INTRO  

I am Scott aka Scottydog aka Scotty Dogg, runner since 1983, cancer survivor – caught very early, so I actually had a fairly easy time of it - , retired Air Force, employee of University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), friend of dogs, fun-runner, and all-around punster and 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.  My only goals for a race these days are finish everything I start, have fun along the way, and finish standing up with no ambulance waiting for me.  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 – unless it’s a mean dog; then the biscuit goes in one direction and I go in another.  Hence my nickname “Scottydog.”

And a big thanks to runningahead.com for allowing me a “home” for my many many MANY race reports and photos.  Great site, free training log; calendars; running routes; maps; conversation forums for runners; and much more

I don’t have great camera skills and take photos with a camera that is like me  - old fashioned, lol - so sorry if a photo appears a bit blurry, etc.  However, they are free to save, share, etc.

Here is yet another of my photo reports.  Full report below.     

Link to photos only:

http://s166.photobucket.com/user/scottydog69/slideshow/2018%20Race%20Reports/2018%20Race%20Number%2061%20St%20John%20Bosco%205K?sort=2

BEFORE MY START

My 61^st race of 2018 was St. John Bosco 5K on Sep 1 in Natalia, Texas, a small town located about 45 miles south of San Antonio.  This event supported activities at the church of St. John Bosco.  This was a fairly small event with maybe about 30 or 40 participants.  “Old school timing” with a paper bib and clock finish time registered as you crossed the finish line. I got there around 7:30, about 30 minutes before the projected start time of 8 a.m.   There was a delay in the start, however; we did not actually start until a little after 8:30 a.m., so I had plenty of time to take a few pre-start photos.   The only other runner I knew here was my friend Bernadette, who was also doing this 5K.

Various Participants, volunteers, etc

This was our Race Director and he also ran the course

Our official photographer...photo taken by the unofficial photographer

This guy followed us all around the course, making sure we were all okay

Caught my friend Bernadette doing a little stretching

Outside the church, in front of one of the stained glass windows

ON THE COURSE

I was expecting the old course that I remembered when I’d done this one before a few years back.  However, the race director surprised me and changed the course this year.  We started from the church and then weaving around on the streets in the neighborhood surrounding the church.  This is a MUCH better course than the old one. A much safer route too, as the old route had taken us out to a “country” road that was also an access road for a truck stop near a local highway, which got a bit crazy at times, with traffic coming-and-going, turning, etc.  The old course was actually a pretty boring course too, a whole lot of nothing out that way, lol.  With this route, at least we got to see some residents and scenery along the way, and there were lots of doggies too “cheering” us on; and they sure loved me, lol, handing out treats to them.  Since this was a smaller race in participants, I pretty much, with my slow pace, ran by myself for most of the route, interacting with a few others along the way.   I ended up with a 34:53 finish time and was quite happy with that, given my arthritis and heart issues I’ve been dealing with lately.

When you run as slow as I do, lol, you often are the only one on the street in a small race.

This police officer was also driving all around the course, making sure we were okay, and giving us the right-of-way when any traffic actually did come along.

I "chased" these two ladies for the whole length of the course.

My new friend Phil, also an Air Force guy, making progress

About a mile to go...got a little closer to the two ladies

Looking behind me at this point on the course

Up this inclined road...not steep, it was just a long incline

After that, nonstop to the finish...

AFTER MY FINISH

...where I finally caught those two ladies who had been ahead of me on the course and finished about 2 minutes in front of me.

A few photos with some others at the finish line area

Well, it is Texas in August so pretty warm by the time we finished, especially with the late start.  I got a few photos after I finished, then sat in my car for a few minutes with the a/c on and drank some Gatorade.  Much refreshed and then back out to get a few more photos.

As I was nearing the finish, this guy was driving right behind me.  I slowed down a bit hoping he'd pass me so I could jump on the back and get a ride to the finish...     ...but he never passed me, he made me run the whole way to the finish.  

Made a couple of new friends.  They were also Air Force.  Hope to see them in the future sometime at other races.

With new friend Phil....

EPILOGUE

Aside from the small glitch of a delay in the original start time – hey, things happen sometimes, as we experienced runners know, so no sense in getting frustrated about it, you just got to deal with it and go with the flow – everything was pretty nice. This is a very small and laid-back event that felt more like a friendly get-together of neighborhood runners and walkers, which is not a bad thing, it sure promotes camaraderie.   Pretty nice quality race shirts too, and medals for the age group winners, including the walkers. The church was kind enough to open its grounds to us and its inside restroom facilities too, so nice to have an actual restroom instead of a port-a-potty.  There was plenty of water and Gatorade on hand before and after the race there was even cold beer for those of age to indulge; very nice, I quite enjoy a cold one after a race or a run.  Will I do this one again?  Definitely, and I would recommend it to others too.  This is one of the friendliest events I’ve ever done, with really nice people and a good loop course – my favorite kind of course, beats an out-and-back course any time.   There should be a race rule that all races have to be loop courses.  😉  These folks did it right.

Mucho thanks to all the people out there who made this one happen; the church folks; the volunteers; the local law enforcement and the 4-wheeler driver guy that watched out for us on the local streets; the local residents for patience – and even a few cheers – as we ran or walked up-and-down their streets; and anyone else I may not have mentioned here.  Thank you all so much for what you do so we participants can have this event to do.