INTRO

I am Scott aka Scottydog, runner since 1983, cancer survivor, retired Air Force, friend of dogs, fun-runner, and all-around goofball.  In 2003 I had spinal arthritis flare up and ever since then I’ve done the run/walk method since it hurts my back too much now to run continuously with no walk breaks.  I’m on what I call my “2F Plan” which stands for Fun and Finish.  At events that I now do for fun I carry my camera, chase “Great Legs” to help motivate my slow old man self to keep moving forward, and take pictures before, during, and after the race. Sometimes I even get a nice post-race sweaty hug from one of the Great Legs ladies.   I then do a pictorial race report of my events.  I also carry dog biscuits with me to treat any dogs I may meet at a run, hence my nickname “Scottydog.” Here is yet another of my Race Reports With Photos, and my thanks to all the people I interacted with for their graciousness and good humor in letting me take photos of them.

SHORT VERSION REPORT

My 64th race of 2013.  This event supported the Disabled American Veterans, Guadalupe County Chapter 61 -http://www.davmembersportal.org/chapters/tx/61/default.aspx ; Disabled Veteran and Wounded Warrior events are ones I try to do whenever I can, being retired military myself, and I also still have the screw that goes through my whole knee, holding it in place, a result of a helicopter crash during my own active duty days.  I did a lot of rehab after my  own surgeries;  so I can empathize to a small degree with what these vets are dealing with.   I am also very lucky, I had good docs and physical therapists who did such a good job I was able to become a runner.  I was never a very fast runner, lol, but I do okay, I always managed to get where I wanted to go and in my 30 years of doing races, I've never been a DNF in any race I ever started.  In this race today, I manged to finish in 32:18 chip time, 32:22 gun time, even with all my photo stops along the course.   I didn't think that was too bad for an arthritic slow old dog who will be 420 years old in a few months (that's 60 in Human years for those of you who don't speak 'dog"  ).

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

The race was held in Seguin, Texas - about a 40 minute drive from San Antonio - in Max Starcke park, a lovely little park that has a paved running trail of about a mile in length, and the Guadalupe River flows right alongside parts of the park.  This event was presented by TLU  (Texas Lutheran University) in Seguin. It was a fairly small event, with 59 finishers, 25 male and 34 females.

Before The Race

Got to the race sit with about an hour to spare and picked up my bib and the race shirt....

...then got some pre-start photos of volunteers, participants, and supporters

Our timing guy from AthleteGuild

Lucy The Boxer and friends...she is a really sweet doggie..and yes, I gave her treats.

A local band was there...I think from TLU

Some more 'sweetie dogs' with one of their Humans

This young lady really has a beautiful smile...the photo here just doesn't do it justice, you have to see it in person..

This young lady sang the National Anthem for us, without music.  She didn't need the music, her beautiful voice was music enough and she did a great job with the Anthem.

On The Course

I have done 5Ks in the past in this park and the usual route is for us to start on the road a little down from the park pavilion, go underneath an overpass to the other side of the park as an out-and-back, and then finish up by doing a circuit around the paved park trail.  The course for this event, however, stayed on one side of the park, and we did a kind of loop-and-part-out-and-back on the paved running trail and the park roads. It was actually kind of refreshing and something different from doing the usual 5K course.   Plus, with all the looping around, we slower runners got to see some of the lead runners a lot more - something that almost never happens in races I usually do, as slow as I am, lol, since I'm way in the back of the pack.   The volunteers were great, lots of them out there with signs and encouraging everyone.

When I run I do 8 minutes  run/2 minutes walk and take photos during my walk breaks.  As usual with 5Ks that I do, I took 2 walk breaks and then "ignored" my watch beeping for my last walk break, running the last 1.2 miles in to the finish nonstop.

My friend, George.  We always start out together, I take my first walk break, he passes me as he keeps going and I never see him again until the finish.  He is about 15 years older than me and about 2 minutes per mile faster, lol.  I think Lucy chasing behind him gave him incentive to move even faster for this race.

Some of the lead runners

Heeeeer'es Lucy!  And her Human

Part of the Guadalupe River that we passed by.  Nice.

Our little-est runner.  She did great.   Her mom - I think it was her mom - was following just behind her, right out of camera-shot.

After The Race

After I was finished, the Beautiful Smile lady - who finished way ahead of me - let me have a photo with her.  Beauty and the Beast personified.

More "Happy Finishers" et al...

Another sweet doggie, this one with one brown eye and one blue eye.

Young man with his "sister"... 

These two finished ahead of me quite handily.  I jokingly told the young man he was making me look bad out on the course.

Another young man who made me look bad on the course, lol.

One of the age group winners with friend.   The AG winners were awarded these hand-crafted bowls which I think were made by disabled vets, if I recall correctly.

EPILOG

A small event but an enjoyable one.   What really 'made' this event was the volunteers and participants - all very outgoing, supportive, friendly, and enthusiastic.   This race felt  like it was on in which a group of friends and neighbors all got together to go out and do a run/walk.  It created a really great race atmosphere.   I definitely would do this one again, and I sure hope this event grows in the future, it sure is a nice one with a very nice race venue, good cause, and wonderful people.  And  wonderful dogs too, of course. .

Scotty, I love that you see something beautiful in everyone you meet. You truly have a beautiful spirit.

Congratulations on your 64th of the year! Only a few more weeks before the end of the year. Go, Scotty, go!

"Beauty and the Beast personified." LOL! Nice one, Scotty.

Congratulations on race 64 of the year!   Awesome dawg you!   This looks to be a really scenic course.  Great pictures, and nobody looks one teeny, tiny bit cold either.  Who would even think it was mid-November?  Anyways, it's really great that you were able to race for and support a cause so close to your heart (and knee.)  Its really fantastic that they're able to help people so many people get back to physically active lifestyles.