Scottydog Reports

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/pHEsuJdeLGwqNH9o9     

Before the Start:   My 17^th race of 2025 was Give Cancer The Boot Survivorship 5K held on Saturday,  April 5, at UT Health Mays Cancer Center in San Antonio.  This is an event celebrating survivors, so survivors get free entry to this event. The race start time was 9 a.m. It looked a bit iffy at first, as local weather forecasts call for strong winds and some rain in the morning on race day.  It did rain on race day early in the morning but by the time I arrived at the race site with friends Carolyn and dog Lucy, the rain had stopped, and we had lots of sunshine. The wind was blowing pretty steadily though, making it feel a tad chilly.  I had previously picked up my race packet at the packet pickup on Friday, so after arrival I wandered here-and-there, chatting with friends there, other participants, supporters, volunteers, etc., and got a few pre-start photos.  There was an area across from the start area that had all kinds of vendors; a massage table;  food booths, sponsor booths, and much more. There was also a film crew interviewing survivors; they did an interview with me and also with a few of my survivor friends. Also happening before the start was a dancing exhibition by Folklorico Dancers; and Rowdy Roadrunner of UTSA showed up, so I made sure to get a photo with him as I am a UTSA staff member with just over 28 years’ service.  Rowdy and I go back a long way, lol. Sparky the Fire Dog was there too, so I also got a photo with this ‘fellow dog’, lol.  Lots going on before the start, which was nice.

On the course:  Prior to the main event, there was a Kid’s Run, so we cheered them on.  The National Anthem was played and then we 5K folks lined up for our start. At packet pickup, my friend Scott, co-owner of Athlete Guild, had told me there were 1200 registered so far. However, after we finished, I saw the results listed the total finishers at 552, so maybe some did it virtually, or ‘ducked out’ due to the weather forecast predicting rain and lots of wind. Well, we did have a windy outing, but no rain at all;  “abundant sunshine” as some forecasters say, with a temp of 63 degrees.  I did my usual run/walk thing – can’t run nonstop anymore due to spinal arthritis – and took on-course photos during my walk breaks. I felt pretty good the whole way, and ended up running most of the last mile non-stop. There were 7 in my 70-99 males age group. I ended up 3^rd with a chip time of 40:48, averaging 13:08 with my run/walk method and photo stops along the way, and I met my two primary race goals:  finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting specifically for me, lol. 

After My Finish: A volunteer handed me my finisher medal, and then I stood  a short ways up from the finish timing mat and got a few photos of others finishing, including a few personal friends.  I then got some post-race water and also ate a banana, and then began wandering around again – good doggie that I am, lol; we loose doggies always wander around, right?  – and got some post-race photos of happy finishers, supporters, volunteers, friends, some of the Athlete Guild folks, etc.  I usually stay quite a while after I finish as I interact with othes. 

Epilogue:   This is one of my favorite events of the year and it is really cool and very special to interact with other survivors and share with each other our particular stories.  I know and appreciate that our families and friends give/or have given great support to we survivors and that is SO helpful; but, really, if you have not personally experienced cancer – and I hope you never do – you can’t truly understand what a patient goes through in dealing with his/her emotions; the worries about if this treatment will work; the nervousness of having a recurrence; dealing with the side-effects, which sometimes can be long-lasting – I still have side effects from my 2021/2022 prostate cancer – and so forth. I am retired military so my treatments were at BAMC, and the medical people at BAMC literally saved my life; and I bet survivors of the UT-Health System feel the same way about their teams. God bless the medical folks there for us.

My next event after this one will be pretty quick.  On my race schedule: Get Your Rear in Gear 5K, April 6^th at Morgan’s Wonderland.  This one is for Colon Cancer Awareness and support. I always try do to this one every year too, as this was my first cancer way back when.  Thankfully it was caught so early I had a pretty easy time of it, but I am on a schedule that has me now getting a colonoscopy every 3 years; oh yay, lol, it’s so nice drinking that tasty prep stuff; even so, better safe than sorry! Much thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants; primary sponsors UT Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center, and all the other sponsors for us, listed on the back of the shirt (I have a photo in my race report listing them all); Athlete Guild for the course setup, timing, and results;  all the many volunteers and vendors out there for us, as well as the law enforcement officers out there for our safety; our MC, my friend Anthony Zamora; and our Music-and-Sound Man,, my friend, Paul; both of them doing their usual great job; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all! Hope to see you sometime at a future event

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/4mVFMXvLuqjtkbeBA

Before the Start:  My 16^th 5K of 2025 saw the Scallywompus Wanderlust 5K, one of the events in the Scallywompus Texas Hill Country series of 4 races. This event, held in Fredericksburg, Texas, included a half marathon; 10K; 5K; and 5K competitive walk.  All events started and finished at the Fredericksburg Town Square area.  I got up fairly early and left early as Fredericksburg over an hour’s drive from where I live in San Antonio.  The drive mentally felt long, and there was one lane closure along the way on Interstate 10-west, but that went pretty quickly. There was also a lot of fog and spitting light rain every once in a while. The hardest part of the drive for me was when we turned onto the Route 87 that took us into Fredericksburg; lots of steep hills to drive up-and-down an done of the most boring roads ever that I have been on, lol. Mentally, it felt like it took ‘forever’ to finally get to Fredericksburg.  I finally did get there, found some pretty good parking, picked up my packet, and then enjoyed chatting with others there, and getting some pre-start photos and, as this is a dog-friendly event, handed out doggie treats, making new 4-legged friends. There were quite a few dogs at this event.

