Scottydog Reports

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.

Photos are here:       https://photos.app.goo.gl/XQ1B58RiW6SgEoVj9

 Before the Start:   My 23^rd race of 2025 was the Beards vs Beans “Run To Remember 5K” held on May 3^rd at Comanche Park in San Antonio.  There was also a 10K; a 0.5 Beer Run after the main events finished and  and an assisted wheelchair event for which Ainsley’s Angels, Houston Chapter, participated. Ainsley’s Angels has a mission of assisting the disabled to be able to enjoy the racing experience too, and they do a great job at it, inspiring a lot of people along the way. This event was created by two brothers, Matthew and Miguel to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and raise funds for The Alzheimer’s Association and for helping to research finding a potential cure. They each host a running event – the next one will be in June, “The Longest Day”  – and the one who raises the most funds at ‘his’ event wins a friendly contest. Matthew is the Beard and Miguel is the beans; whichever brother raises the most funds, then he gets to give a “quirky’ challenge to the other brother who has to complete the task.  It’s a brotherly bantering way to raise awareness about this disease and the brothers have raised over $135K for the cause since they started these two events.  Race start time was 7:30 a.m. The weather was pretty nice for this time of year; not too humid, in the lower 60s, clear skies and some sunshine. I arrived with friends Carolyn and her dog, Lucy with about 45 minutes to start time and got a few  pre-start photos.  There was a pretty nice turn-out, with 226 finishers for the 5K; 37 for the 10K; 25 for the Assisted Duo 10K (chair pusher and person in the chair) and 11 for the Assisted Duo 5K.

On the course:  The chair folks started first, about 15 minutes before the 5K and 10K, if I remember correctly.  The 10K and the 5K started together at 7:30 a.m. We started on near the park’s pavilion and did a loop through the parking area of the park. This took us to one of the park’s off-road paved trails, which we stayed on until getting to a turn-round point. The course had a few hills on it, some mild, some a bit steeper, but no really steep challenging hills, more like a gradual up-and-down climb for most of them.  The events were out-and-back.  As I was going out, I could already see some of the speedy Ainsley’s Angels folks already heading to the finish line, wow; some of those folks were really speedy.  As I was doing one of the downhills, on my way to the turn-round point, some of the 5K leaders were already heading for the finish. Speedy! The first 10K person finished in 45 minutes and change; that’s about my 5k time, lol. The first 5K guy finished in 17 minutes and change, zowie! I did my usual run/walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks. We had to climb a couple of small up-hills to get to the turn-round point and when I saw the turn-round point, my first thought was this course will be a tad short.  I’ve done a lot of races at this park, and the 5K turn-round is usually farther down on the trail than where it was placed for this event; but it is what it is, so just went with it. I got a photo of the 5K turn-round/water station volunteers and then headed for the finish. I took one more walk break and got a couple more photos and then ran the majority of the last mile non-stop, interacting with a young lady and her father. There was also a bike police officer along the trail – thank you –  so I jokingly called out to him “Aren’t you supposed to be following me in case I need a ride?” lol. After that, non-stop to the finish. Sure enough, when I crossed the finish line, the mileage was at 2.8 miles, and other participants verified they had the same. Well, it is what it is.  I ended up first out of 4 in my 70-99 age group – which is practically a miracle, lol, me being first at my slow pace, but I’ll take it.  Chip time of 37:02, averaging 11:55 per mile, and my last mile was my fastest.

After My Finish:  Got a few photos of others coming in, including my friends Carolyn and Lucy-Dog, and then enjoyed lots of water, a post-race banana and  a Kiolbassa sausage wrap.  They also had post-race Shiner Beer, which I like, but passed on that for today.  I then intermingled with other finishers, supporters, volunteers, etc., getting more photos and enjoying some nice post-race chatting with a lot of people. This is a dog-friendly event also so, yes, the dogs did get treats from me. As usual at a dog-friendly event, I was very dog-popular, lol.      

