On Saturday. four hardy souls toed the line for the Third Annual Ice Cream Challenge. Contestants have to eat a variety of ice cream treats and then run 1.5 miles in between each serving. It starts with a Chipwich and ends with a pint of ice cream -- unless you choose to go the Junior Varsity route.

I spectated and shot video of the festivities. No one threw up but getting through the pint proved to be the chore that it sounds like.

Photo: Ulises Marrufo, Thomas Bowling, Chris Russell on the "podium."

Paz and Hundo are back with some strategies and tips for running in the wild. Bodily function stories ahead.

Plus, a bonus story about herding a baby goat back to its mama.

Matt Martinez was one of my running buddies when I lived in the Rio Grande Valley. He is 55, more of a road runner and doesn't aspire to run beyond 25K - ever. And that's OK. I think too often we pressure ourselves into aspiring to crazy distances or paces.

Matt doesn't do that. He gets the run-life balance.

We used to call him "Mr. Selfie" because he would post , um, selfies on Facebook after his runs. He also nicknamed our friend, Tanya, as "Tanya One More Hill" because she always wanted to push the limit.

Here is a nice convo with a guy with average (read: normal) goals.

Brian Sharp is an inspirational runner, not only because he has overcome disabilities or obstacles, but because of his positivity. He is someone with an interesting back story and has some audacious goals for the next year.

In my outtro, I talk about my GVRAT experience, making mosaic-tiled pots, do you want swag and more.

Seresa eats 100 miles for breakfast. She has the ideal mindset and training discipline one needs to tackle those goals.

She shares her story of her running journey as well as what's ahead in her future: spoiler alert: she plans to log 150 miles this year at Snowdrop!

Half of the adventure of doing an out-of-town trail race is getting there. In the first of a monthly segment, Paz and Hundo, aka Orlando Montalvo, will share stories and advice or worthless information (ha ha). Our inaugural episode is about travel. We share some of our favorite stories of being on the road, ranging from a deflated air mattress to a toxic-smelling hotel room to sleeping on the only available surface left: the floor. Sit back and enjoy the stories.

Photo: Hundo and Paz (with Normita blurred out) at Rancho Maravilla outside of Rio Grande City, circa 2016ish

Mendoza, a South Texas native, has a compelling backstory about his upbringing, race and being first in his family to graduate from college. He coaches high school cross country and has seen his team win state championships. He raises money for his team to travel outside of the Valley by holding local road and trail races. In between, he coaches adults. He is a very accomplished runner in his own right. And no matter what your ability, Coach Mendoza always has supportive things to say.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Chris McWatters, the race director for Tejas Trails, was oblivious to what was transpiring. He was marking the course at Camp Eagle, site of the J&J Trail Running Reunion, which is notorious for having little to no cell phone access. His wife, Krissy, was trying to reach him to tell him that everything was shutting down and wondered how they were going to find toilet paper.

Fast-forward a year or so, and McWatters has learned a few things about race directing during a pandemic -- also thanks to Krissy for her creativity. 

In between, Tejas Trails added a new race and has plans for some other new things. Also, there are plans for Big Races out of Texas, as well as out of the US.

Join me for the conversation with Chris McWatters.

Photo: McWatters as he ran the Grand Canyon in March.

I returned to the Rio Grande Valley this past weekend to reconnect with friends and the place where my trail-running career began. The reason: the Mesquite Fire trail race. It was among the first "live" running events since Texas reopened after the pandemic closed the state.

I met up with a lot of friends and reacquainted myself with the sea-level, hard-packed trails. I got most of the "full experience" out there. You'll have to listen to find out.

The pollen made my eyes and nose run and the humidity ensured I was a sodden mess after 2 miles. I had planned to race the course as a measure of where I was pace-wise with previous attempts. I changed my mind when I caught up to my trail BFF, Louisa. She's the one who broke her ankle last year at Bandera. It has been more than a year since I've seen her. This was her first race since then. I decided that it would be a better idea to accompany her and catch up instead of racing (I use that term loosely). So, we finished the remainder of the first 7.5-mile loop, together and pretty much hiked the remaining 7.5. In the end, I was sunburnt and dehydrated but was glad I stayed with my friend. I can run by myself any time.

Photo: Me and Louisa after we finished. credit: Julio Montalvo

I love music. I was a music writer in undergrad (not mentioned in this episode), which led me to a career in journalism. (that's another story.)

Music can make a run all the better. I talk about my obsession with Orville Peck, my love of Fatboy Slim, The Clash and GirlTalk.

And, as an added bonus, I have included my updated playlist from Spotify. It has something for everyone, I think. :)

El te que juro si! (I hope I didn't eff up the translato.