I went and did it again today. This time I was solo. James forgot to set his alarm and Mila "pulled a Mila." I volunteered at the San Angelo Roller Girls 5K Walk n Rollathon. Not only did the proceeds go to the Roller Girls (San Angelo Roller Girls Facebook) but to The Concho Valley Home for Girls and Children's Emergency Shelter (http://www.conchokids.org/) as well. About a month ago, when I was itching to find some runners in San Angelo, I looked up upcoming races and threw my name out as a potential volunteer. Kendra, who seems to be one of the SARG leaders, enthusiastically accepted and let me know that she had little experience in race directing. In the two races I've volunteered at, it seems like I'm inching closer to eventually directing my own race. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet up with the ladies prior to the race, so I showed up to Unidad Park around 0700 this morning.
Unidad Park has become kind of our default running location. As I've said previously, the positive and negative of the Red Arroyo trail lies in its openness. You really don't need to worry about anyone sneaking up on you, but as soon as the sun comes out, there's no hiding from it. Pretty annoying for an insta-burner like me.
Anyway, I ran around and tried to help out as much in set up as I could until Kendra gave me a job.
I was to be the time master. I had underlings this time! (the Saras without the h). We had several stop watches and notepads to get the job done, so we made sure to marry up everyone's bib numbers with their first name and age group. As the trail crosses a couple roads, I took a group of Army students from the nearby base out to serve as road guards and course marshals.
The race itself had 2 heats, a competitive heat and a non-competitive fun heat. (heat being literal by time that second one rolled around) Competitors had multiple options too. They could walk, run, roller blade, roller skate, skate board, or cycle. As time keepers, we had to separate out who was running, rolling, and riding. The race was small also, both heats had about 15 starters each. Here's the start of the 1st:
I did my best to get pics while also doing the timing with Sara, but I can't promise anything. I'm going to throw them all at the end here. Who knows, maybe this blog will turn into the San Angelo version of Scotty Dog's blog in San Antonio (https://scottydogreports.com/).
The winner of the first heat ended up being a woman that started late and was roller blading while pushing a double stroller. What a savage. A roller skater won the second heat, in a race that was actually quicker. All in all it was a fun time. I had a good time just sitting and talking to the derbiers (is that what they're called? It is now anyway)and learning about their sport. I'd like to try and make it out to one of their upcoming games/matches/meets/competitions. Here's a video of them competing and then the pics! I apologize that most of the runners turned out to be ant sized.
Day 4 was "supposed" to take place mainly outside. The forecast called for rain most of the day and, well, it looked like we would be running ourselves ragged to make the self-imposed time hacks. So, we made a little adjustment. We still decided to go to a couple different gardens. However, we needed breakfast first (let's be honest, it was second breakfast for this hobbit). We went to Confiteria La Ideal for a fantastic breakfast. I had thought it was a smaller place to grab a coffee and snack and then be on our way. However, we walked in and realized it's not that type of spot. The cafe originally opened in 1912 and was long considered the best example of porteno (coming from Buenos Aires) gastronomy for the best part of the 20th century. They closed their doors in 2016 but reopened in 2022 after a massive restoration project. We also saw that we were way underdressed. Luckily, we could play the ignorant tourist card and, if need be, I could always speak horrendou...
It's been a busy few weeks since I wrote my last post about the state parks we've been visiting. Well, we did it again. I wanted to roll up our trip to Jordan Lake with an update on the Csapo Family 5k and a shortened write up from our in-person 5k. So, let's get to it. We hit up state park #5, Jordan Lake, a few weeks ago. Just a bit outside of Raleigh, the man-made Jordan Lake is the 7th largest lake in the state. Upon its several inlets, the state park includes several campgrounds, boat launches, and recreation areas. We wanted a 2-3 mile trail so we went with the red trail at Vista Point. Many of the other trails were either different distances or accessible only to campers. The red trail has an inauspicious beginning as it's located kind of near a rentable pavilion. It took us a minute to find it as there wasn't much of a trailhead sign. Furthermore, it is a path through the woods, not quite the obviously delin...
We're getting ready for the third race of the Shannon Trail Series on February 17th! I didn't write race report blogs but I wanted to do a little of that mixed with a preview of what to watch/run for in the next race. Mike is bringing Dennis and I in to teach us how to race direct in hopes that one (or both) of us will take over some races in the future. And, I think, so he can rest a bit. After doing just a portion of the work, I can totally see why. Since I was running around before and after the races trying to learn and make sure things were going well, I didn't get any pictures. I've got some pics that others took that I'll throw in here. Race one took place at Middle Concho Park. It was freezing that morning, with temperatures in the mid 20s at the start. I was almost ready for that. I forgot to wear warm socks so my toes were frozen but everything else was good. The race had a bigger turnout than I expected with the co...
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