Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:         https://photos.app.goo.gl/ACWExGWozq7FUoC89   

 Before the Start:  My 33^rd race of 2025 was Aid The Silent held in Boerne, Texas on June 7, 2025 with an 8 a.m. start and race day packet pickup at 7 a.m.. This event supports the Aid The Silent organization which provides support and services to the deaf-and-hard-of-hearing in its local communities. There is an Aid The Silent office in San Antonio also.   Race start time was 8 a.m.  Since I am often ‘directionally challenged”, lol, I left around 5:30 a.m., and arrived at the Boerne Main Plaza about 6:15 a.m. After finding  some really good parking, I saw that they were already doing packet pickup, so got my race packet and then wandered around chatting with others and getting some pre-start photos. There was a really nice turn-out for this one with a total of 718 finishers, runners & walkers.  My friends from iaap were doing the timing and results for this event. They’ve been quite busy lately, doing the Beach2Bay Relay event last week in Corpus Christi, and then The Big Run in San Antonio on June 4^th.  Prior to the start, The National Anthem was played, and two deaf/hard of hearing ladies were on the stage in front of the plaza’s Gazebo, ‘signing’ The National Anthem; it was very cool and very moving to see. A local Reverend than gave us a prayer, speaking and signing, also cool. There was a teleprompter near the stage, so all those who didn’t know sign language – like me – could read the words they were signing.

On the course:  We started right on time, lining up on a street near the plaza Gazebo, which was to our right of our start area. I had noticed that my age group was males 60-99, wow, and so I knew I was not placing today, lol, so I just took my sweet time for this one and didn’t push it. The course was done on paved roads. After crossing the timing mat, we almost immediately went down a short hill, and then leveled out on a street going through a nice neighborhood area. We went straight out on this street to a turn-round point, and then headed back in the direction of the start/finish line. This road was open to traffic, so lots of calls of “Car Back!”, and so forth; the drivers were pretty patient about it all, driving carefully. We did not go back to the finish line, of course; we made a right turn to leave this road and then ran through a really nice neighborhood area, with pretty flat streets; at least, flat until we got to a water station; then some hills started.  We went down one short but steep hill; crossed over a short bridge and then climbed up a short but very steep hill. After getting to the top of this, we then had some flat for a bit; we got to another turn-round, came back the way we had come out, and then made a turn into another really nice neighborhood.  The first part of it was pretty flat, and then after we turned onto another street, we went down a steep hill, crossed over a second bridge on the course – with some nice water views from this bridge, and then went up a short hill. We turned left and there was a short climb there too, and then we went onto an off-road paved trail that wound us around as we went toward the finish line; and this trail had a short climb on it. After exiting this trail, we were then back on a street by the Plaza, and in front of The Kendall Hotel, which is right near the Plaza. We proceeded on the road in front of the hotel, then made a left turn – the hill we had gone down at the start was behind us – and this took us back to the finish. Out of the 48 in my 60-99 males division, I finished 28^th with a pretty slow time of 46:56; I also had “killed” a bit of my finish time, when there was a lady on the course pushing a stroller and it tipped over and some of her stuff came out of it; thankfully, her son with her was not in the stroller at the time; so I stopped to help pick some of her stuff up, which cost me a few minutes, but hey, people are more important than finish times, so it’s all good.

After My Finish:  Hydrate!  Aid The Silent folks smartly put bottled water and Gatorade and some food goodies right by the sidewalk near where we exited the start/finish area; the liquids on our right and some food goods on our left. I grabbed Gatorade and water and then went and found a shady place to sit and just relax for a bit. My friend, Alan, was there too, so we sat and relaxed for a bit and chatted. There was also a couple there with a sweet dog, so I got a photo of them as I was sitting there. After that, felt much better, very relaxed, and then wandered around the Boerne Main Plaza grounds chatting with others and getting some post-race photos and watched some of the awards. The overall and top 3 in each age group got an award. There were several people that I recognized from doing same races with them – although with my idiot old-man brain, could not remember some of their names, lol – but enjoyed chatting with them, and making new acquaintances, and getting some post-race photos.

Epilogue:  This is a very well-done event, one I try to do as much as I can, since I am a bit hard-of-earing in my left ear due to some surgery I had on it during my Air Force career – and there’s a story behind that, but too detailed to tell it here.  The event is really well done by the organizers and all the volunteers – packet pickup, course marshals, water station folks, etc. – were all great. We had two MCs, one who did the talking and another who signed everything. The race shirt is very nice quality. Since I do so many races and am running out of race shirt space, lol, I got a youth medium and would like to give it to one of my friends who maybe has a deaf child.  Several post-race goodies that included the Gatorade and water; cupcakes and various chips, etc. and there was also a company that prepared tacos that you could purchase, with some of the funds they raised going for the cause, if I remember correctly. You could also purchase “Hank The Dog” – buy one and then one free one would go to a deaf child. Since I already have a Hank The Dog at home, I did buy two and told the lady to give one each to a deaf child.   I will definitely continue to do this one as long as I am able and I would certainly recommend it to others. Just keep in mind how many participants do this event and that if you are not one of those speedy runners, you may not place in your age group, so just have fun with it. Much thanks to all who made this one happen for us: Aid The Silent, of course; all the many sponsors and vendors; all the volunteers out there for us;  the local police officers on the course for our safety; the patience of all the residents of the neighborhoods we passed through; our MCs who did a great job for us; iaapweb for the timing and results; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! God willing and the creek don’t rise, I will most assuredly be doing this one again.