Epilogue:  This is an event that is always on my race calendar and that will continue. The two brothers are really super-nice people with a great sense of humor and a great cause; I think we all probably know someone, either friend or family member, that is affected by this disease (including me, to a small extent right now; getting some therapy for it) so the two brotherly annual rival events will always have my support. If you’ve never done this one, you’re missing out; well organized, lots of post-race goodies, nice course (usually not short, lol), nice facilities at this park (pavilion, indoor restrooms, water fountains, good trails, etc), and lots of runner/walker camaraderie.  Nice quality race shirt; finisher medals to all finishers, and unique age-group award medal.  Definitely a keeper event. MUCHO thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, including all the many volunteers it takes to put on an event; race company iaap for the timing, results, start-and-finish line set up; friend Erik of e-Dragon for helping with the course layout; the law enforcement/park police and EMT folks out there for us, just in case; our music guy, Paul, rocking out the tunes for us; or MC, Anthony doing his usual great job as MC; all the vendors and sponsors, of course, that help pay for it all; the bike lead guys for the events, who had to really be pushing the pedals with the speed of some of these front runners; and, of course, Miguel and Matthew who started all this way back in the beginning, and anhone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! Whatever your exercise passion is, may you always stay safe and happy with it.  Rest time for me now; I have another race scheduled for the day after this one – and it’s right back at this same park, lol.

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/c6QoVzVEb7A9Dwma9

 Before the Start:  My 22^nd race of 2025 was the Siesta 5K, held at Mission County Park #1 on Sunday April 27^th.  This was the 4^th race of the “Hill Country” series of races put on by Scallywompus. One can sign up for the whole series or for each one individually.  There were several events at this one, including a half marathon, a 10K, a competitive 5K walk, a 5K and a Kids Run before the main events got started.  The half started first, followed by the 10K and Competitive 5K walkers, and then the 5K started last, at 8:30 a.m. Weather was fairly pleasant, with temps in the 60s and we did have some cloud cover. I arrived around 6:15 a.m., so I had plenty of time before the 5K to get some pre-start photos. There was quite a number of participants: 225 for the half; 245 for the 10K; 469 for the 5K; and 33 for the competitive 5K walk. 972 total participants, plus all the volunteers, vendors, etc, made for quite a crowed park. Thankfully, the park is fairly large with two pavilions, indoor restrooms, water fountains, etc., so we had some maneuvering room. This is also a dog-friendly event, so I was quite popular with the canines since I carry dog treats with me.

On the course: The 5K was the last event to start. The course was out-and-back. We left the pavilion and took a downhill onto the paved concrete trails of the Mission Reach Riverwalk, with the river to our right as we headed toward our turn-around point.  I did my usual run/walk thing, 8-min-run/2-min-walk and got some photos during my walk breaks.  The 10K participants also used this course, so we saw some of them on the course; they did 2 loops of the course, whereas we 5K folks just did one simple out-and-back. Most people whip along on the downhills, but for me, with spinal arthritis, downhills actually slam my back more, so I preferred the up-hills, taking it easier on the downhills. Overall I felt pretty good and went clipping along at my usual 12 – 14 minute miles.  The trail is fairly wide to accommodate a lot of people, but with this many participants, it did get a tad crowded in a few spots. Even so, most people were pretty good about it, adjusting as necessary, and making room when the faster participants came along. I ended up finishing with a chip time of 42:29, averaging 13:51 per mile and was 2^nd in my 70 to 74 males age group, since there were only 2 in my age group, lol. The other participant was 30 minutes and change, so left me eating his dust. Lol.

After My Finish:  Got some water and Gatorade in me, did a cool-down walk and then wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants and getting some post-race photos. There were a lot of vendors at this event, giving away some small free items. There were also massage tables, sausage wraps, Shiner Beer, margaritas and lots more.  My friend placed in the post-race costume contest that was put on since this is Fiesta San Antonio time and won a very nice bottle of high quality vodka. Finisher medals to all finishers, and age-group placers got a nicely designed souvenir glass or cup.   