On the course:     The half started first at 8 a.m., followed by the 10k and competitive 5K walkers at 8:45 a.m. and then we 5K participants at 9 a.m.  It was quite a crowd for each race; the 5K alone had 370 finishers. The National Anthem was played and then each event got started right on time. I heard post-race from the half marathon participants that they had one heck of a steep hill to climb on their course. I’m not sure if the 10K had hills. As for us 5K folks, our course was pretty flat for most of the way with just a few mild inclines to go up/down; for the most part it was pretty flat. The course went through the neighborhoods adjacent and behind the town square area. The weather pretty much cooperated too, with a temp around 68 degrees – I prefer running in warm weather, lol – lots of cloud cover, and the humidity was not too bad at all. I did my usual method of 8-minute-run/2 minute-walk – can’t run a whole event nonstop anymore due to my spinal arthritis – and took some photos during my walk breaks. I ran most of the last mile non-stop, ignoring my watch beeping to take my last walk break.  I ended up 2^nd out of 3 participant in my 70 to 74 males age group, with a chip time of 39:47, averaging 12:49 per mile. Per my Garmin, I also had negative splits, with my last mile being 12:19, which was nice. I have not seen that pace result since before I had my prostate cancer in 2021, so it looks like I am gradually getting back to my old running self.

After My Finish: A young lass handed us our finishers medal and then I stood a bit away from the finish mat and got a few photos of others finishing. After that, I went and got some water into me, and wandered around getting some after-photos of participants, volunteers, supporters – including the dogs, of course; I was very popular with the dogs, lol, since I had treats. Age group award was a nice wine glass but, as I have done a lot of Scallywompus events over the years, I am running out of shelf-room for them, lol; so I gave mine to a nice lady who is a wine drinker, which I am not, and continued to wander here-and-there, chatting with lots of people there and getting post-event photos.  I saw my friend Elaine, and she told me the organizers had run out of finisher medals – I guess there was a bigger turnout than expected – and a friend of hers had done the 10K  – her first one if I remember correctly – so I gave my medal to Elaine to give to her friend.  I usually don’t keep my medals anyway.  I toss them into a box I have and after I get enough of them, I then donated them to the Morgan’s Wonderland Multi-Assistance Center (The MAC) to give to the disabled kids being helped there or to one of our local hospitals to give to kids fighting cancer.  The young lady was very happy to get the medal and I got a photo with her – except I forgot, lol, that I had the VW Bus magnet part of the medal in my pocket, so I will have to give that to Elaine next time I see her to give to her friend.

Epilogue:  Scallywompus put on these Series events over the whole year, that each include The Alamo Beer Series and The Texas Hill Country Series.  Each series includes 4 events.  One can sign up for each individually or for all  four at the same time and get a registration discount. The Scallywompus philosophy is “Come for the race. Stay for the party.”  They are not kidding, either.  They throw quite an elaborate post-race party with all kinds of food vendors, both alcoholic beverages (wine, margaritas, and more) and nonalcoholic beverages.  There was another pavilion across from the main pavilion where one could get grilled sausage wraps, all kinds of various food items, including fresh fruits, various candies, and more.  Music was provided by the DJ, my friend Paul, and very nice finisher medals for each race.   The magnetic finisher medals for this one were also “hippy-themed” and had a VW Bus magnet that attaches to the medal.  Race-themed dress is encouraged for each series. For the Wanderlust, which had a 60s and 70s hippy theme, several  participants and supporters showed up in tye-dyed shirts, bell bottoms, big wild sunglasses/glasses – reminded me of Sir Elton John, lol – and all kinds of various themed items; fun stuff.  One guy I was near on the course ran in his bell-bottomed pants, leather vest, etc., and he was pretty quick too, he was in front of me the whole way. Fun stuff.

Mucho thanks to all the folks that mad this one happen for we participants:  Our Race Director who I think was my friend Tony Garcia; our MC Anthony Zamora doing his usual great job; our DJ Music Man, Paul; all the many volunteers there  for us doing race-day packet pickup; being course marshals; handing out medals at the finish line, providing water and other drinks for us, and so forth; the law enforcement and medical people there for us; Pushbutton Photography folks taking the ‘official” race photos – far better than my amateur ones, lol; the bike lead folks for the speedy participants – I wonder if one of them had to ‘bike lead’ up that steep half-marathon hill – all the people who came to support their friends or family runners and cheered all of us on; all the race sponsors; and anyone else involved here I did not mention; thank you all!  Next event for me is Give Cancer The Boot 5K on April 5^th, put on by UT Health.  See you there if you’ve signed up. Happy and safe-and-successful running to all!

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/o5trWrevEGrmFXcP6

Before the Start:   My 15^th 5K of 2025 was the Helotes Beer Garden Run, held at the Helotes Festival Grounds on Saturday, March 22^nd , with Soler’s Sports – owned and operated by my friend, Lisa Soler –  organizing and overseeing this event. Sports This is a very popular event, proved by the 647 finishers for the 5K, wow. This event supports Hope Hits Harder, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children diagnosed with cancer. As a cancer survivor myself, I try to do as many cancer-related events as possible, especially those supporting children’s cancer. No kid should ever have to go through that; they should just be able to enjoy being a kid, doing kid things; hopefully, someday that will happen for all of them. In addition to the 5K, there was also a 1K walk and 1-mile walk, if remember correctly.  Because of the number of participants there was a ‘wave start” with the speedier folks starting Wave 1 at 8:15 a.m. and the rest of us, Wave 2,  starting at 9 a.m.  The speedier Wave 1 participants had yellow bibs and we Wave 2 participants had red bibs.  I arrived with plenty of time before the start, got my packet and then wandered around chatting with participants, sponsors, supporters, etc., and getting a few pre-start photos.

