. I ran up the lower part of it but walked up the top part of it which was the steepest. I finally crested the top of the darn thing and then ran nonstop the last flat part of the course to the finish line. I ended up with a time of 45:08, averaging 14:34 per mile. Mile 2 on the paved part was my fastest mile, 13:27. Mile 3 was my slowest at 16:08 with that darn hill and walk/crawl up that steepest part of the hill.  I was happy to be done and still standing, lol.

After My Finish:  I stood near the finish line and got a few photos of others finishing.   The finish line volunteer gave me a really nice, huge, finisher medal. After that, I went and sat in my vehicle for a bit, with the a/c on full blast as I drank some water and Gatorade I had put on ice and brought with me. After this 10 minute-or-so cool-down, I went back to the race area, chatted with friends and other participants; treated some doggies still there with some dog biscuits; and got a few more photos.  I also found out I had finished 2^nd in my age group, so got a small ‘placer pin’ for that.    

Epilogue:   This was a pretty nicely organized 5K. The race MC, who also helped with the timing and results, did a good job for us, as did his lady helper. The finisher medals are huge and very nicely designed, and the race shirt is a very nice quality also.  Additionally, there was a food truck on sight, which got a lot of business post-race.  There were actual small indoor restrooms at the park, and also several porta-potties too, so I never saw any long ‘facility-use’ lines, which is nice. The race folks also made sure there was plenty of bottled water post-race, as well as this “blue’ drink stuff to re-hydrate with; not sure what it was, but it was popular. It was a pretty nice little after-event.

Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g.,  Big Foot Running; all the volunteers out there for us, as well as the law enforcement folks there for our safety; our race day packet pickup volunteers; the patience of the other park patrons not doing the events, e.g., cyclists and other runners and walkers, as we participants invaded the park for a while; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you, all.   Next up for me, I had planned to do Beat The Heat 5K in Kyle, Texas, on August 23, but that one got cancelled; so I will now be doing an untimed fun-run/walk in Castroville, the Little Comets 5K that supports the students of St. Louis High School. As it’s an untimed fun run, I will not include this in my yearly race count; however, if you know of a timed 5K on that weekend somewhere in the San Antonio-New Braunfels Corridor on that day, let me know about it, please, and thank you. The last week of August I will be doing nothing, as I will be having my procedure that week to take care of my current bout of skin cancer on the back of my neck (this is my second time for skin cancer), so doc told me no running until Labor Day (Sep 1) when I will be doing the San Antonio Roadrunners Whine Run 5K, so I will just kick back and relax from the 27^th through August 31.  May all of you always stay safe and happy and may you have much success in whatever personal goals you have set for yourself. Give me a shout-out if you see me at an event you are doing.

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZG6D3Q7zifw14Cd97

Before the Start:   My 50th race of 2025 was the Run For Mental Health 5K held on August 16^th at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio, Texas.  There was also a 10K and a half-marathon and a 1-mile walk, if I remember correctly. Put on by The Best Races, these events are kind of ‘laid-back’ events, that are self-timed, and you get to choose from a variety of start times in the morning and then show up at the park for your start time. I live just a few short miles from this park so got to sleep in a little bit. I  chose a 7:30 a.m. start time, arriving at the park around 7 a.m., got my race bib and then got a few pre-start photos.  There were already some people on the course that had chosen earlier start times.  I could see there was quite a nice turn-out for this event as both the parking lot nearest to the start area and the outer parking long nearest to the park entrance were quite full.  The weather did cooperate somewhat, giving us lots of cloud cover, and the trails at this park do have lots of shade along the way. The temp at my 7:30 a.m. start time was 78 degrees, and the humidity was a whopping 82%.

On the course:  All the courses were out-and-back and done in two laps. The start and finish for all events finish was right at the top of the park’s trailhead adjacent to the park’s traffic circle. We went down an incline from the start, crossing a short bridge over a dry creek-bed and then made a left turn onto the park’s paved concrete trails, heading in the direction of Los Patios shopping area and the 410-frontage road. I did my usual 8-minutes running/2 minutes walking and took photos during my walk breaks. With 3 ongoing distances, the trail was quite busy for my first lap. The course was mostly flat, with just a couple of up inclines and down inclines, but nothing that was a major hill. After going down another incline and across another short bridge, the 5K turn-round was just after we crossed the bridge and went on a trail that would have taken us to the Los Patios shopping area if we had continued onward. The 10K and half folks, of course, kept going towards Los Patios for their turn-rounds; I am not sure how far they had to go for their turn-rounds, but I would guess the half folks most likely had to go all the way through past Los Patios, cross the 410 frontage road and go under the Loop 410 overpass to get to their turn-round. I was feeling pretty good overall and did my run/walk pretty well, but, as usual, with my run/walk method, I had positive splits. I ended up with 3.2 miles done in 45:26, averaging 14:09 per mile. Mile 1 was 13: 57; Mile 2, 14:21, and Mile 3 was 14:19, so a negative split by a few seconds from Mile 2. I guess I would have finished faster without taking 3 dog-treat stops along the way, lol, to hand out treats to doggies on the course, but what the heck, I enjoyed myself.    

After My Finish: I reported my time to the Best Races folks – they post the results on their website – and a couple of photos of others finishing up; and a few of the volunteers and sponsor organizations. After that, I sat for a bit, enjoying a post-race banana and some cold water and chatting with other participants nearby.  There were also a couple of dogs near me, resting after they’d been on the course, so with the permission of their humans, I handed out a few more treats.       

