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.  Full report below.    

Link to photos only: http://s166.photobucket.com/user/scottydog69/slideshow/2016%20Race%20Reports/2016%20Race%2072%20Buffalo%20Hump%205%20Miles

A couple of the photos came out a bit blurry, sorry about that, I am definitely no professional photographer, lol, but at least the photos are free.

BEFORE THE START

Held on Dec 17, the San Antonio Roadrunners Buffalo Hump 5 Miles was my 72^nd race of 2016.  There was also a 10 mile race.  Race local was Comanche Park, which is appropriate since this event is named for the Comanche chief, Buffalo Hump.   The park is a very nice ‘greenway system’ San Antonio park that connects to 2 other parks in the system, so for a run, bike ride, or walk, one can go a long ways here.  Several people during the year do their long run training at this park. There were about 85 or so people doing the 5 miler, me included, and I’m not sure how many did the 10 miler.  Weather – as usual in Texas – was kind of crazy.  Pretty nice temps all week and then for race day, very humid, some off-and-on misty drizzle, and temp at 9 a.m. start time was around 63 degrees, with our temp projected to go up to 80 by late afternoon.  Well, at least for the race, Mother Nature held off the Arctic Front coming in; by the morning of Dec 18, our temp is predicted to plunge into the low 30s.  Crazy Texas weather.   I arrived at race locale around 8 a.m. or so, and wandered around taking some pre-start photos.

I was very "orangey" today...in support of the University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners football team, who played their first Bowl game in program history, after the program was only 6 years old.  We lost to New Mexico by 3 points, bummer....but we played a heckuva game!

Tom Lake, the 'official' photographer, and one of our extraordinary volunteers - whose name went right out of my old-man brain, lol.

Darn it, a little blurry..sorry ladies...  trust me, when you see them clearly, the are beautiful....shoot, even blurry, they're beautiful.

I'm like the young lady in the middle...I think I needed a nap too..

OK, after a nice rest, she woke up..   

iaapweb.com, who did the timing, course set up, race results.  The young lady here also designed the race shirt.   Check out all her tech shirts at Hurache Turbo - yes, I am giving her a plug, lol; she really does make great shirts.

All the 10 milers and 5 milers started together.

After we started, we passed by this guy holding the flag as we all went by.  Nice.

ON THE COURSE

Started near the main pavilion area of the park and then onto off-road paved running trails. We did a loop around a man-made park lake that took us through part of East Lions Park, and then back the way we had come out.  It was pretty gray, dreary day and, as said previously, very humid.  There was also some water on parts of the trail so it must’ve rained a bit Friday night or early Saturday morning.  Nothing impassable, no flooding or anything like that, but somewhat slippery, so you did have to watch your step at a few places. I ended up finishing in one hour and 22 seconds – a 12-minute and change per mile pace – and took several photos along the way during my walk breaks.  I think I might have finished maybe a tad under an hour, but I was ‘chasing’ some guy near the end – and kept chasing him, lol, we’d pretty much been leapfrogging each other the whole way – when one of the volunteers called out to me ‘Scotty, that guy is doing the 10-miler.  Turn here, turn here to finish the 5-miler!”  Thank you volunteer, who knows where I would’ve ended up, lol.  So I turned around, came back and then did the last part of the 5-mile finish.

My friend, Adrian (red shirt) and I pretty much ran/walked most of the course together.

This little downhill, meant we had to come back UP it for the return to the finish.  There were two of these "uphill' spots on the course.  Race Directors can be cruel on an old man's legs. 

Three of my friends out there....even though they are Dallas Cowboys fans, I still love 'em. 

This is the last time I saw my friend here on the course.  After this, she apparently found her 'mojo" and ran ahead...and I never saw her again until after I finished, lol.

And there she goes...leaving this old dog way behind... 

Bike pacer leading the 5 mile winner in..

And here come some of those speedier 5 mile people...

First lady..so fast she was a blur..

Heading around the lake...

Now on the other side of the lake...

Yeah, the lady with the dog beat me in too.  This guy with the camelbak was the one I was playing leapfrog with for most of my race. He was like the Energizer Bunny...he just kept going and going and going....

Spent a lot of time in proximity with these two also.

Thanks for the water and Gatorade, volunteers!

Slick bridge...I did manage to stay on it, lol.

The other downhill incline on the way out, uphill on the way back; not so steep, but this one was long.

You go, Little Man!  Chatted with them a bit, very nice people.  The kid did great!  He nicely commented to me that when he did his training runs and got tired, he always though of me and my running shirts to keep himself motivated, awww.    Glad I can help!

After that last photo, back to the finish nonstop - although, as mentioned up at the top, I almost followed a guy onto the 10-mile course, lol.  Those attentive volunteers saved me, thankfully.

AFTER MY FINISH

After getting water and doing a little cool-down walk-about, I took a few photos at the finish line of a few of the people I’d been running with off-and-on, having played ‘leapfrog’ with them too…I’d pass them…take my walk break, they’d pass me, I’d catch back up…..and so it went, lol.

I also got a photo finish of the first guy in the 10 mile race.

After that, off to get post-race goodies – some really good sausage wraps and also really good beer from local area brewery Ranger Creek Brewery – and munched and drank and wandered around taking photos of “happy finishers”, volunteers, supporters, etc.

In best Al Pacino voice:  "Me with my little friend."     She walked the 5 miles and finished in something like 1:15 or 1:20....15-something minute miles.

Me with my mouth full of sausage, lol

There are angels among us...look at that halo over the lady on the far left.

Two old dogs...me and friend, Bob...who is much speedier than me...and in my age group too.

Me and friend Adrian, who kept me company on the course.

Guy on the left is wearing the race shirt

Our EMT guy who biked the course up and down while we were all out there

The "Old Guard" of our racing community, all these gentlemen, all great guys.

Me and friend, George

Speedy Jerry on the far right, who is in my age group.  He did the 10-miler for this one...so thanks, Jerry, that allowed me to get an award in the 5-miler, lol.

The race shirt, front and back

The age group awards were these Buffalo/Indian Head Nickel medallions on a chain...front and back

EPILOGUE

This is the 2^nd year this event has been held, and so far I’m on a roll, I’ve done both of them. A really nice event that supports the San Antonio Roadrunners – the largest running club in San Antonio, of which my wife and I are members.  The club is a nonprofit and annually gives out scholarships to local students.  Very nice race venue, very nice course, really nice long-sleeved tech tee race shirt, and unique ‘buffalo head” medallion for all the age group winners.  I don’t know if I will do this race every single time it is put on – who knows what the future holds – but this one is definitely a keeper on my race calendar of the future.  Mucho thanks to all the volunteers, donors, sponsors, law enforcement, etc., all the people that made this one happen for we participants, with a special shout-out to Paul Baltutis and Debra Acosta, who do a lot of work on this event, and to my friend Ceci (iaapweb.com and hurache turbo) who designed the race shirt, and to the SARR official photographer, Tom Lake, who runs all over the course with that camera of his, taking great photos – much better than my amateur stuff, lol.  I think that guy gets in more miles than anyone at these events.

I understand the intent of posting these pics, however I recognized a friend of mine in these pics and mentioned it to him.  While it's his fault that he let the picture be taken, not knowing where it'd end up, he was not impressed.  I hope that these people who let themselves be photographed, know that it's being put on the interwebz.