On the course:  We had really nice weather for this one; abundant sunshine, blue skies, a temperature in the mid to upper 50s, and no wind.  The course was a mix of paved road; off-road on natural grass; one part where there was a bit of gravel; and pavement in the fair grounds and on the street adjacent to the Fairgrounds. The 5K course was 2 laps around.   Each wave started right on time.  By the time Wave 2 started, the speedier front-runners in Wave 1 had pretty much already finished. Because this was partly off-road on some uneven ground, I had to check with my Physical Therapist that it was ok for me to do this one, as I had just recently completed 5 weeks of physical therapy for a small stress fracture just underneath my right ankle; it’s healed now, but I did not want to relapse. He told me just to take it easy go slow when I had to. No worries there, I only have two paces, slow and slower, lol.  I did my usual thing of run 8-minutes-running, 2-minutes-walking, and got some on-course photos during my walk breaks. I felt pretty good overall and had no issues with the course. For what they had to work with at the Fairgrounds, the organizers did a pretty good job laying out the course; for the most part it was pretty flat, with just a slight downhill on a paved street, and a longer up-incline on gravel right before we got to the Mile 1 marker; that gravel part was tough, but I found by staying over to the outer edge near the adjacent grass, it actually was pretty smooth and worn down pretty well, so I didn’t have any problems with it.  The second lap I actually felt even better, so ended up talking 1 walk-break and then running the last ½ mile to the finish nonstop.  I did the first loop in 20:14 and the 2^nd loop in 18:59, finishing with a chip time of 29:13, averaging 12:38 per mile, which I thought was pretty good for this old dog, lol; I was quite happy with my result.  In my 70-99 males age group, I finished 6^th out of 9 participants.

After My Finish:   I got a few photos of other coming in and then wandered here-and-there, chatting with other participants, vendors, volunteers, supporters, etc. and even enjoyed a small cup of beer post-race. It is the Beer 5K, after all, so there were several breweries represented, with all kinds of different types of beer products.   There was also grilled sausage wraps post-race, as well as a lot of other goodies too from the various vendors. We also had a sound guy playing some music, and there were games for the kiddies, and all kinds of backdrops everywhere for photo ops, as well as many types of treats and eats and, of course, plenty of water.

Epilogue:   I have done this one a few times in the past and would do it again; and I would recommend it to others.  Yes, the course is sort of odd in places, but overall, with what they had to work with, the organizers did a pretty darn good job of laying it out. The race shirt is very nice quality, and the post-race party is very good with lots of offerings for everyone. The festival grounds also has play areas for the kiddie and this event is also dog-friendly; I handed out quite a few dog-treats to the doggies there and was soon very popular with them, lol..  Nice indoor restrooms too, which sure beats porta-potties, lol.

Mucho thanks to all who made this happen for we participants, including Soler’s Sports, the primary sponsors Gold’s Gym, and  Stout House, which also hosted the pre-race-day packet pick-up: Junk King San Antonio; 7-to-7 Dental; Attorney Roland Gonzales; Frost; New American Funding; Gehring Realty; Prestige Emergency Room, and the EMTs there for us, just in case; Elite Chiropractic & Rehab; Alaka’Ina Foundation; Taco Palenque; Renewal by Anderson; SZ, a construction company; and, of course, all those great beer companies for providing us all that post-race beer and much more; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Next up for me is the Scallywompus Wandfest 5K on March 29^th in Fredericksburg.  See you there if you are signed up.  Meanwhile, I wish to all  happy and safe running, walking, cycling, or whatever your exercise passion is. 

Photos are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/HfXeMGu5eywQqz2w9       

Before the Start:   My 14^th race of 2025 was the Shamrock Shuffle 5K held on March 15^th at Ladybird Johnson Park in San Antonio, Texas.  Put on by local running company iRun Texas, this event raised funds for Transplants for Children. The race start time was 8:30 a.m., with a Kids Run at 8 a.m.  There were 425 finishers at this event.  I arrived with just under an hour to go and got a few pre-start photos. This is also a dog-friendly event so, after handing out treats to a couple of them, I became very popular with the dogs there, lol.

On the course:  Major wind was predicted to arrive in San Antonio around 12 pm.  There was a bit of light wind, but nothing very serious and while we were on the course there was just about no wind at all.   We had abundant sunshine with a nice temp in the low 60s.  The course was out-and-back.  We started on the traffic circle at the park, making a loop around this, and then heading down a short incline to the park’s paved off-road trails.  We had a few up-and-down inclines along the way, but nothing you could really call a major hill.  The course took us toward the Los Patios Shoppes area and the 410-frontage road, which was our turn-round point, where we went about face and returned to the start/finish line in reverse of the way we had come out.  With 425 participants, the course was a bit crowded in the early stages but, from where I was at any given point, everyone was very courteous about it all, giving way to the faster participants.  The park was also open to non-participating users, so we did encounter some cyclists and other runners and walkers doing their own thing; they, too, were pretty polite about it all, from what I saw at any given time on the course. I did my usual 8-minutes-running/2-minutes-walking and took some photos during my walk breaks.  I am not speedy by any means – averaging 12 to 14 minutes-per-mile with my run/walk and photo stops – and was feeling pretty good the whole way.  After taking a walk-and-photo break just after mile 2, I then ran back to the finish non-stop, ignoring my timer when it beeped for me next walk break. I ended up with a chip time of 40:10, averaging 12:48 per mile, which is pretty good for my usual slow self, lol. I did not place in my 70 – 74 males age group; I am not sure where I placed or how many there were in my age group; I could not find any online posted age group results for this event. Even so, I made my two primary race goals: finish standing up and no ambulance waiting specifically for me, lol.

