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

 

Here is yet another of my photo reports.  This is a very popular race, so I took a LOT of photos; if you don't want to see them all individually below and read my full report please go to the slideshow link for faster viewing and no commentary.

 

Full report below.   

 

Slide show of photos only: 

http://s166.photobucket.com/user/scottydog69/slideshow/2017%20Race%20Reports/2017%20Race%20No%2087%20CRIT%20Elf%20Run%205K%20and%201K?sort=2 

 

Before My Start

Held on Dec 10, This was my 87th race of 2017 and my 2nd event of this weekend after doing Girls On The Run 5K on Dec 9.  Event was held at and supported Teleton USA's Children's Rehabilitation Institue of TeletonUSA (CRIT) a rehabilitation center for primarily disabled children receiving therapy for muscular, skeletal, and neurological disabilities.  TeletonUSA Foundation is a local nonprofit in San Antonio that raises funds for CRIT and oversees the operations of the center.  I try to do this one every year if I can; I was a March of Dimes baby with a birth defect and now have degenerative disc disease and spinal arthritis in 5 levels of my back, as well as hip arthritis so I can relate a bit to not being fully mobile. I am one of the lucky ones because I had and have good medical treatment and can pretty much still do a whole lot; some of these kids are not so lucky as I was; so disabled children programs one of my personal causes that I try to support whenever possible.  The CRIT location is about an 8-minute drive from where I live so with a 9 a.m. start I was able to sleep in a bit, which was nice.  I arrived onsite with about an hour or so to go to the 5K start time and got some pre-start photos.  Several participants and volunteers and supporters were very festive.  CRIT also kindly opened a portion of their building to participants so we had access to indoor restroom facilities, water fountains, and a place to keep a little warm, as it was a bit chilly before the start.

 

I have arrived

 

Some of the iRun Texas crew on site, getting everything set up for timing, results, etc.

 

 

My friend Mitch, co-owner of iRun, biking the finish line, lol.

 

Me and Mitch...one good guy....even my socks smile when he's around.  

 

Various participants, volunteers, supporters, etc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy actually ran in this thing for about the first 1/2 mile....and then it got a bit warm so he changed back to "normal runner".  Christmas magic...from reindeer to runner to reindeer to runner..   

 

 

1K start

 

 

 

 

Getting ready to start.  This was a fairly small event, but a good one.

 

 

 

On the Course

There was also a 1K that started at 8:30 a.m.  For we South Texans, it was kind of chilly, with the temp around 39-40 degrees when I got there, so I had a couple of base layers under my running shirt until it was time to run.  It was a nice sunny day, however, and temp had climbed to around 44 or so by start time so I set the base layers aside to have something dry to get into after the race, and I was just fine.  We started in front of the CRIT center, passed by Toyota Stadium (professional soccer), turned into Morgan's Wonderland - a park with rides, games, etc., that was specifically designed for people with special needs - did a loop through the park, then back onto paved roads, going out to Heroes Stadium (belonging to one of the local school districts), went to a turn-around point there and back the way we had come out.  I ended up with a chip time of 33:57, ending up 3rd in my age group.

 

Took a stop to take a photo of the lake inside Morgan's Wonderland

 

Back out on the street again

 

Going past Morgan's Wonderland water park

 

Looking back toward Morgan's Wonderland

 

 

Forging ahead again

 

Made the turn-round point and am heading back to the finish

 

Looking behind me.  When you're a pokey old guy like I am, it can be lonely during a race sometimes, lol.  Especially in the smaller events.

 

I stopped every now-and-then to take photos.  This young lady who was near me most of the race, just kept going and going and going.  I don't think she stopped once; little Energizer Bunny lady, lol.  Way to go, young lady.  She is also wearing the race shirt participants got...in a choice of red or green.

 

 

Encountering others on the way to the turn-round point

 

 

My friend Karen who walked the whole route.  She goes pretty good too.

 

 

Happy finisher me at the end of the course.

 

 

Done..and photo of these stacks in the distance that we also saw on the turn-round point road

 

 

 

After My Finish

After getting a dry shirt back on under my race shirt - ahhh, that felt good - I wandered around again like I had pre-start and got some after photos. Also enjoyed some of the post-race goodies CRIT staff had put out for post-race: a variety of bagels,  nutrition bars, energy drinks, bottled water, fruit, etc. There were even some Krispy Kreme donuts and I did indulge in having one.

 

Coming back from my car, saw this pretty little fountain.....got a photo....and then had to pee right after that....darn old man brain and prostate...  

 

Some of the people I encountered post-race

 

This lady is wearing the red variety of the race shirt

 

 

Thank you young man, I will have a donut

 

 

friend Karen finished her walk in good order

 

Friends Bernadette and Don who both placed in their age groups.

 

 

With Bernadette who has done almost as many races this year as I have. She is up to 84 done.

 

 

 

Reindeer guy -  back to his human form - placed in his age group. He also got that medal after pushing his son along in a chair on the route.  This guy is pretty darn speedy with a lot of stamina too.

 

 

Getting my medal - 3rd in my age group.  The guy that took this photo with my camera got my best side, lol.

 

Made a new friend - guy who was 2nd in our age group..and beat me in by just over a minute..I think I stopped to take a photo...     Naw, he is just speedier than me.  Congrats!  Even fully dressed as an Elf, lol.

 

Happy finishers, Bernadette and me

 

Yeah, I got this...   

 

 

Thank you, iRun crew!

 

 

Epilogue

This is a very well put-on event, organized by local race managment/coaching/specialty running store iRun Texas and, in my opinion, one of the Top Three local race companies in the San Antonio area, and I include in that area nearby New Braunfels and San Marcos. iRun always does an excellent job with the course setup, timing, results, etc.  The course today was great - and nice touch including Morgan's Wonderland in the route, makes it a lot more interesting than just running around empty roads in this area that used to be long ago an old-time quarry. This is also a very flat course, making it a really good one for those shooting for a PR.  The only up part on the whole course was just a small incline near the start/finish, and that probably wasn't even 50 yards long.  Nice facility CRIT has for pre-and-post race and a nice array of post-race goodies.  The shirts were cotton - definitely not a running shirt for me, lol, as I sweat so darn much when I run, so I use tech shirts - and of good quality and very unique, nicely designed with ELF on them and you got your choice of green or red. Medals for the first 3 places in each age group - nice medals too - which surprised me for a small race as I know smaller events sometimes have a pretty tight budget, so I thought it was really a nice touch they did that 3-deep age group thing.   Definitely would do this one again and would recommend it to others.  The only change I might recommend:  We runners can be a bunch of prima donas at times - I know I sure am at times, lol - just ask my wife    - and of course, we always want it our way, and know way in advance what our race calendars have coming up; so maybe start advertising it a bit sooner to possibly get more participants; which would be nice because this really is a good one for a good cause.  I will definitely do this one again and would recommend it to others.

Looks like a fun event!