INTRO

I am Scott aka Scottydog, runner since 1983, cancer survivor, retired Air Force, employee of University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), 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

This was my 10th race of 2014 and my 2nd 5K of Feb 15, 2014, as I had done Street2Feet 5K the same day at 8 a.m.  After finishing that one, I headed over to the venue for this race.  This event was done along the San Antonio Riverwalk so was limited for safety reasons to 500 entrants.  As I was waaay in the back of the pack, the start and about the first mile or so was quite crowded, which slowed my normal running pace way down - and my normal running pace is slow anyway, lol.  This was okay by me, however, as I'd done one race already today, so this slow pace just helped me save my legs, which is good because I had another 5K scheduled for Sunday morning.   The first two miles were pretty slow, but I noticed I did my last mile in 9:45...what?!!! I didn't even know my Old Dog Legs could do under a 10-minute mile!   I ended up with a chip time of 37:41 and, surprisingly, finished 3rd in my age group.  Probably, lol, because there were only 4 IN my age group.

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

Because I was doing two races, for the first race I initially had on two race bibs....also, for Be My Valentine 5K, if you had registered early enough, you got a "personal bib" with your name on it.

Before The Race

After doing the Street2Feet 5K - report and photos here: https://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/7285d19027b44df98bd36cde37616160/resume#focus - I arrived at the Be My Valentine start/finish area with about 20 minute to go before start time.   The tech-tees for this race were very unique - red shirts marked with "Be My Valentine...I AM Single" if you are unattached, "Be My Valentine, I Am Taken" if you have someone; and "Be My Valentine...It's Complicated"...for those confused people.

My wife accompanied me for this one and Race Day, Feb 15, was also her birthday...

You can see who has the looks in our family...

The Cupids were there...

iaapweb.com folks, who put this race on and did their usual great job

Participants, volunteers, supporters, et al, pre-start

Getting ready to go....the chip mat/start line was WAAY ahead of me, I was almost at the very back of the pack.

ON THE COURSE

In this photo, some of the runners on the other side of the river heading back toward the finish

We went off the Riverwalk for a bit, did a little turn-around loop and then back on the Riverwalk to head for the finish

AFTER THE FINISH

A very important volunteer...the beer lady!  There was also breakfast tacos, chocolate treats, and more.

Oh yeah...beautiful ladies and beer...

I turned 60 on Feb 10th and am now in the same age group as my friend here, Jim.  My time today:  37-something.  Jim's time: 25-something and he did Street2Feet 5K in 23-something. Umm, yeah, I don't anticipate too many medals for me, lol, at any races Jim and I will both be doing.

My wife walked the course and finished in about 50 minutes.  Happy Birthday, Love Of My Life!    After the race, she then went to a "hot yoga" class for 90 minutes in a 105-degree room, sheesh!

My wife with this lovely lady, Catherine, who is the owner of Run Wild Sports, a very good local specialty running store. Run Wild was one of the sponsors of this race and pre-race day packet pickup was also held there.

Catherine SAID these two are her parents, but i think the other lady is her sister...

Happy Finishers, Supporters, Volunteers, etc. 

One of my running friends, Ronnie, placed first in her age group...and got a 'heart-framed' photo taken

Jim placed first in my age group....and enjoyed a photo with some ladies...

My 3rd place medal from the race.  The lips on the medal are actually red but the flash 'whitened' them in the photo.  I will enjoy the medal for a bit and then, like all medals I get, it will be donated to the kids in the Cancer Ward at the San Antonio Children's Hospital.

EPILOG

Very fun event!  Lots of great folks at the race, lots of post-race goodies, unique race shirts and bibs.  Definitely a race to do if you are ever in San Antonio at this time of year!

Next up for me:  My 3rd 5K of the weekend:  McNay Art Museum 5K.

Nice to see short sleeves and smiles.  Don't see that much around here lately.  Love the race shirts.  I see you gave your "Taken" shirt to Gail.

What a fun race!   I'm glad that your pretty bride was able to join you for this one, and I hope she had a great birthday!    Thanks for sharing!