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

This was my 39th event of 2013 and my  2nd race of the July 4th holiday, after having done the Firecracker 5K in San Marcos TX on Wednesday, July 3, at 7:30 PM.  The San Antonio Roadrunner Freedom Run is a 4-miler that is one of the oldest running events in San Antonio, with this year being its 38th year.  There were about 600 to 650 participants.  Event was held at Morgan's Wonderland and the course was pretty much just a loop around the soccer fields there and then on the park roads.  It was quite warm - in the 70s already at 7:30 a.m. start time and a whopping humidity in the 80 percentile range and dewpoint in the 70s.  This turned out to be my PW for a 4-mile run, with me finishing in 52:13, averaging 13-something per mile, when I usually do about 11 min per mile for 4 miles.  I think I was a tad dehydrated, and did a lot more walking than I had planned to do.   Even so, I still managed to enjoy myself,  enjoyed interacting with the other participants out there, and took a lot of photos.

 LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

The "landmark" for the course was Heroes Stadium, an 11,000-seat, open style football stadium serving the public school district North East ISD in San Antonio. It is near the stadium of the San Antonio Scorpions, San Antonio's professional soccer team.

The start/finish area was in a parking lot across from the stadium.  After getting home late from San Marcos, I overslept a bit in the morning and got to the start area with about 30 minutes to go.  Luckily, I had already registered and picked up my packet, so had my chip and race bib, so all I had to do was just show up. Unfortunately, with me rushing around a bit after oversleeping, I did not drink nearly enough water pre-start, and this probably contributed to my not doing so well for this event.

BEFORE THE RACE

Arrived with about 30 minutes to go before starting and took some photos of supporters, volunteers, and participants.

I met this young lady in San Marcos the night before the race, as we both did the 5K in San Marcos on Wed night.  You think I've done a lot of races this year?  I'm up to 39 this year.  This race was #47 for this lady.  And she came down from Fort Hood in Killeen to do this race and the one in San Marcos. Quite a drive!

These Scouts were volunteers along the route

Getting ready to start.  These ladies wore flags in their hair.

I jokingly told this guy I might need a ride in that stroller at about the halfway point. I didn't know how right I was, lol.

ON THE COURSE

We went from the start line into the Morgan's Wonderland youth soccer fields area, going on a sidewalk for a while, then cut across some grass - quite wet in places, as we ran on it after the maintenance sprinklers had finished watering the fields - then back onto more sidewalk.

After we came out of the soccer field area, the course was on park roads. No shade at all, it was quite warm. We made some "loops" around/through the roads and parking lots by Heroes Stadium, and then we had do and out-and-back on a GIANT hill, and then it was back to the finish line.

Monkey Person cheering everyone on.  I think it's  monkey..maybe...

NOT monkees...

Coming to the hill...

The HILL!   At this point, a little over the 2. 5 mile mark and my legs shouted at me that I was done running for a while.  I walked the uphill and took photos.

When we got to the top, we turned..and had to climb yet another part of the hill for a short bit..

The top was the 3-mile point.  1 mile to go to finish.  I got a photo of Heroes Stadim from the top of the hill and then ran - more like "shuffled", lol - the last mile nonstop to the finish.

AFTER THE RACE

The first thing I did was plop a cloth onto my head; finish line washcloths that had been soaking in ice water and volunteers handed them out to everyone as they came across the finish line.  Nice!  And felt great. Then I got something to drink, walked a bit, and then plopped down in some shade for a bit.

After relaxing a bit  and getting some hydration in me, I went around and got some "Happy Finisher" photos.  Apologies for "blotchy" spots on some photos.  I did try to keep my lens clean, but I was sweating so much, I probably dripped at times on the lens even after wiping them clean.

Our lovely announcer

The lady taking the photo told me to 'flex my muscle" so I did..my fat head...

A few of my running acquaintances enjoying some of the post-race goodies, which included beer and sausage wraps.

EPILOGUE

A PW event for me as far as running goes, but a great event socially.   The San Antonio RoadRunners (SARR) - of which I am a member - always put on a pretty good event.   Lots of nice post-race goodies, a raffle (I didn't win anything, darn the luck), very friendly folks, well-organized events.  Special mention to Volunteer Coordinator and all around Great Person ExtraOrdinaire Sally Rios - who also does have Great Legs , and darn the luck, I forgot to get a photo of her for this report -  who gets all the packet pickup and volunteer stuff all done for our events. Also, Tom, the official photographer for SARR events puts together a nice photo/video show of SARR events, so check that out at the club site:  http://www.saroadrunners.com/ .   If you're ever in San Antonio for the 4th, this event is a good one to do.

A photo of the race shirt:

Front"

Back:

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Wow you looked beat!   I can't believe that guy wearing the monkey costume in TX summer heat, even to cheer y'all on, my goodness!   Nice shirt.  Too bad it was your 39th race instead of your 38th to match the shirt.

That just looks like a hot, hazy day.

Wait, wait, wait, no PRB (post race beer)?  You sure did earn it running them hills and what not.

 

Next time pack one on ice from home just in case!

Actually, LRB, after I got some water in me and rested a bit, I felt better and I DID then enjoy a post-race beer.  There were coolers full of iced-down beer and it went down GREAT! 

 There were coolers full of iced-down beer and it went down GREAT! 

That's more like it!

Awesome shirt! OMG it looked like such a hot day... You Texans are tough people, running in that heat is not for the weak!

Great job, Scotty and thank you for the RR!

Even Scotty's got heat and humidity limits?  Good to know.  It's awesome that you still had a good time.  I have to ask.  Have you been dropping a few lbs?  I'm just going by the pictures, but it looks like it.

We're more than halfway through the year and only 39 races? How will you ever get to 100 at that rate? How many planned for the weekend?