Photos are here:         https://photos.app.goo.gl/WSicTGSY6dMTndRv9

 Before the Start:   My 32^nd race of 2025 was The Big Run held on June 4 primarily in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. The start was on Avenue B in a playground-and-restrooms area next to the Shake N Shack restaurant. The Witte Museum staff kindly let us use their parking garage for the event, which was nice of them. It was a warm ½ mile walk to the start area, as this event began at 7 pm, so the temp was around 92 degrees, and it was very humid. I had already picked up my packet, so after getting to the start area I got a few pre-start photos as I chatted with other participants, volunteers, friends, etc.  There were 253 finishers for this event, so this little park was quite crowded with all those participants, the volunteers, the vendors/sponsors, etc.

On the course:  We started on Avenue B, heading in the direction of the Witte Museum parking garage. After passing that by, we then made a left turn, going into Brackenridge Park. At the first intersection, we could see the train tracks for the Zoo Train. We made a right turn at this intersection, going past the Zoo Aviary area on our left.  After rounding  a curve in the road, we then crossed the park’s Wooden Bridge and then went past a baseball field on our left. This took us onto a sidewalk, which we looped around, now with the water on our right. This loop brought us back out to where we had started the loop. We went back over the Wooden Bridge, this time with the aviary area on our right, returning to the intersection. We turned right and headed in the direction where the front entrance of The Zoo would be. We then rounded a curve and took the park road that headed us in the direction of Mulberry Avenue.  Just before getting to Mulberry, we turned off the road and went onto one of the park’s trails. The route took us onto a couple of the trails and then back out onto the paved road near the train tracks.  After getting back on the road, we passed the Mile 2 marker and then went back to Avenue B, made a right turn, and headed for the finish. I did my usual thing of run 8-minutes/walk-2minutes  – and took a couple of extra walk breaks because of the heat – and took photos during my walk breaks. I ended up with a chip time of 43:25 and had a negative split for the last mile. This was good enough for 3^rd place out of the 5 guys in my 70-99 males age group.

After My Finish:  Hydrate!  Got some water and found a nice chair to sit on and just sat there for a bit, cooling down and drinking some water and some Gatorade. After that, I wandered here-and-there chatting with others and getting some post-race photos. I also went into the restroom and the a/c’s in the restrooms were on full-blast; wow, it was almost COLD in there, so I sat there in there for about 5 minutes and that really cooled me down, lol. After that I went back outside and enjoyed getting some more photos and chatting with lots of people and also getting my award for 3^rd place during the awards presentation.  I think the first place finishers got a medal, and we 2^nd and 3^rd place finishers got a pair of socks. I gave mine to a friend who loves socks, since I have so many socks at home right now I am running out of drawer space, lol.  I headed out after that, and good thing I did, because I had left a chance of clothes at the nearby YMCA, with plans to take a shower and get into some dry clothes before going home. However, when I got to the Y, I found out they closed at  9 pm – I thought they closed at 11 – so made it just in time to get my stuff out of the locker, whew, and then drove home.

Epilogue: Soler Sports put on this event and for what they had to work with, it was a well-thought-out course with wide streets and trails that had room enough for everyone to maneuver around, and no hills at all; a very flat course with just a couple of very minor inclines.  There was a water stop on the course, and we also passed by one restroom area that had water fountains, so plenty of on-course water, if needed. It was pretty humid, so by the time we all finished, we were pretty much sweat-soaked, but lots of water and other liquid refreshment at the finish area, and a variety of various eats too. The race shirts are nicely designed and good quality. There were also some door prizes and we had our DJ Paul doing his usual great job of giving us some great music.  I would probably do this one again and recommend it to others; although I’d get there way earlier next time, lol, to get closer parking.  My problem is not running, my problem is walking afterwards, with this darn spinal arthritis. It took me almost 20 minutes to shuffle back to the parking garage – like Tim Conway on the Carol Burnett show, lol, for those of you who remember that show.     There were lots of open spaces at various places closer to the start/finish area, but those businesses and apartments are privately owned, so no parking allowed.  Even so, good event; Lisa and her crew did a good job considering what they had to work with. Much thanks to all who made this one happen for us and were out there for us: all the many volunteers; the sponsors/vendors; the park police officers out there for our safety; our music man, Paul; iaapweb for the course setup, timing, and results; the patience of all the other park patrons not doing the event; Anthony Zamora doing his usual great job as MC; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! Next up for me: Aid The Silent 5K in Boerne on June 7^th.

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gswz6aD8noNbZGXs7  

 Before the Start:   My 31^st race of 2025 was the 2^nd event of the d-Dragon Productions Summer Series 5k, a series of 5 races done over the summer to raise scholarship funds for students. Race #2 was held at Southside East Lions Park, located on Pecan Valley Road in San Antonio.  I picked up my friend Carolyn and we headed to the park. After I missed a turn, Carolyn got directions on her phone, which basically wound us around for a while, lol, until we finally found the place. We had started out early, thankfully, so arrived with plenty of time; so early, in fact, – around 5:30 a.m. –  that we beat the packet pickup folks there. We thought we were in the wrong parking area, so search the park some more and finally found the right area…which was verified by the e-Dragon equipment truck arriving shortly after we got there.  After they got set up, we got our race packets, and I wandered here-and-there chatting with friends and other participants; vendors/sponsors; volunteers, etc., and got a few pre-start photos. This was a fairly smaller event with 112 finishers.

On the course:  We started out near the pavilion at the park. The course was done on the concrete paved trails of the park. There was a Kid’s Run at 7 a.m. and then the 5K started at 7:15 a.m.  The majority of the first mile of the course was flat, taking us on a trail that had the lake on our right going out. We then crossed over one of the park roads and went onto another trail that went down a slight incline and then across a bridge over Salado Creek, and at that point we began to climb.  The climbs were not all that steep, but they sure were long. I think my friend, Race Director Erik, went to his dictionary and blacked  out in it the word “flat”, lol. I did my usual thing of run-8 minutes-walk 2 minutes and took some photos during my walk breaks.  After hitting the mile mark and my second walk break, I then pretty much ran non-stop to the turn-round point, with just a couple of quick photo stops along the way, and did the same on the way back to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 42:01, averaging 13:31 per mile, which was good enough for 3^rd in my males 70-74 age group; especially as there were only 3 in my age group, lol. My very speedy-and-long-legged friend Jim was first.  

