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 RACE REPORT

I did Race #51 on Saturday, Sep 22, 2013 - link and photos: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/3d9b3a6194b749f699de16c08da7b424/resume#focus - and followed that up on Sunday morning, Sep 22, 2013, with  Race #52 for the year.  This one was held by Carrera Races, which does multi-races over the year as a training program leading up to the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon.  You can be a participant in the training program or just do the races individually.  I choose do to the 5Ks they have at each of these events.  For this event, the Gusto Challenge, there was a 21K (half marathon), 8 miler and 5K.  Most people were doing the 21K and 8 miler.  I did the 5K and ended up with a chip time of 33:44, finishing 4th in my age group (50-59).

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

Course was held at  Leon Creek Greenway trails, a mix of paved asphalt and cement trails near a local Drury Inn by the intersection Interstate Highway 10 and Loop 1604 highway.  Folks doing the 21K wore blue bibs, folks doing the 8K wore red bibs, and 5K folks had white bibs.  For some reason - probably because I'm an idiot and marked the wrong race - I was entered in the 8M.  I quickly switched that to the 5K as there was no way my back would handle 8 miles anymore.  After I got that done I wandered around getting some pre-start photos.

Before The Race

Folks doing a little warm-up dance

This guy had hernia surgery 2 weeks ago and already out again, impressive!  He chose to walk the 5K and his wife ran the 5K.

Our great race Director, Virginia, one of the nicest ladies you could ever know.

Another Wonder Runner - the lady here had recent heart surgery and here she was this morning to walk the 5K.

This lovely lady, from Chile, is scheduled to do a 50K next month in Colorado.  She was here today just "taking it easy" with a shorter run.

On The Course

The races were staggered, with the 21K folks starting at 8 a.m., the 8M folks at 8:15 a.m., and then we 5K folks at 8:30 a.m. This worked out well, no one in each others way, and no 'different race" impeding at the turn-around points, as all the races were out-and-back on the trails.  I missed the start of the 21K but got the start of the 8M folks.

And then we 5K folks were off.  As there were less participants than in the other distances, we all had plenty of room along the trails.  We did encounter some cyclists and other runners doing individual training runs, but everyone was pretty cooperative about giving each other space.

Water stop volunteers  a little before we got to the 5K turn-around point

After I made the turn-around point and was heading back I stopped to take these photos

Through the lens, I noticed a running acquaintance of mine from previous races, the lady in black, giving me a wave.  She was not doing today's race, she was out on the trails just finishing up I goher long run - 16 miles, if I remember correctly, or maybe it was 18.

I got a photo of her...

And then, with about 1.3 miles to go for my 5K,  she paced with me for a ways, which was nice of her.   As she runs MUCHO faster than I do, she finally went on ahead and I decided my motivation to get done would be to keep her in sight for the rest of my race.  Of course, that motivation was not hurt at all by the fact that she is a hottie.   So off I went, chasing behind her.  I never did catch her, of course, but  I did always keep her in sight, and she led me right to the finish area, resulting in a negative split, me doing the back half of the race much faster than the first half.  I hit Mile 2 at 23:56 and I got to the finish line at 33:44, so my last 1.1 mile was, what....9:12 or something like that?  I'm not sure, I am TERRIBLE at this math thing.   All I know is I went faster than I normally do, lol, and passed 6 people along the way and only 1 person passed me, and after I crossed the finish line, I thought I was gonna toss my cookies, lol.  I did manage to hold everything in, though.   If someone had told me pre-race that I could get below a 10-minute mile I would have said they were crazy, no way a slow old dog like me could 'ramp up' like that.   So kudos to my lovely Great Legs 'rabbit" who brought out the 'Chase!" instinct in this old dog. 

After The Race

My "rabbit" after her long run, with a friend of hers who did the 5K.

After I could breathe normally again, it was off to get some goodies...and I found the most important "food" volunteer...

Yeah, Beer!

Perico's Mexican Restaurant was also there, with their Mascot, and these two lovely ladies serving up potato-and-egg tacos...and they were gooood!

There were also various fruits

The wife of the guy recovering from the  hernia finished shortly after I did

As did this lady

More Happy Finishers, etc.

"Hernia Guy" and his wife..he did okay, finishing near 44 or 45 minute

EPILOG

As usual, another great event by Carrera Races.  They always put on great events.  Carrera events are 'regulars' on  my race calendar and always will be. Would definitely recommend Carrera events to my fellow runners so check out their upcoming events on their website:  <cite>www.carreraraces.com</cite>.  Course set up and timing done by iaapweb.com, another premier running company in San Antonio that always does a great job.  Mucho gracias to all the volunteers who got this all organized and were out there for us today.   And thanks to Mother Nature who finally gave us some pretty darn good running weather, around 71 degrees at start time, dew point of 54 or so, low humidity, light breeze, it felt great out there!

Oh, and if you would like to see all the costumes - some quite unique! - , etc, from the race I did race on Saturday, Sep 21, here is the link for the report and photos for that race:  http://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/3d9b3a6194b749f699de16c08da7b424/resume#focus

Next up for me:  SNIPSA "Race For The Rescues" 5K on Sep 28, 2013, put on by iaapweb.com and SNIPSA (Spay-Neuter-Inject-Protect San Antonio), benefiting homeless and abandoned dogs in the local San Antonio area.   This is a good event.  Hilly course, but good event.  See you there if you are doing it too!

Great work Scottydawg. That's a nice looking path to run on.

Another great report from what looks like a fantastic event!  Way to have fresh legs at the end of your second race this weekend, too!  

And that fruit table looks fantastic!

Am I wrong or are the people in Texas particularly good-looking?  Great job, Scotty! I haven't even done 52 races in the 5 years I've been running and you're already there just for 2013!

Great job, Scotty!

That is one of the most oddest places I have ever seen a bib!   lol

Good stuff Scotty!