INTRO

I am Scott aka Scottydog, runner since 1983, cancer survivor, retired Air Force, 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.

SHORT VERSION REPORT

This was my 63rd race of 2013.   I did better than I thought I would for this one.  Estimated my finish at 35-something but even with my photo stops on course,  I managed to finish in 33:33, averaging just under 11 minutes per mile pace.  This event supported  Feast Of The Heart 5K supports San Antonio's annual Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner - http://www.rauljimenezdinner.com/ -, which provides senior citizens and less fortunate a place to enjoy a hot and nutritious turkey dinner with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Day for free. Held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio, the event invites seniors to dine at a “community dinner table”, celebrate the holiday with their peers, and enjoy live music and entertainment.

LONG VERSION REPORT WITH PHOTOS

The event was held at Traders Village -http://tradersvillage.com/ - "a place for shoppers to trade, buy, barter and play. It features over 1,000 vendors, selling virtually anything and everything from tires to turkey legs.   Traders Village San Antonio is a swap meet, treasure hunt, shopping complex, county fair, and festival attraction all rolled into one."   There are even midway rides and other amusements there.

BEFORE THE RACE

Race start time 9 a.m.   I left my house at 7:45 and it was POURING rain outside. Wonderful.   Got to Trader's Village and thankfully there were covered pavilions where the race set up was (race day registration, chip pickup, etc)

So at least we would be out of the rain for a while anyway.  Had picked up my packet the day before so just got my chip today and then wandered around taking some pre-start photos.

Inside of the pavilion

Some of the volunteers there for we participants

Local radio station was there, with this DJ acting as our MC

Our medical guys who would be riding up and down the course making sure everyone was okay

Also there was a rep from the San Antonio Defenders, who were supporting the race.  The San Antonio Defenders are a National Spring Football League (NSFL) franchise minor league professional football team. A few of their cheerleaders kindly allowed me to have a photo with them.  Nice!

And me and my running friend, Bernadette

Other participants and supporters

These ladies are all wearing the race shirt that participants got in their goodie bag.

The young lady in the middle is wearing a sweatshirt with the logo of the university I work for:  The University of Texas at San Antonio, known as UTSA.   However, in press releases in national sports news about our athletic teams - like our football team, which today beat Tulane University, yeah, baby!  Go Roadrunners! (our team name) - we are called Texas - San Antonio, to differentiate us from University of Texas Longhorns.

ON THE COURSE

Well, we got very lucky, the rain stopped about 8:45, so although the course was wet, it did not rain on us.  The weather was actually pretty nice, about 61 degrees, pretty overcast, and not bad humidity or dew-point either.  The course was two loops around the huge Traders Village parking areas. So a lot of cement!  Still, the course was not bad and the loops were long enough and arranged well enough that mentally you really didn't feel like you were doing loops, so kudos to the course set-up folks for that.

This piece of artwork was a short ways after we passed the Mile 1 marker.   I wonder how many folks get a photo of them sitting on that thing?

We passed this artwork twice on the course

As you can see, altho not raining anymore, still quite overcast in places

She's floating!  She passed me by after I took the photo and I didn't see her again until the finish.

This is where I started my 2nd loop before I finished.  Per the results listing, I got to the halfway point at 17:15, (about 11:30 per mile average) but finished overall in 33:33 (about 10:48 per mile) so I ended up doing the back second half of the course faster than the first half, nice!

I will see you in a bit, finish line!

After that last photo, I trucked on into the finish, running the last 1.3 miles nonstop.  I even managed to pass several people along the way, a small miracle for a slow old dog like me, lol.

AFTER THE RACE

This lady on the right has done the same last 3 races I have done. She is a good runner and has a very steady pace.   Also a lot of stamina, she did an Ironman about two weeks ago.   I managed to catch up to her just before the finish and then got a photo of her and her friend after we both crossed the line.

Our disabled athlete entrant, who was quite inspirational for all of us who saw him.  Army vet, so we shared some 'war stories".   Really nice guy, very positive, great attitude.

Some important post-race volunteers - our breakfast taco folks!   Three kinds of tacos, bean-and-cheese, potato-and-egg, and bacon-and-egg.  Yeah, I had a couple!

Another post-race goodie, as modeled here by one of my running friends - Fresh Mango On A Stick

"Happy Finishers" et al....

The guy here was the first place overall winner.

Abbey - one of the sweetest dogs ever, I've encountered her before at other races -  and her Human

The last mile, this lovely lady on the left was ahead of me and chasing her "Great Legs' motivated me to keep moving forward.   Here she is post-race with her 'sister'. 

EPILOG

A very fun event for a great cause.  I think this is the 6th year they've had this race and I've done 3 out of the 6.   Nice post-race goodies, lots of friendly folks, and some pretty decent weather after the rain stopped.  Not keen on running on 3 miles of cement a whole lot, but even so, the course was not bad at all considering what the race folks had to work with...a parking lot.  They ingeniously made it wind around a bit which was a great help mentally.  At least for me, anyway and, as my wife jokingly tells me, I need all the mental help I can get!  Special thanks to my good buddy, George, who ran with me for part of the way and was there at the finish encouraging me in.   Good friend!  This event will be on my calendar again in the future.

Your races have some of the best t-shirt designs. And did any of the cheerleaders run the race?

Congrats Scotty.

Cool shirts and bibs especially, bibs always seem so meh.

The Swap Meet thing would be fun to go to, we have a big flea market here but it's mostly the typical creepy guys selling knives made out of pig iron alongside "Calvin Klein" and "Coco Chanel" merchandise.

 

 

 Special thanks to my good buddy, George, who ran with me for part of the way and was there at the finish encouraging me in.   Good friend!  This event will be on my calendar again in the future.

I am sure it will be keeping company like that! 

I was going to comment on the same photo that LRB did.  That's one happy camper right there...lol  I know I've pointed it out in the past, but you still look like your trimming down Scotty.  I swear that every few RR's I notice it.  I'm going to have to go back and find an RR from last year to compare.