After My Finish: A nice touch done by the e-Dragon people is having iced-down small towels near the finish line to help you cool down. This was especially appreciated for this event as our temp was 78 degrees at start time and the humidity was very high. I wrapped one on the back of my neck while doing a short cool-down walk and then got a few photos of other finishers coming in, while enjoying some iced-down bottled water too. I also went and sat in my car for about 10 minutes with the a/c on full blast and that was very cooling too. After that, I wandered around, chatting with finishers, supporters, volunteers, vendors, etc. and getting a few after photos of happy finishers, some of the award recipients, vendors, and more.   The awards started with the younger groups first so, being in one of the oldest age groups, lol, I had plenty of time to get some more photos. The age group award is a very large medal, really nicely designed, that has a code on the back of it that can be used for a registration discount, very nice. The race shirts are really nice too. In spite of those climbs, lol, it really is a nicely thought-out course and well done.  Also, to be fair to Erik, the 5Ks for upcoming races 3 and 4 are being done at parks that have pretty flat terrain – Lady Bird Johnson Park, which has very short incline – you can’t really call the thing a hill – at the start and finish, and a longer incline – again, you can’t really call it a hill – near Mile 1. McAllister Park…this one depends on which trail is used. If it’s the one by the lower soccer fields, that that trail is pretty darn flat all the way; so we get a break for those two, lol; and then the last one is at Pearsall Park…..one of the darn hilliest parks I’ve ever run in, lol, with lots of off-road trails. I cannot handle off-road anymore with this spinal arthritis, so I passed on this one. Even so…these are all quality races, so I would certainly recommend you give them a try sometime. Epilogue:  The course was very well thought-out, with enough room for all to maneuver around, especially as it was a smaller event; it felt more like it was a big get-together of running friends out to enjoy a group run and each other’s company. Very nice race shirts and the afore-mentioned age-group medals are awesome.  I would do this one again and would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us and were out there for us, e.g. e-Dragon folks and all the race-day volunteers; iaap for the timing and results; all the sponsors and vendors; the guy in the Dragon suit  on this very warm day, getting photos with everyone who asked, and with the award winners; the official photographers on the course; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! See you at the next one if you’ve signed up for it or if you are a volunteer, vendor, etc.

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/xJifJKCx7hP89d9q8

 Before the Start:  My 30^th race of 2025 was the American Hero 5K held on May 25^th at Comanche Park in San Antonio, Texas. This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend, after doing a 5K the day before. Events also included: 25K Relay, with 5 members on each team; half-marathon; 10K Hero Ruck; Wheelchair 5K; and a Kid’s Fun Run.  The Relay was the main event. The Kids Run started at 0700., with the Wheelchair 5K starting at 0715 and all the other  events started together at 0730.  I got to the race site just a bit past 6:30 a.m.  I had picked up my packet on Friday, so upon arrival wandered here-and-there, chatting with friends, other participants, volunteers, etc., and got some pre-start photos. There were also a few dogs there so, as usual, I handed out dog-treats to them. Per the results posted by the excellent locally based race  management company iaap, which also did the timing – there were 27 relay teams (135 total participants); 32 half-marathoners; 67 5K participants; none in the wheelchair event; and 4 doing the 10K Hero Ruck; so a grand total of 238 participants, not counting the Kids Fun Run; so not too bad a turnout for a very warm and humid day.

On the course:     The weather was pretty warm with a start time temperature of 79 degrees and the humidity waw a whopping 80 percent, with very little or no wind.  All the courses were out-and-back done on the paved trails of Comanche Park. Thankfully, these trails have quite a bit of shade, so that was helpful, although it was still pretty darn warm. After doing a VERY hilly 5K the day before this one, I was thankful, there were no major hills on the course; mainly just some gradual up or down inclines, and we had two bridges to cross, that went over Salado Creek flowing through parts of the park. The only thing I don’t like about the course is the second bridge on the course shakes just a tad when it is crossed, since I have a mild form of vertigo called BPPV that can be activated by the motion of amusement park rides, seesaw, swimming with my head in the water – so I use and aqua-jogger when I am in a pool – and shaking bridges!   Never-the-less, when I got to that bridge, I go over it; yes, pun intended, lol.  As usual, because of my spinal arthritis now which does not like me running nonstop, so I did my usual thing of 8-minutes-running/2 minutes walking and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. Got to the turn-round point and headed for the finish – safely crossing Shaking Jello Bridge once more. Stopped at the water station on the course for a quick cup, thanked the volunteers there, and then on my way again. The last mile in, I pretty much ran all the way in, with one quick photo stop and then got back at it. I ended up with a chip time of 44:19 and had a negative split for the last mile. I was  2^nd in my age group, as there were only two in my 70-99 males age group, as there were only two in my age group. The first guy finished 16 seconds ahead of me. Guess I should not have stopped to take that last photo, lol; but it’s all good.

