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 43rd race of 2013.  Per the title, Orange Leaf Yogurt - <cite>orangeleafyogurt.com</cite> - was the race sponsor. Held in New Braunfels, Texas in the Cross Creek shopping area, about a 30 minute drive from San Antonio.  Half-marathon (323 participants) started at 6:30 a.m. and 5K (191 participants) started at 7 a.m.  5K was an out-and-back on a shopping center access street and a road going to and from the shopping center.  At 7 a.m. when we 5K folks started, it was already 78 degrees.  Humidity was pretty decent at 50%, but the dew point was a whopping 74, making it feel very sticky.  I felt sorry for the folks doing the half, who had a much longer way to go than us, and no shade on the course. At least we 5K folks would be done relatively quickly, so to speak. I actually felt pretty good for this event and ended up with a finish time of 33:44, averaging 10:53 per mile, finishing 4th out of the 7 in my age group, and 92nd overall. The guy that won the 5K finished in 16:24 and the first half-marathon finisher, a guy, finished in 1:15:36 - 5:45 per mile for 13.1 miles, Zowie!

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

Before The Race

I arrived at the start/finish area with about 45 minutes to go until the 5K start and began taking  "Before" photos.  Since sunrise was not until 6:45 a.m., it was still a little dark so I had trouble focusing a couple of the photos with my  el-cheapo camera and "Old Man Eyes", but overall most turned out pretty good.

Our race MC and announcer

Scott Wood, co-owner of Athlete Guild, that did the course set up, timing, etc.

These two are wearing the tech-tee race shirts participants got in their goody bags.

On The Course

As said in the short-version report, out-and-back course.  The road in front of the shopping center that we primarily ran on was 'very much so" a 2-lane country road, and not a whole lot of scenery out there, mostly crop fields we passed and sites of ongoing construction of commercial buildings being added to the shopping area.

One of the leaders already going for the finish..I wasn't even to the halfway point yet, lol.

After The Race

A couple of the photos I had screwed up the focus so bad the people were not recognizable, so I deleted those.  If I took your photo at this race and it is not in the report, your photo is probably one I screwed up, so my apologies. I do lots of events over the year, so please keep an eye out for me at future events, and I will do better for you next time.

The half-marathon folks all got finisher medals, which you will see some folks wearing.  The 5K folks got to start digging into the post-race goodies early while the half marathon folks were still out on their course. Goodies included bottled water, breakfast tacos, and this stuff, which the most important food person was bringing out...

I indulged in my post-race beer  and then got some "Happy Finisher" photos, along with photos of some of the volunteers and supporters of the racers.

Me and running pal, Luke.  This race, I remembered to pick up my lens-wiping cloth I had stashed near the finish line for post-race.  It didn't help, as much as my fat ole body sweats, I still managed to get blurry spots on a few of the photos.  Oh well, at least no one got their face covered and looked like they were in Witness Protection.

I played 'leapfrog" on the course with this dad-and-son, they would pass me during my photo breaks, I would catch back up.  Until after the turn-around point when the youngster took off for the finish, with Dad keeping him company.   I never saw them on the course again, lol, they beat me in quite handily.

Haven't we seen this lovely lady on the cover of a magazine somewhere?

This lady will be doing a cancer awareness bike ride...riding a bike all the way to Alaska!

Epilog

Aside from my terrible camera skills, this was a really nice event, at least the 5K was. Not a very scenic course, but the 5K one was pretty flat and probably a good PR-attempt course for the speedy folks.  One of the 1/2 folks told me post-race there were some hills on their route, and also more water was needed out there in more spots for the halfers, as it got quite warm out there with no shade.  The only negative in this event:  more porta-potties needed!  4 port-a-potties for 500 folks and a 6:30 am start for the half folks is just not good.  The line was quite long and I think some of the half folks had to abandon their 'quest" because start time came.   Of course, as I stood in line, one of my running acquaintances came along and reminded me of Bucky's right across the street from our start finish area.  Well, of course, duhhh, why didn't I think of that? Bucky's is a 24-hours open huge store for highway travelers, and has huge restrooms, so probably no waiting at all, and you get a nice warm-up walk from-and-to the start line area.  Oh well, now I know for next year!

All in all though, a pretty nice little event, nice post-race goodies, and free stuff from Orange Leaf, and a post-race raffle - I did not win anything, darn the luck - and Athlete Guild is always good about getting results speedily posted both post-race and online, they do an excellent job organizing their events. Yes, very warm race weather-wise, but even so, would recommend this 5K to my fellow runners. I will do it again in the future.

What's the deal with beer at all the 5K and 10K races in Texas?  In my brief running career in metro Atlanta, I've never seen that offered.

Thanks for the race report.  I don't know that I'd want to run this one, given the heat and lack of shade, but as usual it was a fun read.

Whaaat, nobody running in a thong??

You guys have Miller 64 quite regularly.  Other than Warrior Dash, I've never gotten beer at the end of a race.  Breakfast tacos sound amazing.  I feel cheated.  Congratulations on another race.

Nice pics as always, Scotty.

Congrats on a good run on a sticky day, as well.

Great job as always you racing machine.  I often wonder how you get everyone to smile for your photos.  You must have a great way with people.  That didn't sound like the most scenic course in the shopping mall parking lot, but I know you found a way to make it fun as always.

Oh, I just chat with them in a friendly way, and sometimes clown around a bit, and I usually get them to smile.  This lady here, on the right, for example, I did a double-take for a second and then told her "For a minute there, I thought Sandra Bullock showed up at our race!"  That got a nice smile from her.