Scottydog Reports

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.

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.