After My Finish: Got a few photos of others finishing, then got some water to start rehydrating, and did a short cool-down walk. I was parked fairly close to the start/finish area, so went and sat in my vehicle for about 10 minutes with the a/c on full blast as I drank my water. Ahh…..felt pretty good after that. I then went back to the race area and got a few after-photos of participants, volunteers, sponsors/vendors, etc. and also handed out some more treats to the doggies there, as well as enjoying a post-race banana from my fruit vendor friend, Gilbert, and a drink – nonalcoholic since I was driving –  from the Shiner Beer folks    

Epilogue:  e-Dragon, owned by my personal friends Erik and Kristine, really does a great job with all their events. They usually have some great swag – the event race shirts are AWESOME – and the age-group award is this really nice medallion that has on the back of it a code you can use for a registration discount for a future registration of an e-Dragon event. The pre-race warm up was done by this very flexible guy from Camp Gladiator who led people into doing all these various positions, most of which I could not do at all, lol, because of this darn arthritis; guy was like a pretzel, the way he could curl around; I admit, lol, to being a bit envious. The course was very well thought-out, with enough room for all to maneuver around – especially at the beginning when the trail was most crowded – and, as noted, lots of shade along the way. The race bibs are personalized with your name; however, since this is a Memorial Day, a holiday which is primarily dedicated to honoring and remembering the fallen military personnel who gave their all while serving their country, I put a tag on my bib honoring Captain Mary Klinker, whom I inadvertently met when I was stationed in the Philippines in the 70s. She was there to assist with the evacuation of refugees in 1975 during the time of the Fall of Saigon, and I was helping as a volunteer on some of my days off from work.  When I went to the Flight Line at Clark Air Base, Captain Klinker noticed my ear was bleeding and ordered me to report to the base hospital, which I did. I was found to have a cyst in my ear and ended up having surgery for that and was in the hospital for 3 days.  The second day I was in the hospital, I saw the news that the Operation Baby Life C-5 Galaxy, scheduled to return to the Philippines with a plane-load of children, had crashed on takeoff. Captain Klinker had been at the back of the plane taking care of some of the children, and she was killed in the crash. My operating doc told me If I had gotten onto a plane, I possibly might have had my eardrum ruptured; so with this random meeting, Capt. Klinker may have inadvertently saved my hearing. I always remember that and always wear her name on my race bib for any Memorial Day run I do.  As for this e-Dragon event, I will certainly do it again and would recommend it to others.  As noted, super-nice race shirt; uniquely designed race bibs; dog-friendly; lots of post-race goodies, including Shiner Beer; Kiolbassa sausage wraps; fresh fruits; various chips; and more.  Mucho thanks to all the ones who made this one happen for we participants, including the two police constables and the EMT folks out there for our safety; all the many volunteers for packet pickup days; course marshals; water station folks; sponsors; iaap for timing and results; the official race photographers; and anyone else involved not mentioned here. Thank you all! May all of you stay safe at whatever your chosen activity is and be successful with your own personal goals.  Hope to see you sometime at a future event.

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qeqpg1ocZJ8rKTLF7      

 Before the Start:  My 29^th race of 2025 was the Hometown 5K put on by Bodies Race Company, which has locations in 36 US cities, including San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Woth, Houston, and Wichita. The timing and results was done by Bigfoot Running.  There were three events for this race: half-marathon, 10K, and 5K. The race location was Pavilion 5 at McAllister Park in San Antonio, with an early start time of 7 a.m.  Pavilion 5 is the pavilion near the large dog park in the park, and across from the park’s baseball fields. For the 5K, there were 157 total finisher, per the RunSignUp website.  I arrived at about 6:15 a.m., got my packet, and then got a few pre-start photos.  There was quite a large turnout for this event.  I encountered several of my usual running friends who do a lot of the same events as I do ove the year.  We did have some cloud cover, with a mix of sunshine, and the temp was right around 70 degrees, so not too bad for a Texas Spring day in May. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I was soon very popular with the dogs there, since I carry dog treats with me when I do a training run or a race.

On the course:  Everything started right on time. All events were on the park’s paved trails, starting at the Trailhead near Pavilion 5. There was a Kid Run before the start of the main events.  The National Anthem was played and then all 3 events started together right at 7 a.m.  The course was on a paved trail that took us past the dog park on our right, then down a hill, going in the direction of Wurzbach Parkway. We went beneath an overpass to get past Wurzbach Parkway and then up a small incline to a trail intersection where one could go left or right.  I was hoping the 5K would go right, in the direction of Jones Maltsberger Road, as that would have been a very flat course; not to be though, lol. We went left, and the hills began in earnest; and these are no baby hills, either, lol; not quite as bad as Helotes Hills or Eisenhower Park, but still fairly challenging.  I did my usual thing of run-8-minutes/walk-2-minutes, since I can’t run nonstop anymore, as I was a “March of Dimes” baby, born with a birth defect, and he result was some degree of spinal arthritis and Degenerative Disc Disease as I got older, so it’s tool hard on my back now to run a course nonstop. During my walk breaks I took some on-course photos. From the hills, there were some nice views of the surrounding countryside and on the way to the turn-round, we could see on our left part of the Wurzbach Parkway. Overall, I felt pretty good, and did go nonstop for most of the last mile.  I ended up with a chip time of 42:11 which was good enough for 2^nd in my 70-74 males age group, since there were only two in my age group, lol.  The first guy, Jerry, was way ahead of me, with a 29 minutes-and change finish. On the last hill we climbed to get back to the finish, I passed 3 young ladies walking – in their teens, I think – and joked with them…”Umm, I’m an old man, surely you young ladies can get to the finish before me.”  They took me at my word, lol, and ran right off, leaving me way behind them. They finished a good 3 or 4 minutes ahead of me.  Good for them!

