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

This was my 74th race of 2013. Held in Gruene (pronounced GREEN), Texas, in the lovely Gruene Lake Village neighborhood area. This was a night-time, untimed fun run that support the Madeleine Hindman Memorial Fund, named for Madeleine Hindman, who had a short time in this world - leaving us at age 13 from a brain aneurysm.      You can read her story here: http://www.madeleinehindmanmemorialfund.com/

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

Before The Run

Run start time was 6 P.M. so I drove the short distance - about 30 miles from San Antonio - to Gruene, got my packet, and then got some pre-start photos, between 5 and 6 PM, as the sun was beginning to slowly set.

Registration ladies

Young musicians keeping us entertained pre-start

These ladies are wearing the shirt that was in the goody bag of each participant and volunteer

Scott Wood, co-owner of Athlete Guild, which did course set-up, and David Alexander, our event announcer. They both did their usual great job for all events they do.

Me and two of my running acquaintances I see at quite a lot of local events.

As you can see, the color purple was the order of the day...purple is the color of the foundation and, I'm assuming, was Madeleine's favorite color.

Now that is one relaxed kid in the stroller..."Joe Cool..." 

People in the start area with about 10 minutes to go...

On The Course

The course ran through a very pretty neighborhood full of all kinds of holiday lights.  We 'looped' all through this neighborhood.  I tried to get some on-course photos, but my camera is not exactly the best for dark, lol.  Still, you can see some of the lights and a few of the folks -or 'shadows' of them, lol -  on the course.

These ladies were on the course playing music for us as we passed by

This is Salvador T. Dog...very friendly!  I stopped on the way out to give him a treat and here he was, still out there on the way back.  with his Human.   Nice of him to wait out there just to see me again.   I stopped to give him another treat and then headed to the finish line.

After The Run

Goodies, goodies, where's the goodies?

Oh yeah!  The beer volunteer in action, pouring out drafts..

There was also hot chocolate, coffee, water, etc.  And a ton of food, red wine, white wine, cold cuts, meat loaf (I think it was meat loaf), salad and fresh veggies, a variety of crackers and breads, fruits, pretzels, and other things..

These happy finisher ladies 'modeled' their plates for me...

The food was popular...this was the line for it, going all the way back from the numbers there on the building...

And a good time was had by all the "Happy Finishers", etc...

EPILOG

Those of you who know me well already know the story of the loss of my first wife and 4-month old son to a drunk driver. So I wanted to do this one to show my support for the Hindman family and their foundation. The loss of a child is a terrible thing - but the Hindmans have turned their personal tragedy into a positive thing and their daughter lives through the love of her family and friends and the good work done for others through the foundation in her name. A VERY big special thanks to them.  I'm sure Madeleine was right there with us in spirit and very proud of her family and friends for this accomplishment.

Kudos to Two Rivers Yoga that gave the use of their building to us for packet pickup, post-race party, restroom facilities, etc, and mucho thanks  also to all the other Gruene Lake Village businesses around them who opened their doors to us, and to the very patient residents as we ran up and down their neighborhood streets.   And, of course, a big thanks to all the participants who show up for this one and keep making it successful.  See you next year!

Next Up For Me:  Well, I thought I was finished with races for the year.  I am tied this year at 74 races with the number of races I did in 2012. I wanted to do 75 this year to break last year's record.  This one should have been 75, but my Saturday morning race of Dec 21 got cancelled.  However, my wife surprised my by registering me for a race in Corpus Christi on Dec 28 - and giving me hotel reservations too for the Friday night before so I don't have to get up at oh-dark-thirty on Saturday morning  to drive down there - so looks like I will get my 75 races in for the year after all!  What a nice wife!   And smart too...since now she won't have to listen to me whine about not having done 75 races for the year. 

Wishing everyone a very Happy Holidays!

Nice job, Scotty!  This looks like a wonderful run filled with Christmas lights!  Love all your pics!

Good luck in Corpus Chrisiti!