INTRO and SHORT REPORT

I am Scott aka Scottydog aka Scotty Dogg, runner since 1983, cancer survivor, retired Air Force, employee of University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), 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.

This event, held on Easter Sunday 2015,  was put on by my friends, the beautiful Lana and her beautiful mother, Minnie (who looks more like Lana's beautiful sister than mother ), two of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet.   Event location was at at their Runners Ranch home.  Weather was overcast and around 61 degrees, with a bit of a chill in the air, but overall  pretty nice and it did not pour on everyone as some weather folks had predicted.  The course was a 1.75 one loop fun run for runners with dogs.  Lana and Minnie invited me to come out and enjoy the festivities and take some photos.  I did not participate in the race itself as it was only for runners with dogs, but after everyone got started, I did do my own training run along the route and also got a few on-course photos of some of the participants while I was out there.  Between my running back and forth along the course to get photos, and my own individual running, including running on some of the road just outside of the ranch and then running one complete loop of the course on my own, I ended up with a very pleasant 4 miles done.

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

Before the Start

I am directionally challenged, but I managed to find the place thanks to good directions from Lana and her friend.  Runners Ranch is about a 40-minute drive from where I live.  It is in a nice quiet rural area, and the ranch has lots of land around it, including some nice trails that consist of a 1.75 mile loop and a 1-mile loop.   I got a few photos pre-start of some of the participants...and most of the 4-legged ones were very excited with all these dogs around....it was quite a Barkfest going on, lol.

Finish line area...

Star line area..

One of our lovely hosts, Minnie, with her dog

And then they were off!

On The course

I gave time for all the participants to get well ahead of me and then I began my own outing.   The course was trails of a mix of packed sand and dirt, so it very often felt like you were running on sand on the beach, but just a bit firmer than beach sand.  My old legs really appreciated this softer surface, but the calf could definitely feel it at times.  Even so, it was really nice out there and this is a lovely place to get a run in.  Along the way I could see some of the participants on the course and I did get some photos of a few of them, making sure not to impede them in any way.

One of the trails....nice, huh?

There were lots of fields of flowers along the way...

Nice, a bench along the way in case you need a rest...and can enjoy the holiday tree....

This was the last runner and dog I saw.  I think they got a late start.  These two were quite speedy!  I saw them on a trail opposite me and knew they were coming my way.  I guessed at their pace and at my pace they would catch up to me pretty quick.  And sure enough, right before these two and I finished, they passed me and I got a photo of them heading up the last little bit of trail right before they got to the finish line.

After the Finish

After I got finished, I saw that our hosts had thoughtfully placed a table of goodies out for everyone...hamburgers, hot dogs, there were also chips, easter candies, jellie beans, etc.   One thought did cross my mind...is it really appropriate to have hot DOGS as a dog event? 

and beer!  Yes!  He saw that there was burgers and beer....and it was good! 

Some of the "Happy Finishers" et al....

I agree with you, doggie...that's my best side too...

Group photos of the participants...I don't have a wide-angle lens, so I had to get the 'long view" with my camera....Where's Waldo?

EPILOG

What a great event!  For you local runners with dogs who could not show up for this one, you missed out. Thanks so much to Lana and Minnie and her family for doing this! It really was a fun event and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  Lots of smiles and good conversation, good food, good drink, even an Easter egg hunt for the kids that were there....and I'm sure the doggies loved all those new smells, lol.  Runners Ranch is just a beautiful place and the family owners are all just great people, very friendly and outgoing and always willing to do things like this for their running community.  I hope this Easter Paws Run becomes a yearly tradition and I look forward to a future visit sometime to Runners Ranch.

BTW, it is really hard to type a report when your Siamese cat - this is our cat Sinatra - decided to join you on the computer table...

...and then hears you tapping keys and takes an interest...and began trying to 'catch' the tapping keys, lol.  Or maybe he was trying to stop me...maybe he knew the report was about dogs.... 

Looks like your kind of race!  I bet the start was a hoot with all of those dogs together.

Looks like a lot of fun and some nice trails to run.