Epilogue: This is a very nicely done event. The park’s pavilion area is large enough to accommodate lots of people and it’s also nice to have indoor restrooms, and there were also water fountains, although there was plenty of bottled water too.  All the courses are done on the San Antonio Riverwalk, so you get some nice views of the river. Very nice quality race shirt, and finisher medals to all finishers.   As noted, lots of goodies too, and our Music Man was playing the tunes for us. The Scallywompus motto is “Come for the race. Stay for the party.”  They aren’t kidding, either; one heck of a nice after-party at all their series of races. If you’ve never done a Scallywompus event, give it a try; you might just like it.

MUCHO thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, including all the many volunteers it takes to put on the Scallywompus events; the police officers and EMT folks out there for our safety; Pushbutton Photography for the ‘official’ race photos; our music and sound-man, Paul; and iaap for the course setup, timing, and results; our MC, Anthony Zamora doing his usual great job; all the race sponsors and supporters, of course; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much!  Hope to see you at a race sometime.  I’ll be easy to find…the one surrounded by dogs who want some of those treats, lol.  To all, happy running, walking, or whatever your exercise passion is. May you all stay safe and healthy.

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/aB2QDjLacm36JRS57           

 Before the Start: My 21^st race of 2025 was the Confetti 5K held on April 26^th. Put on by Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) this event raises scholarship funding for OLLU students. Race start time was at 7:30 a.m.  Because of all the ongoing construction, causing some road closures in the downtown San Antonio area, I left pretty early to have as little traffic as possible; plus, I am directionally challenged, lol. I ended up making a wrong turn due to one of those road closures. Thankfully, I saw a police vehicle in the area, so stopped to ask the officer directions to get back on track. He gave me more than directions, He actually led me to the road I needed to turn onto to get to the university; now that is some service! Thank you so much. Back on track, I got to the university around 5:45 am., so had plenty of time before the start and also managed to get some good parking very close to the start/finish area.  I picked up my packet from friend Shari, whom I noticed was doing packet pickup by herself, as the packet pickup volunteers had not arrived yet; so after getting on my bib number and getting myself set for the start, I then volunteered for a bit with her, doing race-day packet pickup. Some of the volunteers had showed up, so it went quite quickly.  After a few more volunteers got there, I left them to it, and then did my usual pre-race thing of wandering around the start area, chatting with others and getting some pre-start photos. There was a kid’s run before the main event, and after that, we all lined up and got ready to go.

On the course:  Someone told me there were 500 registered for this event, so it was a nice turnout. I found out later from the posted results, there was a total of 430 finishers; 151 male and 279 female. . We started in front of the university’s main buildings, then made a left turn after the start. This took us on a winding course through the campus, with one-out-and-back section, and then onto a paved trail that looped us around the man-made lake near the university grounds, and then we went back onto the university grounds and returned to the finish the way we had first come out. I did my usual thing of run-8-minutes-walk 2 minutes and took on-course photos during my walk breaks, and, since the course was open to the public, also had a few other short stops when I saw people walking their dogs – or maybe the dogs were walking the people, lol – to hand out treats to the doggies. I like dogs and don’t want to hurt one, so I carry treats with me in case any loose dog chases me, and then toss in the opposite direction, which gives me time to walk away, since the dog usually chases the treat; hence my running name and nickname of Scotty Dogg, since some of my friends thinks it’s funny, lol. I was feeling pretty good overall – even after being on a liquid diet for 2 straight days for a colonoscopy I had on Thursday – and ended up finishing with a chip-time of 42:56, good enough for 2nd in my 70-99 age group. There was a total of 8 participants in my old-man group.