After My Finish:   I got a few photos of some others coming up the last incline as they headed to the finish, and then wandered around, chatting with other participants and getting photos of happy finishers, supporters, volunteers, etc.   Post-race goodies included Shiner Bock beer – which was turned green by some method – as well as some nutrition bars, bottled water, bananas, and more.  The awards ceremony was done at the park’s main pavilion – it’s only pavilion – and the age group awards were these small green plants.  The overall female and male winners each got a brand-new pair of Saucony running shoes. The awards were presented nicely by our MC, who kindly started with the oldest age groups first, so we could get home and get our nap after this outing, lol. Epilogue:   This is a very nicely done event put on by iRun Texas, well-organized and managed. The course is very nice, with off-road paved trails large enough to accommodate a lot of participants. Each finisher got a very nice-quality small finisher medal.  The race shirt is very nice quality too; I passed on the shirt, since I do so many races each month, I am running out of room for shirts, lol, so iRun folks at packet pickup gave me a free pair of running socks instead, nice.  Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants:  iRun; Split Second Timing;  all the many volunteers for packet pickup and race day; the EMTs and police officers out there for our safety; Shiner Bock Beer, Saucony, and all the other sponsors; our MC, Anthony Zamora, doing his usual great job as MC; and everyone else involved that I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all!  Hope to see you at a future running event sometime.

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/ixaijFPr5mb37yfX9      

Before the Start:  My 13^th race of 2025 was Free-da’s Run, a 5K run/walk for the arts, held at McAllister Park on Sunday, March 9^th, with a 9 a.m. start time.  Put on by local race management company iaap that did the course setup, timing, results etc., this was my second 5K of the weekend with iaap, after doing the Active 5K on Saturday, for which iaap also did the course setup, timing, etc.  Unlike my Saturday 5K that had over 1300 finishers, this one was a tad smaller with a total of 209 finishers, so probably a bit easier for iaap to manage than the Sunday on.  As usual, iaap did a great job for both events.  Free-da’s Run honors Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter and feminist icon known for her vibrant self-portraits and works inspired by Mexican nature and artifacts  I arrived with about 40 minutes to start time and got a few pre-start photos. Several participants were in Frida costume, and there were also Frida backdrops for photo ops. This is a dog-friendly event too, so I also handed out treats to the doggies there.

On the course: The weather for this one had changed pretty drastically from my Saturday 5K, which had temps in the 60s and lots of sunshine.  We had sunshine for this one too, but a cold front had come in overnight dropping our temperature to the mid-40s, with a blowing wind of 15 – 20 mph, making it feel a bit chillier than the actual temp – Weather Channel listed the temp as 43 degrees with a ‘feels like of 39” due to the wind. The course started and finished at the park pavilion near the lower soccer fields in the park. It is a very flat out-and-back course, which my legs appreciated after the few inclines on the Saturday 5K.  We started in front of the soccer fields, passed by the park’s youth baseball field, and then proceeded up a wide park road, with the wind gusting around us. After about a half-mile or so, we went around a curve in the road and then had woods on either side of us, which made for a nice windbreaker on this part of the course. This road took us toward Becken Pavilion in the direction of Jones Maltsberger Road.  A short ways down from the pavilion, we went off-road onto one of the park’s paved trails and made a right turn going in the direction of Becken Pavilion.  There was a water station here – I jokingly asked the volunteer “No beer?” and also a Park Police Officer I knew doing road duty for our safety, who gave me a shout-out, so stopped for a few seconds, as it was nice to see him again…friendship man-hug, and then I was on my way again.   Just before the pavilion we then made a left turn onto another trail that would have taken us past a nearby police substation if we had gone that far, but we did not; we had a turn-around before we got that far and then went back to the finish in reverse of the way we had come out.  While we were on the trail, as noted previously, we the woods on either side of us protected us from the gusting wind. Once we got back on the park road we had come out on, we passed the Mile 2 marker and headed back the way we had come out to get to the finish, again with very little wind until….we rounded a curve and were back on the first part of this road we had come out on…and the wind was right in our faces, whipping steadily at us all the way to the finish line, wow.  I pretty much ran the last mile non-stop, ignoring my watch beeping my walk-break signal, with just one short stop to take a couple of photos on this windy return part, and then went non-stop to the finish. I ended up with a chip time of 41:28, gun time 41:49, good enough for 3^rd in my 70-99 males age category, especially, lol, as there were only 3 in my age group.

After My Finish:    I got a few photos of others coming into the finish, including one of two Team Beef ladies I had been running on-and-off with on the course. On my way to the finish, I kept expecting they would catch up with me but that didn’t happen, not because they were slower than me, but because I think they did a little extra walking along the way.  I then wandered around here-and-there getting photos of happy finishers and supporters; handed out more doggie treats; chatted with friends and other runners; and got photos of some of the age-group placers – several of my personal friends placed – and photos of my friends Ceci – the founder of this 5K – and Lana, another iaap family member who was our MC for this event – and got had some photos taken of me too.    After that, it was time to go home and take a hot shower, after being in this cold wind for a while.  This did not take long at all, as I only live 5 miles from the park, so very convenient. Believe me, after that wind

