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.

Below is yet another of my photo reports.

Link to photos only:

Full report below.    

BEFORE MY START

 My 42^nd race of 2019 was the District 9 and District 10 Veteran’s 5K held on June 29 and put on by San Antonio Sports (sanantoniosports.org), with a mission to transform lives in the San Antonio community through the power of sport. Hosts for this event were our District 9 and District 10 City Councilmen and the event had a whole lot of sponsors.  This was a free event held at Virgil Blossom Stadium, and athletics complex of the North East Independent School District (NEISD).  The first 2,000 registrants got chip-timed bibs.   I’m not sure if the event ended up having 2,000 there on race day, but there sure were a lot of people in attendance, as these free council district events are quite popular.

My wife was in attendance too, walking this one as we began this anniversary day for us – the 35^th anniversary of the day we met back in 1984 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  My wife is a saint for being able to put up with me for that many years.

We live quite close to Blossom Stadium, only a few miles, so with an 8 a.m. start time we were able to sleep in a bit and then head on over.  Got there with just under an hour to go to the 8 a.m. start time, and got a few photos.

With my wife before the start.  Happy 'Day We Met" 35th Anniversary

Welcome to NEISD

...and the event

RRP Timing folks.  Soler Sports - the sign behind them - were the folks who laid out the course for us.

Various participants, volunteers, supporters, etc

Getting ready to start

 ON THE COURSE

 Blossom Stadium is a pretty large sports complex with a football type stadium with a track that goes around it; tennis courts; soccer fields; and a natatorium with Olympic size pool, diving boards for diving competitions, and so forth.  It is also the ‘bus barn’ area for a lot of the NEISD school buses, so a large parking area for the buses near the stadium.  The course took us through part of the parking lot area and then along the outside of the stadium; onto a road going past soccer fields, then down to a turn-round point; then into the back part of the complex, taking us along a short grassy area, then back onto one of the stadium roads; then into the stadium, doing a half-loop around the track; exit the stadium, and we were back on one of the roads we had started on and proceeded to the finish the same way we had started out.  I ended up with 34:51, averaging about 11:14 per mile, which is pretty much my usual pace these days.

A little past 1/2 mile for me

A little past the halfway mark for me

This lovely lady is good...I wanna be able to take a quick nap too when I run...  

Past Mile 2 now....on the stadum track...

After that last photo, nonstop running to the finish.

AFTER MY FINISH

Got some water and a banana, did a cool down walk, sipping and eating, and then it was time to get some “happy finisher et al” photos.

My wife walked the course, finishing in 44:58 chip time, averaging 14-something minute miles.

My speedy friend Albert was 1st male in 70+ age group

These two speedy little guys were right near me as we all went to the finish line.  Here with their very speedy Dad, who did 7-something minute miles.

Good running, guys!  See them over the year at several races, and hope to seem them at races in the future.

Thank you, San Antonio Sports crew

Thank you, volunteers

EPILOGUE

My friends from Soler Sports did a great job in laying out a pretty darn nice course for this one with what they had to work with.  We weaved all around, making a lot of turns but it was done is such a way that people going out could not interfere with people already heading back to the finish; and it was sure better than doing loops around the huge parking lot, which is what I first thought the course would be when I saw the location for it on the registration site. The way the course was laid out, we also got to see many parts of the complex that most people don’t see or know about, so that was pretty cool too. Nicely done, Roger and Lisa.

Event was well organized – I never saw any “crowding” for race day packet pickup, everything seemed to flow very smoothly and San Antonio Sports had all their stuff done well too – stage setup, announcements done, volunteers all in place, etc – and several sponsors were there as well, giving away some nice freebies and there were also finisher medals. RRP Timing did a great job with the results, they were electronically posted just about immediately after you crossed the finish line.

I think this was the inaugural race for this one and from my point of view, where I was at any given time before, during, and after, it seemed to go pretty darn well.  Definitely would do this one again and would recommend it.

Mucho thanks to all the people and the organizations that made this one happen for we participants, including San Antonio Sports; Soler Sports; RPP Timing; all the sponsors supporting this one,; police officers and medical staff onsite; NEISD folks;  and anyone I may have missed or did not mention here. Thank you all so much!