After My Finish:  After I crossed the line, I then got a few photos of others coming in; did a short cool-down walk, and then it was off to get some hydration in me and just relax for a few minutes, as well as handing out a few more treats to the dogs there.  After that, I got some photos of the Happy Finishers – you ever notice…more participants are smile after they’re done than before the start or on the course, lol – and chatting with friends, other participants, supporters, volunteers, and getting a few more post-race photos. Epilogue:  This was a really nicely done event, well put-on by the company and Bigfoot Running. The course was a bit challenging at times – I can only imagine what the 10K and half-marathon folks had to deal with – but well thought out, with plenty of room for all.  All finishers got a really nice finisher medal – the thing is huge, and the circle part in the middle of it spins around when you tap it – and there were some nice post-race goodies – burritos, if I remember correctly – as well as lots of water and a few other things, bananas, etc. The shirt is very nice quality, on the back listing all the cities where Bodies Race Company has locations; quite a few all over the US.  Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for us; Bodies Race Company; Bigfoot Running; all the many volunteers out there for us, as well as the Park Police officers out there for our safety – they even recognized me when I arrived, lol, as many races as I do in a year, so I guess that is a good thing, lol – and, as the course was still open to the public during the event, mucho thanks for the patience of all the other users of the park  not doing the event – other runners; cyclists, walkers, etc. – as we invaded their space for a while; and to anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Next up for me: another 5K the day after this one.  Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always enjoy doing it, stay injury-free, and always be safe while doing it.   Maybe I will see you at a future event sometime. 

Photos are here:       https://photos.app.goo.gl/bmUNeLaAQxnHtNpd9

 Before the Start: My 28^th race of 2025 was the first race of E-Dragon Productions SA 5K Summer Series, held on Sunday, May 18, at Martin Luther King Park in San Antonio. The series includes 5 events of 5K races held in various San Antonio parks from May to July. The event supports The E-Dragon Scholarship Fund, established from fund raised by the 5K Summer Series and donations by the running community. Start time for these events is 7 a.m. for the Kid’s run and 7:15 a.m. for the main event, with packet pickup from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. on race days only.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after completing on Saturday a 5K in New Braunfels put on by an American Legion post there. I arrived on-site, just past 5:30 a.m., one of the first few to arrive, so I got some good parking, and then just waited for packet pickup to start, chatting with other early-bird arrivals.  Packet pickup started right on time. After getting my packet I then got a few pre-start photos. There were 115 finishers for the 5K.

On the course:  Everything started right on time. The National Anthem was played, the Kids did their thing, and then the 5K started. The course was out-and-back on the paved trails of MLK Park. Weather was dry and humid, with the temp already in the low 70s when we started. The course was pretty flat, with a few up-and-down inclines you could not really call hills; we did have lots of shade from the trees along the park trails. The worst part of the course for me was the bridge that went over Salado Creek that flows near the park trails; that darn thing shakes when even just one person goes over it, so multiple people on it make it shake pretty well, and a swaying motion like that sometimes kicks up my BPPV (a mild form of vertigo; so I can’t go on boats either) so I got over that darn thing as quickly as I could.  I did my usual run/walk thing (8-min-run/2-min walk) and took photos during my walk breaks. I ran for a bit with friend, Mary, but when I took my first walk break, she surged on ahead, although I had her in my sight for most of the course. The last ½ mile I mostly ran non-stop, catching up to Mary and for the last bit we were running side-by-side, but when the finish line came into view, she surged ahead once more, with me just a bit behind her. I ended up with a chip time of 41:09, about 10 seconds behind Mary, and my last mile was a negative split, nice.  There were only two in my age group, me and speedy friend Jim, who finished waaay ahead of me in 25 minutes and change, so I ended up getting an age-group placer medal.

After My Finish: Dang, it was humid!  I went and sat in my vehicle for about 15 minutes, with the a/c on full blast and drank some Gatorade I had put on ice; felt much cooler after that, lol, so went back out to get some post-race photos and chat with friends, other participants, supporters, sponsors, etc, and cheer on the age-group placers and the overall male and female placers. My friend, Bob, was overall male winner in 20-minutes and change, dang, that pace in that humidity. The overall female was even faster doing 18 minutes and change, good grief.

Epilogue: e-Dragon always puts on a variety of good events over the year – some of them pretty challenging, since the co-owner, my friend Erik does not seem to know the definition, lol, of the word ‘flat’.  Just kidding, Erik.  Very nice age-group award medal with a code on it that you can use to get a discount when you register for upcoming e-Dragon races.   The company Dragon was even out there for photo ops – that person must have been pretty warm in that costume on this humid morning, so much appreciation to him/her for doing that. Very friendly course – except for that darn bridge, lol – and a lot of good camaraderie among the participants before, during, and after.  I would certainly do this one again and would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for us: the packet pickup folks out there so early for us, and all the rest of the race-day volunteers there for us; iaap race management company for doing the timing, results; all the sponsors/vendors that supported this event;  and Erik, again, since he was also did bike-lead duty for the 5K, as well as his kids that were there too; I’ve seen a couple of those youngsters run and they are faster than me, lol; and anyone else involved that I did not mention here. Thank you all so much! Next up for me: Freedom Run on May 24 at LBJ Park in San Antonio, followed on Sunday by the American Hero 5K at Comanche Park in San Antonio.

Whatever your exercise passion is, I wish you all to be happy and safe with it.

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/vm6NqofnGK83gK8y8

 Before the Start:   My 27^th race of 2025 was the Freedom 5K Veterans Tribute Run Held on May 17^th, this event was in New Braunfels, Texas, put on by The American Legion, Walter F. Hoffmann Memoria Post 179, with co-sponsors Veteran United to Help Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 7110, New Braunfels.  I believe this was the inaugural race of this event.  There were 43 finishers for this 5k, so a fairly small event.  I had only registered for this event the day before race day, so printed out my registration confirmation and drove up to New  Braunfels – which took a while with all that darn ongoing construction on I-35 in San Antonio, so glad I left very early – and then picked up my packet. After that, I chatted with some friends I knew who were also there and also made some new friends and got some pre-start photos.  This is also a dog-friendly event so, since I carry dog-treats with me when I run/race – hence my nickname of Scotty Dogg, lol, bestowed upon me by a running friend after I stopped near the finish of a race to hand out a treat – “Darn it, Scotty, we’re doing a race here!  Get back here, you darn Scotty Dog!”  lol.  I added an extra “g” to it, just to be different – , and now that is how my running community knows me and all they ever call me now; which is fine by me.