Epilogue: iaap does a great job with all the events they put on and this one was no exception. Very well organized, nice course – that darn wind though, but even iaap can’t control that, lol – colorful race bibs, very nice finisher medals for all and a very unique age-group placer ribbon with a small head on the end of it, black head for males, blue for the ladies. There was also food served up, primarily some kind of Mexican food dish, which was enjoyed by many. I had to pass on that since my first cancer – colon – screwed up my digestive tract a bit, so the spiciest thing I am allowed to eat is simple yellow mustard; no onions, no garlic, tabasco sauce, etc., anything with a ‘spicy kick’. It’s all good though; as you can see from my photos I am not starving, lol. Mucho thanks to all the people who helped make this one happen for we participants, including the Iniguez family (owners of iaap); all the many volunteers there for us; the park police officers there for us; all the race sponsors; and also thanks for the patience of the non-participating park patrons who were in the park during the event, as we invaded their space for a while, as the park was still open for all users during the 5K, and to anyone else involved not mentioned here. Thank you all.  Next event coming up for me is March 15 Shamrock Shuffle at Ladybird Johnson Park, another park only about 5-miles from where I live, very convenient.   Happy running to all my fellow runners; stay safe and have fun.    

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/oaWqT3QQFyBSn5C79

Before the Start:  My 12^th race of 2025 was the San Antonio Activate 5K held on March 8^th at Misson County Park.   Start time just past 8 a.m. This race, put on by San Atonio Sports, had only a $5 registration fee, so it got lots of entries.  Per results posted on the iaap website, there were 1,179 finishers, WOW.  Not sure how many actually registered; some participants probably did this event virtually, including my wife. I had picked up my packet a couple of days before race day, so I was ready to go. I knew the parking would be kind of crazy – and parking opened at 6 a.m. – so I left early and got there around 6:15 am and got some fairly decent parking in a field right up from where the start area was.  After that, since I had a while until start time, I napped in my car for a bit, lol.  Around 7:15 a.m., I headed over to the start area.  Iaap folks were still busy getting the start/finish line and all the railings set up for the event.  There were actually quite a few dogs there too, some service dogs and some regular “pet” dogs; so, as usual for me, I wandered around chatting with other participants, friends, volunteers, sponsors, etc., getting a few pre-start photos, and handing out treats to the doggies. Most of them knew who  I was after that, lol.

On the course:  The start area with the railings/barriers put into place ran from one spot on the park’s access drive, where the timing mat was, all the way back to the mural on the wall of the building where the park stage was, and where there were vendors inside that pavilion on the floor in front of the stage. Because there were so many participants what they did was start the speedier participants first; then started others based on their minutes-per-mile pace. Each group started 30 seconds after the group in front of them went, so it was well organized and went pretty well.  After getting over the timing mat, we proceeded past the pavilion areas on our right and then past the off-road parking area on our left.  At a stop-sign we turned left, proceeded up a paved road to another stop sign where we made another left, and this put us onto Padre Drive, going past Mission County Park 2 and one of the Missions on our right. The course was pretty flat, until we made a left turn onto parkway that took us down to our turn-round point. This parkway had us go down a steep, but thankfully short, hill, and then up another short hill in front of us.  We then rounded a bend and could see the river on our left. We entered a small parking lot on our right, went around some cones and then headed back the way we had come out, passing a water station on our right as we headed to the finish.  After doing the short hills in reverse on the way out, we got back onto Padre Drive and returned to the finish the way we had come out.  There were 10 people in my 70-99 males age group, and I finished 7^th out of the 10, with chip time of 42:19.

After My Finish:   The course was nicely thought-out with lots of room for everyone as Padre Drive and that parkway are pretty broad streets. It certainly was crowded, of course, but from where I was at any given time on the course I never say anyone interfered with; participants were being very friendly and aware and cheering each other along as the to-and-from runners and walkers passed by each other. After I crossed the timing matt, I stood near the finish, out of the way of everyone and got a few photos of some other finishing. After that, enjoyed wandering around chatting with other runners, participants, supporters, and volunteers,, getting some more photos, drinking my water, treating some more dogs, and just generally unwinding. 

Epilogue:   For as many participants as there were, San Antonio Sports handled all this very efficiently, with the every 30-seconds runners releases, the course support from the volunteers, and a nice after-party with all those vendors that had all kinds of different goodies.  There were sports drinks post-race, and several of the vendors/sponsors had free give-away items.  There was an awards ceremony, but I don’t remember if they gave medals to the top 3 in each age group or just the first overall in each age group. The overall male winner did the 5K in 15:54 chip time, wow, and the overall female was not that far behind him, 19 minutes and change.  Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for we participants:  San Antonio Sports; all the many sponsors and vendors; the police officers and EMT folks there for our safety; all the very many volunteers it took to get this one done; iaap for the timing and results; and also to the guy at the start line – I don’t remember his name – who gave us our start instructions to make sure we went in orderly waves so we would not be ‘stampeding’ into each other on the course, lol.  A race this large is a lot of work for the organizers, and San Antonio Sports did it quite well.  I would do this one again and would recommend it to others. 

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ab8T4kwdEQaQPwfi8   

Before the Start:   My 11^th  5K of 2025 was the Kick Cancer Pep Rally 5K held on March 1^st at Pickrell Park, a 17-acre park in Schertz, Texas.  Formerly the Wilenchik Walk for Life, this event, to quote, “invites the community to come together to rally in support of the many cancer research programs of the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center (Mays Cancer Center).”  As a University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) staff member, and with UT Health in the process of merging with UTSA, I came out to support our ‘sister university” UT Health, as well as its excellent cancer center. Additionally, as a cancer survivor myself, I try over the year to do as many cancer-related events as I can.  The 5K start time was 9:15 a.m. with a kid’s race before the main event. I arrived at Pickrell Park with just over an hour to start time, got my race bib and my race shirt – a children’s small, which I gave back to the organizers, asking them to donate it for me to a child currently fighting cancer. After that, I wandered here-and-there, chatting with participants, volunteers, supporters, etc., and getting a few pre-start photos.