After My Finish:  I got some water into me and then wandered around getting some more photos of happy finishers and supporters and also handed out more dog treats – I was very popular with the dogs, lol –  and chatting with a lot of people, e.g., other participants, supporters, race vendors, and so forth. I also went around and thanked the EMTs there and also the police officers there for our safety. My dad was a juvenile probation officer for the county, so I am very pro-law enforcement – although I could not get away with anything, lol. If I got pulled over for speeding, for example, and the officer checked my ID, the first thing I’d get asked is “Are you Bob’s kid?” lol. 

Epilogue: This is a ‘streak’ event for me; I’ve done every one of them since it first started. Last year, I was surprised to see that my 2024 photo the official race photographer had taken was put onto the race site as the photo to announce the 2025 upcoming event, wow.  I was honored and appreciative.  This is one race I will continue to do every year as long as I am able. There was a whole lot of things at this event too, including goodies like sausage wraps; Shiner beer; lots of water, of course; fresh fruits – mostly bananas –  and all kinds of vendors there, giving away some small free items, some candies, and several other things. University cheer teams lined up at the start and finish, cheering us out and then back in; and some of the music/band students were out there too, playing for us. As noted, they nicely had one part of the university opened for us to use indoor restrooms, but there were also several porta-potties; I never did see any really long bathroom lines.  Very nice, scenic course too, as we worked our way around the man-made lake. The finisher/award medal is also very nicely done.  This is also a pet friendly and stroller-friendly course as just about all flat, with just a couple of up rises as we crossed a couple of bridges, but nothing serious.  People with disabilities would be able to do this course.  This is a really well-done and fun event.  It is definitely a keeper on my race calendar for as long as I can run. MUCHO thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, including OLLU leadership; all the many volunteers out there for us; EMT and law enforcement people there for our safety; the cheer times and the music folks at the finish and start; and the patience of users of the lake course who were not participants, at the lake trail was still open to the public during our event. Thanks also to all the vendors/volunteers who provided us with lots of post-race goodies, eats-and-drinks and small give-away things; and to anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! May you all stat safe, happy, and healthy.  See you next year at this one, the Lord willing.

Photos are here:        https://photos.app.goo.gl/J4fKuDNzZEWQWkh66

Before the Start:   My 20^th race of 2025 was the San Antonio Roadrunners Mission Run, which included a half marathon (0715 start) a 10K (0730 start) and a 5K (0745 start), which is the one I did. Held on Sunday, April 13^th at San Antonio Missions County Park #1, this was my second race of this weekend, after doing the Life is Good 5K on Saturday. I knew this would be a pretty popular event – the 5K alone had 313 finishers – so I arrived a little past 0630 and found pretty good parking. Walking to race day packet pickup, I encountered my awesome friend Jorgina, who signed up for the half marathon – her 150^th lifetime half! She is amazing.  After getting my packet, I then wandered around chatting with other participants, volunteers, supporters, etc. and getting some pre-start photos. The place was pretty active already, with vendors/sponsors setting up; iaap, who did the timing/results, doing their setup things, and race day packet pickup volunteers doing their thing. Our Music Man, Paul, was already doing his thing, entertaining us with a variety of music, and our MC, Anthony, was also giving us a lot of commentary about race start times, instructions about the start times, lining up, and so forth. Just before the half was started, Anthony announced The National Anthem would be played and said “Let’s have a veteran hold the flag for us…” and handed it to me; so I had the honor of holding the flag high for The National Anthem. I was thankful Old Glory for this event was a single flag on a very simple wooden staff so I could hold it; it if had been on the heavier ‘full-staff” larger flags, my arthritic back would never have been able to maintain.  As it was, everything went well, thankfully. There was then a kid’s race before the main events started.  After the half folks got started, I continued to wander here-and-there, chatting with friends, participants, supporters, etc. and getting more pre-start photos.  The 10K folks started right on time also, and finally it was the turn of us 5K runners and walkers, and we started right on time also.