On the course:  Course start time was 8 a.m.  The course was done on the roads in the neighborhood around the VFW Post on West Coll Street. We had an overcast day with no sunshine, around 73 degrees, and VERY humid. To start, we exited the grounds of the VFW, made a left turn and the hills started right off the bat with a long downhill. At the bottom of this, we made a left turn, went to the next street, made another left turn, and then climbed a very long uphill.  We then went to the next street; right turn; down a hill; left turn; next street, up a hill; good grief, lol. At the top of this hill we finally had some flat for a while, which lasted maybe about ¼ of a mile.  Then it was down another hill and then you guessed it, lol, up another hill. After climbing this hill, we then made a left turn and had some flat again for a bit, going once again past the course water station, and then made a right turn onto Santa Clara Street – another hill to climb, lol. After cresting Santa Clara, we then made a left turn onto a fairly flat street, and then made a left turn that took us up yet another hill.  After getting to the top of this, we crossed over Coll Street, with the VFW building on our left, and then went downhill on the street we had initially started on and then made a turn back onto the VFW grounds to finish. WHEW!!!  I ended up with a chip time of 43:59, which was good enough for 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group, as this was a fairly smaller participant event. I think I did okay and was pretty glad that I include regular hill-work in non-race training runs; this helped a lot with this course.

After My Finish: Got some water and relaxed a bit and then wandered here-and-there chatting with other participants and also supporters, volunteers, etc., and got a few post-race photos. Unlike a huge event, with hundreds of participants – I like those too, but it’s nice too, but it’s nice to do a smaller event once in a while – this felt like a group of friends who had all gotten together to get a run or walk in and be with each other before, during, and after.  The age group award is the coolest thing ever! It’s an eagle made by one of those 3-D computers; very detailed, and well-made. I do so many races and get so many finisher medals that I usually donate them to either kids with cancer, or to the disabled kids being helped by Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, since I was born a disabled kid myself; I was a March of Dimes baby; but this award I am going to keep; it is very unique and quite awesome. Epilogue: The course is challenging, but it is well laid-out on wide streets, with very little traffic in this neighborhood, so plenty of room for both runners, walkers, and vehicles to safely pass by participants. The neighborhood is really a very nice place to get in a run, walk, bike ride, or whatever your exercise passion is. The race shirt is really very nice quality and, as noted, that age-group award is a thing of beauty. I really hope this event grows; it is really nicely done and well-organized. I would definitely do it again and would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants, including the American Legion Post; the VFW; all the people who organized this for us, including the registration folks, the course marshal volunteers making sure we were going the correct way; the police officers out there for our safety; our water station guy; race results.com – if you did this one, you can find your race results at:  https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=127&RId=354&EId=1&dt=1&top=0  and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!  Nap time for me now, lol. I have another 5K to do the day after this one.

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/AfRG4SjxxqyF8Uzw8        

 Before the Start:  My 26^th race of 2025 was the Andiamo Taco Run 5K, held on Sunday,  May 11 at Mission County Park #1 in San Antonio. I don’t usually do Andiamo events, since I am not fond that they give age group awards to only the top finisher in each age group, but this was the only local race I could find for this Mother’s Day Sunday, and I was trying to keep my plan going of doing a race each weekend day of this month.  This was my 2^nd race of the weekend starting and finishing at this park, after having done the Girls On The Run 5K on Saturday, May 10^th.  Start time for this one was 7:30 a.m. It was a lot less crowded – 341 finishers – than the one the day before, which had about 1400 participants; so, when I arrived at 6:45 a.m., I found pretty good parking; got my packet pretty quickly and then got a few pre-start photos. Several running friends were also doing this one, including Woody Wilson, Keyes Hudson, Roland Benavides, Alan Orlowski, and more.  Race start time was 7:30 a.m.. Prior to the start, The National Anthem was beautifully played by a guy with tuba; I think it was a tuba, and the guy played it great, not missing a beat; very impressive and moving.

On the course: The course of this event was an out-and-back held on the concrete/cement Riverwalk trail adjacent to the park; so…. anyone who has ever done a race here knows that THAT means:  hills and more hills. After going over the timing mat we then went immediately downhill, and then started going uphill, and that was the course for the majority of the 5K, with, for the most part, just 1 level spot on the course, when we approached the turn-round point.  My Dad served in WWII and Korea, and I remember a song he used to sing “Over hill, over dale, the caissons keep moving along..” and that song usually pops into my head when I do this course, lol. I did my usual Run-8-Minutes/Walk-2-Minutes and took on-course photos during my walk breaks, and a few extra ones too before some of the walk breaks, mostly of the participants around me, but also some shots of the river that was on our right going out, on our left going back.  As I headed to the turn-round, I saw a guy named Juan, who is in my age group, already heading for the finish, so I knew I wasn’t going to get an award today, which is okay, since my two major goals for a race are: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me; anything I get after that is a bonus, lol. I ended up 2^nd in my age group with a chip time of 40:34.  Juan finished ahead of me by a good 10 minutes.