On the course:  The weather cooperated nicely, with a sunny day, blue skies, no cloud cover, and temp of 61 degrees at the 9:15 start time; my kind of weather, lol. I much prefer running in warm weather than cooler weather.  Before the main event started, there was a kid’s run. The routes for the kid’s run and the main event were both done completely on park grounds, with the kids doing a one-lap course and the 5K participants doing a 3-lap course. I am not a fan of doing laps, lol, but this course was laid out in such a way that you actually did not feel like you were doing laps. We started just up from the park’s main pavilion and then went off-road onto a grass-and-dirt part of the course.  This took us to a trail/sidewalk in the park, upon which we passed a smaller pavilion where volunteers were manning a water station and cheering everyone on.  After passing the water station, we went down more sidewalk and then veered left across a short, grassy area.  This brought onto Aero Street, which was blocked off at both ends for this event.  We made a left turn off the grassy area, went toward Main Street, rounded some cones, and then went back toward the start finish area. After a short distance, we then turned back into the pavilion area, heading for the start/finish line, went over the timing mats once more, and then proceeded to do this same route twice more. I did my usual 8-minues running/2-minutes walking and got some on-course photos during my walk breaks. On my 3^rd lap, I pretty much ran that one non-stop, getting to the finish with a chip-time of 33:18, averaging 10:43 per mile, WHAT?  I knew something was wrong here since I usually do 12 – 14 minute miles, and saw that my garmin had the course distance at 2.5 miles, so the course was short.  In talking with the Race Director after I finished, I found out we were supposed to have gone all the way up Aero Street to the other blocked end and then come back down, before making the turn to where the start/finish line was; apparently some instructions were misunderstood by the volunteer working with Athlete Guild – my friends who did the timing and results for this race – so the result was the course being a bit short. Lester, my friend with Athlete Guild doing the timing, told me yeah, he had gotten questions from several participants about the end-time, lol, with some of them thinking their timing devices were off;  not; the course was a bit short, which Lester confirmed to them.  As for moi, not like I was going to win anything at my slow pace so I was just happy to have met my two primary goals when I do a race:  finish standing up, and no ambulance waiting for me, lol. Anything I get after that is a bonus.

After My Finish:  Despite the short course, this really is a very well-organized event, with, as noted As usual for me, post-race, I wandered here-and-there again, chatting with a lot of people and getting some post-race photos.  There was a nice awards ceremony, with the top 3 in each age group getting an additional medal. They started with the younger folks first; I jokingly told one of the organizers they need to start with we older participants first (I’m 71), so we can get home and get our nap.  There was no 70-and-up age group, so I ended up 6^th in the 60-99 males age group, which is okay.  At my two paces – slow and slower – I don’t expect to get an award anyway, so it’s always a nice surprise when I do get one.

Epilogue:  There were 379 finishers for this one: 173 male and 206 female. A really nicely-done course; very nice quality race tees; finisher medals to all; and a whole lot of goodies and giveaways from the organizers and the sponsors.  They were even giving away bags of apples and oranges to those who wanted them; there was also these ‘clapping hands” thingys (yes, “thingys” is a word, lol) that made a noise when you shook it; and all kinds of food-and-drink items from both the organizers and sponsors such as sports drinks, nutrition bars, water, of course, small hand towels, and lots more.  As usual, I had a pocket full of dog treats, so the doggies there that got them from me – with permission from their humans, of course – soon knew who I was, lol. I was very popular with them.   I enjoyed this event very much and would recommend it to others.  Mucho thanks to all the people who made this one happen for us, e.g.,  Race Director; all the many, many volunteers; the school band musicians that were out there for us; the EMT folks and the police officers in the area for our safety;  also the firefighters there who ran the course in their gear, wow; all the sponsors, of course, who help pay for all this; Athlete Guild for their usual great job of timing and results – which you can find on their Athlete Guild website.  Thank you, and to all, happy-and-safe running, walking,  cycling, or whatever activity is your passion. Next up for me: Active 5K on March 8 at Mission County Park in San Antonio.

Photos are here:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/AXoVhvGo9qkZhaEc6      

Before the Start:   My 10^th race of 2025 was the Trail to Eagle 5K held on Sunday, February 23, with start and finish at Olmos Basin Park in San Antonio. This was my 2^nd race of the weekend, after doing Diploma Dash 5K on Saturday. This even was to help raise funds to help Eagle Scout Thomas Murray with his Eagle Scout community project of building a musical sound garden with outdoor musical instruments, to be installed at McAllister Park.  The weather for this one was much better than for the one on Saturday.  The rain had moved out and we had sunshine and blue skies, with a temp at the 8:30 start time of around 43 degrees, and no wind.  I arrived about 40 minutes before the 8:30 a.m. start time and got some pre-start photos. There were also a few dogs in attendance, so I also handed out treats to them.  I was very popular with the dogs after that, including one specific dog, Dutch, who is very friendly and a real hoot, lol; appropriately named too; he looks just like one of the Dutch Boy Paint dogs I used to see on TV in their commercials when I was growing up.