Epilogue:  When I first heard about Best Races and how they managed things, I was a little skeptical of doing their events, but now that I’ve done a few, I am quite starting to like them. They really are laid-back events, where you just do your own thing but still kind of get the advantage of doing an organized event. You can also choose to have your packet mailed right to you and avoid race day packet pickup, which includes your race bib and race shirt if you elected to get one; I keep forgetting to select this option, lol, so usually just get in on race day. The last two times I did this: the packet pickup race day folks saw me coming, recognized me – I guess from my previous race reports of their events – and already had my items ready for me by the time I got to the table, lol; nice service.  After you finish, you do get a very nice finisher medal; for this event there were two different designed medals you could choose from. They also do have water stations on the course; and post-race they have a nice array of snacks, including bananas and some other fruits, assorted chips, crackers, etc., and lots of bottled water. These are nice ‘no pressure’ events – unless you put yourself under pressure, lol, if you want to set a personal PR for one of the distances, or do one of the miles in a certain time, or whatever.  These events also support local organizations. This event, for example, helps support local mental health initiative organizations.  Of course, I will continue to do lots of ‘regular” timed events that have awards, and so forth, but sometimes it’s nice to take a break and do one of these. Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, e.g., Best Races; the sponsors supporting the event; all the volunteers out there for us for registration, water stations, post-race goodies; the EMTs that were there just in case – I saw a couple of them – and there was also a park police officer present for our safety too, and any others involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  If you are a fellow runner/walker, hope to see you at a future event sometime; may you all meet your personal goals and always stay safe. 

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/dAYcDtj83MHwHwkMA    

 Before the Start:  My 49^th 5K was the Texas Strong 5K on August 10^th, 2025. Held at McAllister Park in San Antonio, at Pavilion 5, near where the Dog Park is located. The event was a fund-raiser for the victims/families of the July 4, flooding in Texas Hill Country. Because all the proceeds of this event went to directly support this, there were no race medals given.  The race shirt was also sold as a fund-raiser, if I remember correctly, and those sold out pretty quickly.  This event was a timed 5k that offered a choice of two course choices: a paved concrete trail 5K or an off-road natural trails 5K. I selected the paved course since I can only do very mild off-road courses with this darn spinal arthritis I have. The start time was 7:30 a.m. for both courses, with race-day packet pickup from 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.  I arrived at race sight around 6:15 a.m., got my packet, and got a few pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event and there were quite a few dogs there, so I handed out some dog-treats too. This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend after doing the Mindful Reboot 5K the day before at The Rim paved greenway trail.

On the course: We started right on time.  The off-road participants lined up in front, as their turn onto the natural trails was just a short distances from the start line. We paved trail participants lined up behind them. After crossing the start line, we had a flat course for maybe ¼ of a mile, and then we started going downhill. At the bottom of this hill, it leveled off and we could see an overpass in front of us. To our right we could also see some of the off-road participants doing their thing on the trail they were going along. We paved trail folks went under the overpass – the Wurzbach Parkway above us – and then went left up a short incline that took us onto a flat part of the course for a bit.  After rounding another bend, we then began climbing uphill and this up-and-down climbing went on right to the turn-round point; these hills were fairly long also; if we had stayed on this trail continuously we would have eventually reached Lady Bird Johnson Park; however, we did not go that far. After one long uphill, we then did a long downhill that took us to the turn-round. Of course, after reaching the turn-round we then had to climb up that hill we’d just come down.  After cresting that, we had another short uphill, and then it leveled off for a bit – a pretty short bit, lol; then down another hill we went and finally got back to some level ground.  We proceeded to that small incline that took us back under the Wurzbach Parkway overpass – inside that overpass was the most level part of the whole course, lol – and after exiting that we then, of course had to climb back up to the finish area, as it had been downhill after the start. I ended up with a chip time of 42:17, averaging 13:33 per mile, with my fastest mile being Mile 2, which had the most level parts of the course.

After My Finish:  I got a few photos of others finishing after me – both paved and trail runners – and then went and just relaxed for a bit, drinking some cold Gatorade I had iced down. After that I was out—and about, chatting with participants, volunteers, vendors, etc., getting a few after-photos, and handing out more treats to the doggies there. Per the iRun Texas results I saw posted on their website, there was a total of 201 participants; I think this includes both paved trail and off-road trail participants, so a pretty nice turn-out on a Sunday morning for a good cause. Epilogue:  This is a very nicely done event by iRun Texas for a very worth cause and got a nice turn-out: 201 finishers for the paved trail 5K and 160 for the off-road natural trails 5K, if I remember correctly.  The race shirts did all sell out before race day, but there was another race shirt made and for sale on race day for $50 if I remember correctly.  Yes, the paved 5K course was pretty hilly, but I’ve done this course before so knew what to expect; although pretty hilly, it is a nice course, with very wide trails, giving participants ample room to maneuver around people when needed to do so; it’s also a stroller-friendly and dog-friendly course. There was also a very nice after-party with all kinds of various goodies – all kinds of drinks, including some kind of weird – to me, anyway – coconut concoction drink; lots of water, of course, as well as Powerade, various food stuffs, and lots more. Those that got the race shirts got a very nicely designed and quality event shirt.  The race was also chip-timed, with results already posted on the iRun Texas website.    I am not sure if they will have this again next year, but maybe so, as the flood cleanup will probably take a very long time and, sadly, families affected will probably have a very long recovery time for the damage done.  If it is held again, I would definitely do it again, and I would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants:  iRun Texas staff; any sponsors/vendors; the Park Police officers out there for us; our MC, Anthony Zamora, doing his usual great job for us; he MCs a lot of events over the year;  and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!  Hope to see you at a future event sometime.  May you always stay safe, stay happy, stay healthy.