Scottydog Reports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.