On the course:  We started in the park, going on the park’s main road. The course took us over to one of to the park’s off-road paved trails.  We did a short stint on this, crossing a wooden bridge and then went across a parking area. This brought us onto Contour Avenue, where we turned right and began a climb up a long hill. It was not all that steep, but it sure was long, lol. When we got to the top, we then turned right – I think this was McCullough Drive but may be mistaken – and then went to a turn-round point. After making the turn-round, we went back to the start/finish line the way we had come out. It was a nicely thought-out course, very accessible to walkers and runners.  I did my usual run/walk thing of 8-minutes-run/2-minutes-walk, and took some on-course photos during my walk breaks. After getting back onto Contour Avenue, I ran the last part of the course non-stop to the finish.  I usually do a 5K in about 43 minutes or so, but for this one I managed a chip-time finish of 40:10, averaging 12:56 per mile, which was good enough for first place in my  70-99 males age group.

After My Finish:  I got a few photos of others coming into the finish and then headed back to the area where race-day packet pickup was, along with our music-and-sound-guy, and where the awards ceremony would be. I got a few more photos of participants and supporters and also some photos of those who earned age-group medals.

Epilogue:  Very nicely done event. There were 96 finishers, 64 male and 32 female, so not a huge number, but this only made it feel like a big group of friends had gathered on this day to help this young man out. For the time on the course, since it was out-and-back, as we participants passed each other by, there were lots of supportive call-outs of encouragement, which was nice.  All the volunteers for us on the course were also very supportive, cheering us on.  Post-race, there were grilled sausage wraps, lots of water, of course, and various other things. The goodie bag for this one is pretty nice too, with a nice water bottle, 2 bags of Rico’s Air Popped Popcorn, nicely designed race shirt, and so forth. When I did packet pickup, our Race Director asked me if I had ordered the wrong size shirt.  No, lol.  I do so many races over a year, I am running out of drawer space for them; so I usually order a youth-size shirt, and then donate it to either the Multi-Assistance Center at Morgans Wonderland, which helps kids with disabilities (I was a disabled kid) or to the kids’ cancer ward of UT-Health or Children’s Hospital. Since this event is for a specific project, I don’t know if this is a one-time race or if it will be held again for some other good cause. If so, I will certainly do it again would recommend it to others.  Much thanks to all the people who made this one happen for us, e.g.,  our Race Director and her family members; all the many volunteers; Athlete Guild for course-setup, timing, and results; law enforcement officers out there for our safety; our music-and-sound guy; Thomas, who did a good job with the awards ceremony; iRun Texas for allowing packet pickup at one of its locations; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all! Next up for me:  Kick Cancer Pep Rally on March 1^st, at Pickrell Park.

Photos are here:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/MUgoRNkcTJUJYbD29

Before the Start:  My 9^th race of 2025 was The Diploma Dash 5K on February 2, 2025 at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Hosted by the UTSA Alumni Association, this event was ‘presented’ by primary sponsor North Park Subaru.   The event started and finished in front of The UTSA Convocation Center, a physical ed building where UTSA teams play basketball, volleyball, and more. There was some concern that this event might have to be postponed to a later date, as San Antonio was expected to receive some freezing rain the night before and possibly on the morning of the event. After discussion, the event went on as planned. For having some bad weather predicted, there was still a very nice turn-out, with the 5K having 1,187 finishers, wow.  The weather was a bit chilly – around 37 degrees – but Mother Nature was kind; there was no rain and very little wind. Also, the Convocation Center had been opened for restroom use and lobby use, so it was nice and warm in there for people to get out of the cold for a bit.  I arrived just after 7:15 a.m.   I had picked up my packet a couple of days before Race Day, so enjoyed pre-race chatting with volunteers, other participants, my friends from iaap, the company that did the timing and results for this one; and also handing out treats to the dogs that were there; hence my nickname and race name of Scotty Dogg, since my first name is Scott. I carry dog treats when I run; if one chases me, I toss it in the opposite direction I am going and the dog usually chases that, giving me time to walk away; for the friendly ones, I hand them a treat, with the permission of their humans.   

On the course:  The event started right on time.  Once we got started, it actually was a pretty pleasant event since, as mentioned, we had no wind and no rain coming down on us, sweet. The 5K route is a complete loop around the whole campus.  We started in front of the Convocation Center, proceeding out onto the road in front of the parking lot and then at a stop sign, made a right turn onto the road that headed toward UTSA Boulevard.  When we came in sight of the stoplight at UTSA Boulevard, we turned left, proceeding up a short hill, with a parking area and shuttle bus stops on our left.  This took us to a road where we made another left, now heading in the direction of the business building and Baurle Parking Garage. Before getting there, however, we made a left turn that took us up a long hill toward the East Parking lot.  Atop this hill, we did a turn-round and passed the Mile 1 marker on the way down.  Next, a right turn onto the road we had left to go up the hill, and this took us in the direction of the parking garage and 1604 campus entrance.  We did not go that far.  We turned left onto a side street, with the Business Building on our left, and we could see the North Paseo Building on our right. After we got to the end of this street, we then made a right turn, up  short hill, and then a left turn that took us past the campus police station. At the end of this street, a right turn took us up a fairly steep hill – but short, thankfully, as we headed in the direction of 1604.  At the top of this hill, a left turn took us onto a road that took us past the 2-Mile maker and onto Tobin Avenue.  We stayed on this road for a while, passing on our left the campus track and the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence (RACE) building, and then had one more mid-steep hill to climb. After cresting that, we then passed a traffic circle, and made a left turn onto the road that took us back to the parking area for the UTSA Recreation Center and Convocation Center. A left turn at the 3-way stop brought us back to the Convocation parking area, where we turned in and there was the finish line. As noted, a very nicely planned route, giving one a tour of just about the whole campus. I ended up with a chip time of 43:25, which was good enough for 3^rd in my 70-99 males age group, nice.

