Beginners and Beyond

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Report and Photos: Super Bowl Sunday 7K (Read 46 times)

scottydawg


Barking Mad To Run

    On Sunday, February 3, 2013, I participated in the Super Bowl Sunday 7K in San Antonio.  Course was along the San Antonio Riverwalk.  Below is the link to my report and photos on this event.  Please feel free to share the report and photos.

     

    http://forums.runnersworld.com/forums/runner-communities/beginners#plckforumpage=ForumDiscussion&plckdiscussionid=Cat%3ARunner%20CommunitiesForum%3A608106477Discussion%3A3e2a90a8-58f5-4983-aa15-e54cd7dc9e43

    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

    Race #9 for me in 2013, held on Sunday, Feb 3, 2013.  Sponsored by H-EB -www.heb.com  - a local grocery store (similar to Walmart, but lots better!) that  is headquartered in San Antonio and has a huge presence in Texas and does a lot for the local communities they are in. The race started and finished near H-E-B headquarters in downtown San Antonio. Event benefitted Transplants for Children in San Antonio -<cite>www.transplantsforchildren.org/</cite> - - assisting young organ transplant recipients and their families.  Athlete Guild - <cite>www.athleteguild.com/</cite>-- did its usual great job of race set up, timing, etc.  Since it was a football-themed race, lots of people wore jerseys of their favorite teams; I saw some for the Chigago Bears, the Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, (yay! I grew up in the DC area and am a big Redskins fan) and, of course (BOO!) the "damn Dallas Cowboys." emo-thumbup and other football-oriented outfitsBy race day there were over 1200 participants registered.  Since the race was done mostly on the San Antonio Riverwalk, it got a bit crowded, but I managed to keep on moving.  After I finished, severl of my garmin-wearing buds told me the course had been a bit short, 3.8 miles instead of 4.3.  I ended up with a finish time of  39:16 for the 3. 8 miles, averaging 10:20 per mile, which I thought was pretty good in those crowds for an old arthritic dog like me.

     

    LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

     

    BEFORE THE RACE

     

    From the parking lot near the start/finish area, there was a nice view of the top of the Tower Of The Americas in downtown San Antonio.

    The start/finish area was at the H-E-B headquarters area.  H-E-B is headuartered in what used to be the San Antonio Arsenal, which was established in 1859.  The race actually started and finished in front of the historic Commander's House - now a Senior Service Center - used in the 19th century to house the senior ranking officer of the Arsenal.

    I have no idea what that chute is for...fire escape for the senior citizens?

     

    Me and pal Bernadette before the start

     

    Yeah, Baltimore Ravens fan!  My personal choice for winning the Super Bowl. Go Ravens!

    Two Ravens fans...

     

    At the 5K I did the day before this race, I encountered the Spurs Coyotoe - mascot of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.  And here he was at this race too.

     

    The H-E-B mascot "Buddy" was also there

     

    So THIS is what happened to all those replacement refs! smiley-tongue-out

     

    Other participants and supporters pre-start

     

    Shirts on these folks cracked me up.."I thought they said RUM!"

     

     

    That's what I'm talking about, Redskins shirt!

    O

    h yea, this will be my first stop after I finish the course! smiley-smile

     

    Six flags at the starting area, representing the 6 flags that have flown over Texas in its history.

     

    I'm at the back of the start crowd, with 1200 of my closest friends in front of me.. smiley-tongue-out

     

    ON THE COURSE

    We went down Main Street for a ways, turned left and then went onto the San Antonio Riverwalk. The course including running down stairs, running up stairs, running up and down ramps, and mainly running on the Riverwalk cement.   It got a bit crowded at times but everywhere I was people seemed in good humor, lots of joking comments going back and forth among the participants about it all.  And we did get some really nice views on the route.

     

    Heading onto the Riverwalk from the street..the bridge created a bit of a bottleneck and we pretty much had to shuffle across

     

    Nice view from the bridge though...excuse my fat finger on part of the lens in the first photo..

     

     

     

    A view of one of our turn-around points from the side of the river I was on

     

    Participants on my side of the river heading up the ramp to the cross-over bridge

     

    The other side of the river

     

    I'm on the other side of the river now, near Pioneer Flour company building

     

     

     

    Now approaching Blue Star Brewery., a local micro-brewery....what, the brewery didn't have a table with cups of beer out there for us? emo-thumbup

     

     

    Across this bridge, turn-around, cross back over;

     

    Views from the bridge, as I went back across it

     

     

     

    On the way to the finish now....back past the Blue Star Brewery...up the ramp near Pioneer Flour..., then on Main Street again and to the finish.