On the course:   I initially thought this event was going to be along the Riverwalk by the park, but with all these participants – hundreds of us for all 3 events – that probably would have been a safety hazard on the narrow riverwalk, possibly with some people ending up splashing into the river; so we stuck to the roads.  We started in front of the main pavilion at the park, went down a sidewalk in front of the park, then crossed park’s entrance road and went onto another sidewalk. This took us to Padre Drive, where we made a left turn. This is a nicely paved road, wide enough to accommodate a lot of people.  I also started seeing a few of the speedier 10K leaders already coming toward us, heading for their finish.
Padre Drive took us to Pyron Avenue.  A left turn onto this road took us up-and-down a series of short inclines – nothing you could really call a hill – and then past a water station. We went a bit farther past the water station and just before an overpass bridge we did a turn-round just before the bridge and then headed in reverse of the way we had come out.  As I headed for the 5K finish, I began to see more 10K people showing up – most of whom passed by me pretty quick, lol – as each of them headed for his/her finish. After Mile 2, I pretty much ran non-stop to the finish, with just a couple of quick photo stops, ignoring my garmin giving me my run/walk interval signals.  I ended up finished my 5K with a 40:58 chip time, averaging 13:11 per mile; per my Garmin, my last mile was done in 12:35, which is pretty speedy for a slow, old dog like me, lol. I was surprised to find that I was first in my 70-99 males age group, and thought that would change if somebody who got a late start came in with a faster chip time; however, that did not happen, so I stayed first in my age group; WHAT? At that slow pace? Well, okay then, I’ll take it.

After My Finish:   After getting my finisher medal, I then got some water into me, and wandered around chatting with others; getting some post-5K photos; and, as this is a dog-friendly event, handing out treats to the doggies; I was very popular with the dogs, lol.  The 5K awards ceremony was the first to be held, and they started with the senior folks first – thank you for that MC Anthony.  Age-group placers got a straw Sombrilla hat and small jar full of various treats.  I got an “award photo” with my hat and treats and then gave the Sombrilla to a kid, lol, since I really hate wearing hats. When I retired from the Air Force, I jokingly asked a legal officer if I could sue the Air Force for giving me that bald spot on the top back of my head from having to wear all those service hats. Umm, that would be a big no, lol.  I got a nice photo of me and the young lad and his family, while he was wearing the hat, with a big smile.  I stuck around for quite a while after that, waiting to see Jorgina finish her her 150^th half.  My friend Woody waited with me too for a bit, but finally we both had to leave, so we never did see her come in. I know she got it done though – she always does – so big congrats to her!

Epilogue:   One of the most fun & entertaining events I’ve done this year.  Kudos to San Antonio Roadrunners for doing such a great job with it. I definitely would do this again and would recommend it to others. Lots of post-race goodies, including grilled sausage wraps, Shiner Bock Beer – including a non-alcoholic beer they have that actually tastes like true beer, which is what I had since I was driving myself. There was lots more too. My friend, Gilbert The Fruit Master was there, making sure I got my post-race banana that I usually have after my events; also nice to see friend Whitney there; haven’t seen him for a long while;  he was helping out with the event; thank you.  Very nicely designed small finisher medal; really nice quality race shirt; and unique age-group awards.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for us, including San Antonio Roadrunners folks there for packet pickup, race day registration, etc.; all the many sponsors and vendors; The EMT guy there – had a nice chat with him; the law enforcement folks there for our safety; Pushbutton Photography folks for all the photos they took;  our MC Anthony and our sound guy Paul, doing their usual great jobs; iaap for the timing and results and also, saw a couple of them on the course as Course Marshals; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  See you at this one next year!

