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

Held at 5 PM on March 1, 2014.  This was my 14th race of 2014 and the 2nd for the day, after having done the UTSA Diploma Dash the same morning - report/photos:  https://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/967062d3fa264ff5ab645fccb4e3ead0/resume#focus - .   The race was put on by Carrera Races and iaapweb.com, two very good local race companies. This one supported the San Antonio Children's Hospital, which is the place I always give my medals to whenever I get one, for the cancer kids there to use.  Children's Hospital is part of the Christus Health organization.  The temperature for race time had shot up to 82 degrees so it was quite warm and also pretty windy.   My legs were a tad sore from my morning race so I ran a bit slower for this one, finishing in a chip time of 35:16.

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

Before The Race

Start and finish at , Valero Trailhead (named for Fortune 500 company Valero Energy Corporation, whose HQ is right above the trails), one of our local greenway parks with paved running trails, mainly flat with a couple of small inclines.  This was an out-and-back course.  My wife Gail accompanied me to this one.  Since this was Neon Sun race, lots of people were dressed quite brightly and there was a costume/clothing contest prior to the race.  I was quite surprised when I won a $25 gift certificate, as I was in the 'costume' I wear every day, lol.   People in the photos wearing the 'neon' shirts that say Carrera, with the design on the front, are wearing the goody bag race shirts..and you got to choose your color. you wanted..pink, orange, green, etc.   Of course, I chose orange...my favorite color...which makes sense because according to a personality test I once took, I am orange, lol.

My wife and my "running crush'    Bernadette

The littlest costume contest winner

My next life I'm going to be a small dog so I can be held by 2 beautiful ladies 

This lovely lady was First Woman overall winner.  Of course, she did have a magic wand...

"Play that funky music, white boy."...

Getting ready to start....small crowd, maybe about 100 or so participants, runners and walkers

On The Course

This was a nice course, but we had to watch out for cyclists.  Most places I run the cyclists and runners/walker get along and the cyclists are polite enough to give us a shout-out as they approach from behind us - "Passing on the right/left!" and so forth.  I have nothing against cyclists, they have a right to be out there too doing their thing, and the majority I encounter are all pretty nice.    But the cyclists that use this trail were the rudest I've ever encountered.   Jeez,  we're all out there together, so come on, share the trail.  The ones on this trail just barreled on up almost RIGHT behind you without a word, and then veered and went on by.   For the whole time I was on the course, there were only 2 cyclists - at least in the areas that I was in -  that were polite enough to give us a warning. A couple of times as I was running I saw ahead of me that there were a few 'near misses' with some of the runners.

Water stop volunteers

After The Race

To the Post-Race Goodies!  As with all Carrera races, there was beer, and I indulged in one and then got photos of the other 'goodies' folks.

These guys were serving hummus and its 'accessories"

La Madeleine Bakery had chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies

These medical folks were giving out a bag of goodies..water bottles, little stuffed bear, etc..

NIOSA ladies....NIOSA is "Night In Old San Antonio", part of the Fiesta San Antonio activities. NIOSA is one big party over 3 nights.

You could get a mini-massage/rub down after the race

Gail and our pals Loyce - enjoying the hummus dish - and Gene, enjoying the spaghetti pasta dish.

After that I 'rocked' this race for a bit....

...and then photos of "Happy Finishers", etc...

Medal winners...I got a medal since Gene and I were the only 2 in our age group, lol.  Gene finished WAY ahead of me.  So I have another medal to pass on to the kids.

EPILOG

Small race but very fun one. Lots of post-race goodies!  Nice tech tees too.   Good course - even with the rude bikers - and great volunteers, nice prizes, etc.  When you see the name "Carrera" as the race organizer, you know you are going to get a good event.  Iaapweb.com, also a great racing company, did their usual great job of course planning and timing.

Next up for me:  Give Love 5K in San Antonio on March 8th - another Carrera race, yeah!  This one might be a bit slow for me though, as the race is on Saturday and I'm having a colonoscopy on Thursday..oh yeah...fun stuff... ...hopefully my butt will be ready to get in gear for the race.

Looks like a nice place to race, despite the bikes, and some very nice t-shirts.

Cool shirts.

Congratulations on races 13th and 14th of the year.  Great job, especially considering this was your 2nd of the day.  WTG you!  The pics of you and Gail together are adorable, and great pictures of everyone.  I love the colors in this race, and it looks so warm!   Thank you for posting such great reports for us!  <3

Congrats, Scotty!   This race looked like summertime!  Love the shirts and the ability to choose what color you wanted!  Glad to see the pics of you and your lovely bride!

Are you on pace to meet on beat the number of races you did last year?

Congrats! What a fun race. I love all the bright colors! I would have probably gone for orange too.

Sorry about the rude cyclists, but it looks like everyone had a great time regardless.