October 18, 2009 Runners have a doggone good time at Pet Fest 5K This past Saturday the Pet Fest 5K was held down at City Park along the scenic River Walk trail. A good turnout of over 100 runners took on the challenge; and some of the runners were paced along with their canine friends over the trail. There were a few “damp” spots on the trail from the recent rains, but it just made the course more interesting. Actually, some of the mud holes were enough to really muddy up a pair of new shoes if a runner chose to take the straight and narrow path through it. Most of the runners opted for a more firm footing and a cleaner route around the really wet spots. Results from San Marcos and area runners included Neal Lucas from New Braunfels as the Overall Male Champion in 18:46, and fourteen-year-old Ashley Morgan from Kyle as the Overall Female Champion in 23:18. Angie Burke from San Marcos was the Overall Female Masters Champion in 27:18. In the Male 10 & Under age group, Joshua Lowe took first place in 31:05, and Cameron Rojas gathered a second place in the Female 11-14 age group. In the Female 15-19 age category, Brittany Cole ran a 29:22 for third place. The Male 20-29 age group had Joe Garza take a second place in 21:12; Kyle’s Frank Granado Jr. ran a 29:18, with Bill Kessler crossing the finish line in 33:08 and Paul Gorrick finishing in 34:24. For the Female 20-29 age group San Marcos runner Lisa Starey took first place in 26:53, with Elisa Camara crossing in 30:23; Jamey Neyens finished in 33:08 and Shelsea Saenz in 33:23. Allyson Carter crossed the finish in 36:42 and Raylene Brewer crossed in 40:09. For the Male 30-39 age category, San Marcos’ Joe Cardenas gathered first place with a 19:29, and Andrew Reeves followed him in second place with a 22:59 time. For the female portion of the 30-39 age group, Anna Jaso took second place in 26:39, with Adrianna Capetillo running in at 35:18, Jamie Wallendorf in 36:54 and Ioana Lowe running a 40:12 time. Elisa Ramos ran a 45:32; Angela Robertson came across the finish in 45:32, with Vicki Alford being paced in at 1:01:07 and Katie Joslin from Kyle also finishing. For the men in the 40-49 age group, Eric Rindahl of San Marcos took second in 25:32, with Wayne Ames in 42:02 and James Alford being paced by the same animal in 1:01:08 along with his wife. For the female 40-49 age group, Laura Mason ran in with a 33:41 time. In the Male 50-59 age category, Lenny Starey ran a first-place time with a 26:42, with Lee Bryant crossing in 40:15 and Brian Golick finishing in 54:42. For the female runners in that age group, Leslie Ann took third in 41:22 and Jan Golick ran in at 54:44. In the Male 60 & Over category, Carl Schreiber came in at 45:38; and I am not sure who paced whom, but his dog is a very small pug breed and probably needs to take ten steps for every one Carl took. The Red Ribbon 5K and Family 1K run was this Saturday, and will be reported next week. The next race up for runners in San Marcos is the Country Roads Half Marathon, sponsored by Subway of Central Texas, next Sunday, October 25th. The course is the familiar ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon run in reverse for a somewhat more downhill run. It starts at the Tanger Outlet Center at 7:00 a.m. So far the entry numbers have been very low; and while it would be a great training run for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon in San Antonio three weeks later, the organizers are puzzled at the low turnout. Even with a low turnout, the runners will be there; and volunteers are still needed. It makes for an early 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning commitment; but a nice T-shirt and a nice drinking glass are the reward for helping out. We can always use aid station people to hand out water, and people to give directions at critical intersections. Call 396-2584 and let me know if you can make it out as a volunteer that morning. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!