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/Yr2myJa84anoBt9R8

Before the Start:   My 19^th  race of 2025 was the Life is Good 5K held on April 12^th at the River City Community Church in San Antonio on Lookout Road in San Antonio.  Put on b Soler’s Sports, this event supports the Pregnancy Care Center, which assists women with such things as pregnancy tests with immediate results; counseling; free ultrasounds; community for various services, counseling, and more. The event was held at the River City Community Church on Outlook Road in Selma, Texas, which is a huge complex and is adjacent to the Retama Park Horse Racing grounds.  Long ago, this used to be a concert venue too; I recall seeing and Aerosmith concert here many years back.  There was also a kid’s run before the main event.  Start time of 8 a.m.  There was a total of 115 finishers for the 5K. There was also a Kid’s Run before the 5K started. I arrived about 45 minutes before start time and got a few pre-start photos.

On the course:  For this event, I wore bright pink. Not many people realize the ribbon color for pregnancy issues and infant loss is pink; so I wore this in support of all the ladies having issues. The event started right on time. The start and finish was near the facility auditorium, which was on our left when we all lined up.  The course was held entirely on the campus grounds, with the majority of the route on the paved parking lots of the complex.  To begin, we started on a  paved road surface going down a steep hill – which was short, thankfully – and then diverted for a short bit onto a concrete trail that took us down to the asphalt-paved parking lots area. We did two out-and-backs on these lots and then wound around another huge parking lot that took us past a few of the Retama horse-pens that were nearby. I swear, I think when I went by one of them one of the horses in there was actually snickering at my slow pace, lol. After making a big ‘square’ around this parking lot, we then turned back onto the first parking area road we had been on and headed back for the finish. Once we turned onto that, we then went around this last parking area, and that took us back to the road we had originally started on, and then the last thing we did was climb up that short hill to get to the finish. I felt pretty good the whole way and did my usual run/walk thing and took photos during my walk breaks. For the last mile, I ran just about all of that non-stop.  I ended up with a chip time of 38:48, averaging 12:29 per mile, which I was quite happy with; in training runs, I normally do 13 – 14 minute miles. I ended up 2^nd in my 70-99 males age group; primarily, lol, because there were only 2 in my age group. He first guy finished in 29:52, wow; that guy must eat a lot of Wheaties, lol.

After My Finish:  After getting my finisher medal and getting some water in me, I then wandered here and there, chatting with participants, supporters, and volunteers, and getting some post-race photos. There was also a post-race baby-crawl along a short padded mat, with the first baby to reach the finish line getting a prize. That was pretty entertaining. I joked with my friend, Sam, at my pace, I should have done this one, lol.   There were also all kinds of goodies post-race including grilled sausage wraps, some donuts, really huge bottles of water, and more.  The organizers encouraged people there to take water bottles and food home with them, as it saves the organizers a lot of time in cleaning up post-race, and a lot of people did as asked, including me; I took a couple of those bottled waters.

Epilogue:    MUCHO thanks to all who made the one happen for we participants, e.g, all the many volunteers, several of whom had to be out there pretty early to get ready for race-day packet pickup;  my friend and our Race Director, Lisa Haby Soler, owner of Soler’s Sports; she puts on quite a few good events over the year, so check out the Soler’s Sports site;  my friend Tony Garcia, who was helping lay out the course; my friend Anthony Zamora, who did his usual great job of being MC for us;  my friends from Pushbutton Photography, the official race photographers;  my friends from iaap who did the timing and provided the results;  our grillers who prepared those sausage wraps; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Gee, in re-reading this, I have a lot of friends in the running community; I am one lucky dog.  Whatever your passion is, may you always enjoy it and stay safe and healthy.  Happy running, walking, cycling, etc., to all!

Photos are here:    https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y8bdtMRp99LDj6f16

Before the Start:   My 18^th race was the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K held on Sunday, April 6^th at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio. This was my 2^nd cancer 5K event of the weekend, after doing Give Cancer The Boot 5K on Saturday, April 5^th.  Put on by the Cancer Coalition of Santonio. With headquarters in Minnesota, the Cancer Coalition, via several satellite locations, such as San Antonio, has a mission to raise awareness about colorectal cancer, doing this primarily via its Get Your Rear In Gear 5K which is held in several US cities over the year at various dates and times.  The 5k main event start time was 8 a.m., with race day registration and packet pickup starting at 6:30 a.m., followed by an opening ceremony and then a Kids Run at 7:50 a.m.     I arrived around 6:45 a.m., got my race packet, and then got a few pre-start photos.

