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.

For this event, I took nearly 100 photos, so I will not post them here for all of you to go through 100 photos.  

Instead I will just put my commentary below and then, if you want to view the photos, with my commentary on each photo, please go to the link below.

Link to photos, with some commentary on the photos.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156913303302082&type=1&l=7106f58cce

Also, here is a slideshow of photos only, with no commentary:

http://s166.photobucket.com/user/scottydog69/slideshow/2018%20race%20reports/2018%20Race%20Number%2083%20Santa%20Antonio%205K?sort=2

BEFORE MY START

My 83^rd race of 2018 was the B.I.S.H. Foundation Santa Antonio 5K, the original Santa Claus 5K in San Antonio, held for many years.  This event was held on Nov 25 and helps fund cancer research.  Race local was Sunset Station in downtown San Antonio, near The Alamodome, which was the previous home of the NBA San Antonio Spurs and is a current venue for various athletic events, conventions, shows, etc.  Start time for the 5K was 9 a.m. and every registration included a Santa Suit.  There were lots of Santas at this one!  I arrived with about an hour to go to start time and got some pre-start photos.

ON THE COURSE

This was a loop course, starting at Sunset Station, going up historic Hays Street Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that was built in the early 1900s, if I remember correctly, to allow safe crossing over railroad tracks, etc.  Route then took us into a nice adjacent neighborhood – with a pretty fair-sized hill along the way too – to an out-and-back part of the course and then back to the finish at Sunset Station.  I ended up with a chip time of 33:37 and was quite happy with that considering this was my 3^rd race since Thanksgiving Day -  did a Turkey Trot on Turkey Day and then another 5K on Saturday, Nov 24 – but did not even come close to placing as there was a huge amount of participants for this popular event.

AFTER MY FINISH

This event always has a super after-party at the Sunset Station Pavilion.  It includes live music, lots of various food, and beer, nice. Awards given to top overalls and the top 3 males and females in 10-year age groups, e.g., 20 – 29, 30 – 39, etc. After getting some water and something to eat, I went and got a post-race beer and then wandered around getting some post-race photos of several of the happy people, finishers, volunteers, sponsors, etc.

EPILOGUE

One of my favorite events of the year.  I have done this one for several years now and it never fails to please. Good cause, very well organized, nice course – challenging in places, but nice – and very nice after-party.   Definitely will continue to do this one and most certainly would recommend it to others.

Thanks to all the people that made this one happen for us, including all the volunteers, sponsors, law enforcement, organizers, iaap race company and anyone else I may not have mentioned here.  No event for we participants without you, so mucho gracias!