     

    After that last photo I ran non-stop back to the finish.  My good bud - and much faster bud - was already done and cheered me in to the finish.

     

    AFTER THE RACE

     

    And that post-run Golden Ale, courtesy of local Alamo Brewery, sure tasted good!

     

    There were also hot dogs (I had one).....

     

    ..as well as various cookies, chips, water, soda, energy drinks, etc.  H-E-B sure does it up right for an after-race party!  After my beer-and-dog, I wandered around getting "Happy Finisher" photos.

     

     

    Personal inspiration for this young lady

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    These young ladies wanted a photo with...the shirt, of course..gotta be the shirt...smiley-tongue-out

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    This guy was a member of the team that won the team competition for the race.

     

    A very orange team...the lovely young lady on the right was 3rd overall in the race.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Powered by Red Bull. These lovely ladies had "Red Bull" tanks and were handing out cans of Red Bull carried in the tanks to those who wanted them.

     

     

    EPILOG

    Was it crowded?  Yes. Did it get a little crazy on the course once in a while? Yes.  Did I have fun? YES YES YES! Big grin  An event for a good cause, a very nice race venue,  a good course with nice views, lots and lots of friendly folks, tons of goodies before and after the race.  No shirt for this event, instead H-E-B gave each participant a goody bag with snacks to go with their Super Bowl viewing, nice.   This is definitely not a PR course or a race to do if you really want to RACE an event.  But if you want to just kick back, have a fun run along the Riverwalk with some nice views,  and a good post-race party, and have the patience and humor intact to deal  with the large crowd of participants, then this is definitely a good one to do, and lots of fun.   I most certainly would do this one again and I hope, too, that they keep the Riverwalk course for this one.  Mucho thanks to all the organizers, sponsors/vendors, and great volunteers who put this all together for us!

    "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt

    Docket_Rocket


      Very nice, Scotty!

       

      (For this on pasting--as you mentioned in the dailies), do the paste and it will open a box.  Paste it there and you'll have it like this--minus the link to RWOL).

      Damaris

       

      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

      Fundraising Page

      hog4life


        Your RR's always amaze me, congrats on another!

        scottydawg


        Barking Mad To Run

          Very nice, Scotty!

           

          (For this on pasting--as you mentioned in the dailies), do the paste and it will open a box.  Paste it there and you'll have it like this--minus the link to RWOL).

           

          Hmm, that's too complicated for my non-technology brain, lol.  Open what box?  I still don't understand how I got the whole report and photos to paste here.  I don't remember opening a box...I just remember selecting "New Topic" and then I hit ctrl-V in the box and the whole thing appeared. It's magic! Joking  Oh well, whatever works.

          "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt

            Two thumbs up to the dude with the 'Skins shirt!  HTTR!

            “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot

            kristin10185


            Skirt Runner

              Great RR and pictures as always!!! Seemed like a fun day!

              PRs:   5K- 28:16 (5/5/13)      10K- 1:00:13 (10/27/13)    4M- 41:43 (9/7/13)   15K- 1:34:25  (8/17/13)    10M- 1:56:30 (4/6/14)     HM- 2:20:16 (4/13/14)     Full- 5:55:33 (11/1/15)

               

              I started a blog about running :) Check it out if you care to

              GinnyinPA


                Sounds like a fun run.  One nice thing about later races - the beer tastes a little better than at 7:30 a.m.

                So_Im_a_Runner


                Go figure

                  You're up to 9 races already?! I don't know if I should say you're as bad as, or as good as, DocketRocket ha. Sounds like a great cause attached to the race...very nice to get to do races like that. Your 10:20 pace is awesome!

                  Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn

                  DanFuller


                  5K Specialist

                    Looks like a lot of fun.

                    Personal Bests:

                    800M - 2:38 (5/28/13) | 1 Mile -5:54 (5/28/13) | 3K - 11:55 (12/29/12) | 2M - 13:00 (12/1/12) | 5K - 20:00 (4/12/13) | 13.1M - 1:37:24 (2/3/13)

                    MrNamtor


                      You're one of my heroes dawg. And how the hell do you find these weird distance races (like 7k) anyway? lol


                      SheCan

                        Looks like such a fun race and a beautiful day!  Congratulations on another great race!

                        Cherie

                        "We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. "  ---- Shasta Nelson