After My Finish:  I got some water, did a short-cool down walk, handed out some more doggie treats, and got some after-photos.  Friends and I also watched the awards ceremony – dang some of those runners are speedy! The overall male won in 16 minutes and change; averaging 5:25 per mile, wow. Tope female was no slouch either, 6-something per mile. The MC started the awards with younger folks first, we old folks had to wait quite a while until the got to us. I’d request that next year, start with we older folks first….we have to get home and get our nap after an outing like this, lol. There were even separate category awards for best times for team participants ; and for runners with dogs too, nice.Epilogue: Very nicely done event with a well planned route, good facilities – indoor restrooms are always a plus over port-a-potties, especially in this kind of weather – and lost of post-event goodies, including all kinds of snacks from the vendors/sponsors; water; coffee; beer;  fruit; sausage wraps; and some sponsors cooking up this menudo-looking stuff that looked pretty darn spicy.  Vendors were also giving out various free items which had the company name on each of those, of course; for example, I saw one sponsor giving out headbands; another had memo pads, and so forth. This is definitely a keeper event for me, and I certainly would recommend it to others.  The event helps raise scholarship funds for students, so most certainly a worthy cause.  Mucho thanks to all who made this one happen for we participants:  Alumni Association; UTSA leadership; our MC who did a great job; iaap who did the timing and results for the event; our music-and-sound man; all the many volunteers it took to make this one happen; all the many, many, sponsors, with big thanks to North Park Subaru for being the primary sponsor; our UTSA police and security folks for being out there for our safety; and the EMTs on site for us, just in case; and anyone else involved I may not have mentioned here. Thank you all so much! See you next year at this one!

Photos are here:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/Xsp2JYgnr7RgiKSu6   

Before the Start:   My 8th 5K was Street2Feet 5k, held on Sunday, February 16^th at Brooks City (formerly Brooks Air Force Base) in San Antonio. This was my 2^nd 5K of the weekend, after doing the Aiden Alexander Memorial 5K on Saturday.  Street2Feet 5K program, founded in 2008 by Race Director Lana Hernandez, is a wellness program for those experiencing homelessness in San Antonio. It promotes health in mind, body, and spirit”, using walking or running a 5K as a medicine. The start and finish at Brooks City was at Hanger 9. Built in 1918, Hangar 9 is an historic setting at the former Brooks Air Force Base.  It is one of the oldest aircraft storage and repair facilities. Now used as a special event facility, it was named in 1976 as a National Landmark. Race start time of at 8 a.m.  I arrived around 7:20 a.m. Someone told me that about 300 people had registered for this one, both runners and walkers. In checking the results from iaap, the company that did the course set up, timing, and results, there were actually 352 finishers, so a very nice turn-out for this one.  After arrival at the race site, I enjoyed chatting with friends and other participants and getting some pre-start photos.  This is also a dog-friendly event, so I handed out a few treats;  I was very popular with the dogs there after that, lol, including the dogs of two of my friends. These two dogs –  Lucy and Luna – always recognize me when I show up at a same event they are doing and come right for me, lol, to get a treat.  I always carry treats when I run. If one chases me on a run, I toss the dog-treat in the other direction, and the dog usually goes after that, giving me time to walk away in the other direction. If the dog is friendly, then I give it a treat, if its human gives me permission. Hence my name “Scottydogg (yes with 2 ‘g’s to make it unique) since my first name is Scott. Just about all my running community friends call me this now, lol.

On the course:  When I first checked the predicted weather for this event – on the Thursday before race day – the predicted forecast was a temp of about 47 at the 8 a.m. start time, with sunshine, and wind at 5 mph, so not bad.  Well, that sure changed on Saturday evening, when a cold front moved in. At start time, the temperature was 41 degrees, with a ‘feels-like’ temp of 37, and the wind was blowing at 15 to 20 mph, good grief. I am not a fan of cold; I am probably one of the few runners who actually likes running in warm weather; 60 to 75 degrees is fine with me, lol. After seeing the new forecast, I layered up like crazy with two base layers and my race shirt on top of that, as well as a pair of long-legged running tights designed for cooler weather; a hat on my head and gloves on my hands. Even with all this, that darn wind was still tough to run in, but at least I felt comfortable. The course was an out—and-back on the paved concrete/ streets of Brooks City.  We started on a street just to the side of the hangar, and then made a left turn that put us with out of the wind for a bit.  These streets are very wide, making lots of room for everyone to maneuver. We made a left turn onto another street that put us right back into the wind, and that took us to a turn-round point.  After making the turn-round, the wind was still blowing, but it felt a bit weaker on this part of the route; I have no idea why, but I was thankful for it, lol.

After going down this part of the course, we then made a turn that took us toward the 2-mile marker. Again, the wind felt a little weaker along this part.  After the 2-mile marker, we ended up going back onto the second street we had been on after the start. This took us back to the start/finish street. When we turned onto that, I could see the finish line ahead and tried to pick up some speed, event though, on this last part of the course, the strong wind was blowing head-on, right into our faces, good grief. Never-the-less, I kept on pushing ahead as fast as my old-man legs would let me and crossed the finish line.  I ended up with a gun time of 42:07 and chip time of 41:46., finishing 2^nd out of 4 in my 70-99 males age group. My speedy friend, long-legged friend Jim, was first with a chip time of 27:57, zowie. Our friend Roland, was 3^rd, so we were all happy that each of us had placed.