After My Finish:Got some water and did a short cool-down walk and then wandered around getting some after photos, chatting with friends and other participants. This is also a dog-friendly event – there were a couple of dogs that did the course with their humans – so I handed out treats to the doggies there, with the permission of their humans, of course. I watched the award ceremony and my friend, Woody, was first in his age group, so congrats to him.  There was also post-race free tacos for all participants, with a very long line for that, which was okay since, with my #!#! colon cancer I had- my first of three cancers I dealt with – it screwed up my digestive system a bit so the spiciest thing I am allowed to eat is yellow mustard – nothing with onions, salsa, no peppers, etc., anything that is even remotely spicey – so pretty much no Mexican/Hispanic cuisine at all, lol.  It’s all good though, I get by and am doing fine. Epilogue:  Very nicely done event. Andiamo does put on a good show for their events. They have a series of races over the year and, if I remember correctly, you can do sign up for them individually or you can register for all of them for the year – kind of like what Scallywompus has.  Very nice quality race shirt.  The age group awards for this one was not a medal but a hand-painted portrait of a taco figure on a cardboard background.  The finisher medals that all finishers got are really nicely done; I liked them better than the age group award thing, lol.  All the volunteers were great; and there were also two photographers on the course taking photos that, I am sure, are a lot better than my amateur ones, lol. There was one water station on the course, at the top of one of the hills we had to climb, so that was convenient and just in the right place; if you did stop for water there, you got a really nice view of the river below and some of the countryside beyond it. Our post-race MC – I don’t remember her name – did a great job for us; and there was also this contest for a gift coupon, in which a few people did a ‘dance-off’, which was hilarious, with the crowd really getting into it.  Although I don’t do a lot of Andiamo events for the reason I noted, I do admit they really do a great job with the races they put on, so if you’ve never done one, you might want to try one and see how you like it.  I am just about positive, there will be Andiamo races in my future every once in a while. 

Much thanks to all the ones who made this happen for we participants, and who were out there for us:  all the many sponsors, Andiamo staff members, and volunteers; the taco food truck staff; the law enforcement folks there for our safety; the water station volunteers and the race photographers; iaap for the course setup, timing, and results; our young lady MC – I don’t remember her name – who did a great job for us; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always be successful with it, and stay safe always.

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/33cpQgHvpjwh92Wz6      

 Before the Start:  My 25^th race of 2025 was Girls On The Run 5K, held on May 10^th at Mission County Park. This event supports the Girls On The Run program. In a ‘nutshell” description, Girls on the Run (GOTR) provides 3rd-8th graders with a supportive environment in which girls run with their friends and coaches while learning, practicing, and applying foundational skills, such as setting goals and managing emotions. The girls have coaches that give them the guidelines, their training schedules, and so forth. I try to do this one every year, as my friend Sally, is one of the people who helped establish this program in the San Antonio area.  This is a very popular annual event and for the 5K there was a total of 1,046 finishers, runners and walkers, per the listed results.  I had picked up my packet before race day so after arriving I wandered around chatting with people and getting some pre-start photos, and also handed out some dog treats, as this is a dog-friendly event.

On the course:  The National Anthem was nicely played – by Coast Guard trainees, if I remember correctly, but I may be mistaken on that – and then we got going. With so many participants iaap – who did the course setup, timing, and results – had erected a start finish “gateway” with barriers on either side of us, and the crowd of participants went from the start line all the way back onto part of the park near the main pavilion.  I managed to get a little closer to the start mat but stayed far enough back where my slow self would not be interfering with the speedier runners. Race start time was 9 a.m, and we had a pretty warm day for it, with abundant sunshine and a temperature in the mid-70s; my kind of weather, lol; I much prefer running in warmer temps.  We started in the main parking area of the park, went across the timing mat, and then made a left turn onto a sidewalk with a big field on our right, where cars were parked, and Padre Drive in front of the parking lot.  At the end of the sidewalk we turned left onto Padre Drive, a very wide street able to accommodate all these participants, even though it was a bit crowded in places, but where I was at any given time, everyone seemed to take it all in stride – no pun intended, lol. We passed the 1-Mile marker and shortly after that made a left turn onto Pyron Avenue, if I remember correctly.  This took us down and incline; then up another incline, followed by a second up incline.  After that, it was fairly flat, and as we rounded a curve to head to the turn-round point, we had a view of the river on our left.  There was a short down incline to an overpass, which we went under and the 5K turnround was there. After the turn-round we then made our way back to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out, doing those up-and-down inclines in reverse of the way we had come out. As we went up the last incline just before going back onto Padre Drive, we passed the 2-mile marker. I pretty much ran the last mile nonstop, with just a couple of photo stops, and also to “slap hands” in thanks with some of the cheer teams girls who were out there cheering us all on. When we got back onto the sidewalk that took us back toward the start/finish line, we passed the Mile 3-marker just before exiting the sidewalk with a right turn that took us to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 40:09, averaging 12:56 per mile and my last mile per my Garmin was 12:42, which is pretty speedy for this old dog, lol, as I usually do 13 to 14 minute mile. I ended up 2^nd in my males, 70-99 age group primarily, lol, because there were only 2 in my age group. I was 6 minutes behind first place.

After My Finish:  I stood back from the timing mat and got a few photos of other coming in, including my friend Rick, which is a rare occurrence, me finishing before him.  He is having some knee issues, so I knew it must have really been bothering him today if I finished ahead of him.  I know he has been working with his docs, so I hope they get this resolved for him. After that, I went to get some water and post-race goodies and then continued wandering around getting some after-photos of participants, supporters, race sponsors, etc.  Also, there were still several doggies around, so I soon got rid of all the treats I had in my pockets.  I was very dog-popular, lol.

Epilogue:   This is a very nicely done event by the Girls On The Run organization, with a lot going on before and after the finish. We even go entertained by dancing troupe who put on a nice display for us.  Very nice ladies, too; I chatted with them a bit and got a photo of them. For the awards ceremony the H-E-B mascot, Buddy, showed up and all awardees got their photo taken with Buddy.  I was curious, so I asked Buddy if, when he gets older, since he’s a grocery guy, will he get bags under his eyes. I think he laughed, lol, but Buddy doesn’t talk very much, so can’t be sure.  Since we “older” folks were the last ones to get our placing awards, by the time we left most of the people had already gone, which was kind of nice, as we pretty much had a fairly empty parking area, so we were able to exit quite easily with no vehicle lines.  The race shirt is very nice quality from what I saw.  I did not get one, since I do so many events, I have a ton of shirts. Instead, I took advantage of an option when you register to donate your shirt to one of the girls participating in the program.  The age-group medal is a nicely done small medal with “Girls  on the run’ printed on it and has a pink ribbon. I usually donate my medals to either kids with cancer at San Antonio Children’s Hospitals or to the disabled kids getting treated at the Multi-Assistance Center (The MAC) at Morgan’s wonderland. I’m pretty sure one of the kids there will like this well-done medal.