On the course:  The event started right on time. The weather for his one was a bit different than my Saturday morning 5K, which had lots of sunshine, a temp of 62 degrees, and just some wind in certain places along the course. This is Texas, so the weather can change hourly, lol.  On Sunday morning in the San Antonio area, we woke up to temperatures in the low 40s, with a “feels like’ temp of 39 degrees, and a very strong-blowing wind.   BRRRR! Thankfully, we did have a lot of sunshine and at various points along the course, the wind actually remained fairly calm. The start and finish was in front of the Morgan’s Sports Complex, across the street from the main Morgan’s Wonderland Park, and nearby to Heroes Stadium. This was primarily a loop course, with one out-and-back part on the course. The first mile took us out of the start area and then down to Morgan’s Wonderland Park, where did a loop around the man-made lake in the park. We then exited the park, went back the way we had come out, and then turned onto a road that took us toward Morgan’s Wonderlands MAC (Mult-Assistance Center) which helps those with various disabilities and special needs.  After passing the MAC, we then went past Heroes Stadium on our left, crossed over an intersecting street and the went onto an access road that has a fairly steep hill that intersect with the Wurzbach Parkway.  Thankfully, we had a turn-around before that steep hill, thank goodness. We then proceeded back the way we had come out and then turned into the parking area of Heroes Stadium.  After doing a short jaunt through this, we then were back on the road going in the direction of that Wurzbach Parkway intersecting road; however, at the intersection, we made a right turn, taking us onto a road going behind Heroes Stadium.  This road was our last half-mile of the course that took us back to the finish line.  I ended up with a chip time finish of 40:59, averaging a 13:12 per mile pace with my run/walk method, and also stopping on a couple of extra times to take some photos.  I was first in my age group, primarily, lol, because I was the only one in my 70 to 79 males age group, lol.  I’ll take it.

After My Finish:  Got some water, did a short cool-down walk, and then wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, volunteers, supporters, and getting some post-race photos. There was quite a lot going on with the awards ceremony, various types of goodies, lots of photo-taking, and more.  There was also a table where survivors could get a grab-bag of goodies that included things like a big cookie, small plants, and more.  Nicely done.

Epilogue:   This is one of my ‘Always Do’ events, as colon cancer was my first cancer – at age 29 – out of the three I’ve dealt with. Thankfully, I was VERY lucky because it got caught so very early, thanks to a relative who advised me to get tested; so I ended up needing very little procedures; all I required was a local excision, thank goodness.  This was found the same year I started my running life, so I have this ‘superstition’ that as long as I keep running I will not have a recurrence; thus, I took all my running shirts and had  a print shop put on the front-and-back “I BEAT CANCER. NEVER GIVE UP!” as a self-motivation method. It does help me mentally and I’ve beaten 2 other cancers: skin cancer; and then prostate cancer, which was my most difficult one, with radiation 5 days a week for 7 weeks.  I thank the Lord for the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) medical staff that treated me for my last two types; they really did literally save my life. Now, with modern-day testing procedures, it is so much easier for people to catch these things early, so I would encourage everyone to get tested early, especially if you have a family history of relatives with ANY type of cancer.

MUCHO thanks to all who made the one happen for we participant: The Cancer Coalition; iaap for the timing, results, etc.; our MC there for us, who did a wonderful job; all the many volunteers who were packet pickup volunteers; course marshals; start/finish line volunteers; announcers; our sound guy; the police officers there for our safety; give-away volunteers – there was a table where survivors got some nice swag post-race – and of course, all the sponsors listed on the back of the race shirt, that truly make this one happen with their donations for the cause; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned. Thank you all!  Hope to see all of you again next year.  May you all be happy, healthy and safe.