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.”

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/2019%20Race%20Reports/2019%20Race%20Number%2019%20City%20Managers%205K?sort=2

BEFORE MY START

My 19^th race of 2019 was the City Manager’s 5K (CM5k) held on March 31 at Roosevelt Park in San Antonio. This event started in 20007 to showcase the city’s concentration on increasing an interest in wellness among City of San Antonio employees and their families. As the 5K grew, it was eventually opened to the entire community.  For this year’s 5K, the city partnered with the YMCA and its annual Siclovia event, a free event that turns major city streets into a temporarily car-free safe place for people to run, ride bikes, take exercise classes, and more for about 5 hours. CM5K has become quite a popular event.  For this year, not sure how many participants there were, but it was well over 2,500, from just looking at the results. Parking was kind of crazy, so glad I got there early, and glad I had picked up my packet during the week instead of waiting until race day. After I finally did get parked, went around the crowded staging area and got a few photos.

Roosevelt Park is one of the parks adjacent to the San Antonio Riverwalk and the San Antonio River

San Antonio Police "Blue Bear" mascot

Blue Bear and "handler"

Blue Bear and some idiot... 

Blue Bear and Sparky, the Fire Dept. Mascot

Some of the iaap race management crew that did setup, timing, results, etc.

Fire Academy cadets in attendance

Police Academy cadets

Various

My friend here had a hip replacement and is now out walking again

ON THE COURSE

The course was out-and-back, starting from Roosevelt Park and then heading onto St. Mary’s Street in San Antonio.  For our turn-round point we made a turn onto Cesar Chavez Boulevard, went down that for about a half mile, then came back up it to St. Mary’s Street and back to the finish the way we had come out. It was a nicely thought-out course that gave the thousands of participants roads wide enough to maneuver around on without feeling crowded.  I ended up 7^th out of 22 in my age group (60 – 65) with a 34:18 time.  The weather, by the way, was kind of nuts.  On Saturday (March 30) the 5K I did was warm and humid and I wore a singlet. For this one a ‘cold’ front moved in Saturday night and by Sunday morning the wind was blowing pretty good, it was a cool 46 degrees with a ‘feels like of 40’ – that’s cold for we South Texans, lol, especialy when the temp drops 30 degrees overnight – and I wore a short-sleeved running shirt with a base layer.  This coming week our temps will hit the 70s again. Mother Nature sure likes to ‘see-saw’ our San Antonio weather, lol.

Right after we turned the corner out of the park...up we went...

On St. Mary's Street...

Overall winner already heading back to the finish

On Caesar Chavez Street

Down the hill now, heading to the park to finish

AFTER MY FINISH

After walking around a bit and drinking some water and munching on some of the post-race goodies (banana and nutrition bar for me), got a few photos of the happy finishers and supporters, volunteers, etc

City Manager Erik Walsh with a few words to start the awards ceremony

Why this guy isn't cold...the rest of us were freezing, lol

I was framed!

EPILOGUE

As said, CM5K has become quite a popular city 5K to do and this one was no exception, lots and lots of participants.  The City planned well for it and from what I saw everything went off without a hitch. There was not a whole lot of post-race goodies – water was the only drink I saw offered – but some of the race sponsors and vendors there were also offering stuff – various fruits, energy drinks, nutrition bars, and more – so it was all good.  Results were done pretty quickly, thanks to the efficiency of local race management company iaap; they are an ‘old hand’ at this and know how to get it done. Awards, for those who got them, were pretty nice. Nice quality race tee also.  Very nice course, and with an out-and-back, it was fun to see and encourage and cheer on friends as we passed by each other.  I’ve done this event in the past and it’s only gotten better as the years have gone along. Definitely will do this one again and would recommend it.

Thanks very much to all the people who made this one happen for we participants, all the volunteers; iaap for the course set-up, timing, and results; all the sponsors and vendors; law enforcement folks out there for us; all the city employees that had a hand in organizing this one and making sure it all came out okay; and anyone else I may not have mentioned