Mucho thanks to all that made this one happen for we participants, including The Girls On The Run race committee; all the many sponsors and vendors that helped make this one happen;  the police officers, EMTs, and bike lead volunteers, and cheer teams and water station volunteers on the course for us; our MC who, if I remember correctly was my friend, Lana of the iaap family; iaap for the course setup and timing and results; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all!

Time for me to rest now.  My next 5K is the day after this one – May 11 – right back at this same park, the El Taco Run 5K, put on by Andiamo.  This one will be on the Riverwalk Trail, if I remember correctly, so there will be a lot more hills than we had for Girls On The Run.  Whatever your passion is – running, walking, cycling, etc. – I wish you all the success and may you always stay healthy.   If you are a fellow runner, hope to see you on a course sometime in the future.

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/EpWDJw5hKypT5xmM6  

 Before the Start: My 24^th race of 2025 was the May the 4^th Be With You 4-miler, held on Sunday, May 4^th at Comanche Park in San Antonio.  This was my 2^nd event of the weekend after having done the Run To Remember 5K the day before this one, which was also held at Comanche Park. This event was put on by the San Antonio Roadrunners (SARR), the largest San Antonio-based running organization with over 1, 700 members. SARR provides races, meet-ups, community outreach, and fun-runs. Other distances for this event included a half-marathon, an 8-miler, and an untimed 2-mile fun run.  Costumes were encouraged for this event, so several people were in costume. The half-mile participants started first, followed by the 4-miler participants and then the 2-mile fun run participants. There was also a Kids Run before all the main events got started. I arrived a little before 7 a.m. and got a few pre-start photos as I wandered around chatting with other participants, friends, supporters, vendors, etc., and, as this is a dog-friendly event, handing out some treats to the doggies there. With all these different events, the turn-out was quite nice per iaapweb listed results; 299 finishers for the 4-miler;  70 for the 8-miler; and 111 finishes for the half-marathon.

On the course:  The half-marathon participants started first, followed by the 4-miler and 2-miler participants at 7:30 a.m. For this event, we went in the opposite direction of the course I had done the day before for the Run To Remember, which had a few hills.  As we started out, we could see parts of Rigsby Road on our right. The course for this one was a very flat out-and-back, taking us over a few bridges and under a couple of overpasses. The bridges were pretty stable, except for one on the way that had a bit of “sway” in it as we crossed, even though it was a concrete surface. I have a thing with bridges, and water, lol – during  my running life, I’ve fallen off a couple of of them – thankfully they were not high – ran off the Riverwalk once’ and when I lived in England,I was on a run where I fell into the River Cam near Cambridge University, much to the amusement of the students there.  I did my usual run/walk think of 8-min-run/2-min-walk and took a few photos during each walk break, of participants going out, of some of the speedier participants heading for the finish as I was still going to the 4-mile turn-round point. A few of these speedier folks were the 8-milers and they were really moving. I can only dream of moving at that pace, lol. I felt pretty good the whole way; so good, that I ended up running nonstop most of Mile 3 to the Mile 4 finish.  I ended up 3^rd out of 4 in my 70-79 males age group, with a chip-time of 53:53, averaging 13: 28 per mile. Per my garmin, my last mile was 12:17, nice.

After My Finish:  Got a few photos of others behind me coming into the finish.  Then got some water and wandered here-and-there getting post-race photos of happy finishers, supporters, some of the vendors/sponsors there, and handed out more dog treats.  The awards ceremony was nicely done and age-group finishers got this really nice sort of ‘trophy’-thing that was on a stand; not an actual trophy with handles, but a circular “disc” nicely set in a stand. You’d go up and get your award and then go to the backdrop where one of the official photographers would take your photo.,  Also, as this is star-wars themed, our MC, Anthony Zamora kept occasionally throwing out Star Wars pun joke groaners to us, lol, e.g. How do wookies contact their family members? Wookie-talkies; and so it went, lol.  I stayed around a while longer and got so see my friend, Woody Wilson finish his half-marathon, and some other half marathon folks coming in too.  Woody is quite a talented and speedy runner and usually places. I heard there was some controversy and upset about the half awards, but don’t know anything about that, so will let the half-marathon participants deal with that in their own posts.

Epilogue:   MUCHO thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, including iaap for the start/finish line setup and course setup; doing the timing and results; they always do a great job; thanks to our Music Man, Paul for cranking out the tunes; Anthony Zamora for being MC for this one – and also for the one I did yesterday at this park; all the many sponsors, vendors, etc. that help make the races happen; the Sausage Wrap guy who was out there VERY early setting things up and grilling like crazy so finishers could enjoy those wraps; and, of course, the SARR folks out there for us that got this all-together, from pre-race packet pickup to all the race day activities they had to do; to my friends from Pushbutton Photography who took the ‘official’ race photos; the law enforcement and EMT folks out there for us; and let’s not forget our family members, who put up with our running lives, lol;  anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Whatever your passion is – walking, running, cycling, etc. – may you always stay healthy enough to enjoy it and always stay safe.  Next up for me is the Girls on the Run 5K on May 10^th at Mission County Park, followed by the El Taco Run on May 11^th, also at Mission County Park.  See you there if you are doing either of those.