This one is a year-end two-fer: I talked to  Gary Trautmann, a San Antonio-based runner, who talks about COVID running. He's also a master's runner.

He talks about lessons learned during COVID and why it is so much better to run with a  group, in terms of motivation.

He is training for his first  50K  this spring: either Prickly Pear at McAllister Park in San Antonio or Brazos Bend outside of Houston.

I met Kelly in January as we ran with our friend, Louisa, at Bandera. We were the witnesses to her breaking her ankle.

Since then, Kelly has run two trail marathons and is ready for the Bandera 50K on Jan. 10.

She is a cancer survivor, dedicated to her kids and grandkids and is admirably consistent in banging out those miles.

Prepare to be inspired.

Photo: Kelly's first 25K at the J&J Reunion at Camp Eagle.

I joined a handful of folks over the weekend to volunteer at The Mosaic trail race, outside of Austin. It was a gig that occasionally got confusing: the course is a big Figure-8 and depending on the distance people were running, they started going in one of two directions and looping back and forth, again, depending on the distance of their race. People occasionally finished and didn't stop to pick up their medal or remove their timing chip, causing us to chase after people.

But, mainly, it was a lot of fun. On Friday morning and early afternoon, it rained. When we heard "Singin' in the Rain" pour through the speakers at the finish line, Charles, one of the volunteers, grabbed an umbrella and did an impromptu impersonation of Gene Kelly. (See photo)

Matt, my buddy from Austin, managed to keep his shirt on because of the weather.

Logan, the volunteer coordinator, kept us on our toes but also kept us laughing.

Race Director, Chris McWatters, was his usual, chill self, unflapped by missing timing chips or too few T-shirts.

Volunteering is fun because you get to see so many people, make new friends and witness people pulling a bad race out of the fire or revel in having a good one.

This was my last race of 2020. Good riddance! Let's hope 2021 is a marked improvement.

This is a mixed bag of stuff.

We start off with my friend, Agatha Halekulani Kerr's latest adventure: a 600K (372) miles to raise funds for a church/school in Costa Rica in early February.

I wasn't planning on talking about this, but I decided to talk about how people get into a cult and reprised the tale of the Rev. Jim Jones, who lured 900 folks from the US to Guyana, in northern South America, in the late 70s. He promised them a place with no bugs, snakes etc. and plenty of food. That was a lie. He worked people 18 hours a day so they wouldn't have time to reflect on what was happening. After a California congressman visited "Jonestown" in late November 1978, he learned of the horrors of the place and was ready to return to the US to do something.

As they were readying to fly back, Jones' henchmen killed the entourage, including journalists.

Right after that, Jones assembled his flock and decided it was time to go to the other side. He gave them Flavor-aide, this knockoff of Kool-Aid, laced with cyanide. He insisted that they drink it. A tape he made documents the horrific details.

I bring this up because we have a number of people in this country who have literally drunk the "Kool-aid." (This is where the phrase, "drinking the Kool-Aid" came from.) And I worry about our future. 

I know, this isn't about running, but this kept me awake the other night.

Finally, I recount my hilly 10-miler on Sunday in preparation for Bandera 25K.

I plan to volunteer and run at the Mosaic trail race this weekend.

I happened upon Dickie Longo via my friend, Agatha Kerr, a San Antonio-area running friend. She is editing a book about Dickie by an Australian writer named Sue Oaks.

Oaks needed some additional interviewing to help flesh out his story. Agatha asked me if I could help. I was a little nervous parachuting into someone else's project, but I accepted the challenge.

Last Monday, I talked to this exceptional and generous 83-year-old from Louisiana. He gives away running shoes and (sometimes) race fees to those who can't swing the cost. He has since been given access to demo shoes by a local running store and gives those away.

He runs 6-8 miles daily, runs road races and has an admirable attitude toward the sport and life.

He told me this was his favorite interview, which thrilled my inner journalist.

Enjoy!

Somehow, I thought it was a good idea to skimp on dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of a race. Even worse, I under packed my drop bags and didn't have enough food to sustain me through a 25K race.

My thinking was, "Oh, it's only a 7.5 or so loop with a stop midway. I'll be fine."

The humidity was 92% and the temperatures neared 80. I drained my little 12-ounce handheld before each way station.

By the end of the last loop, I was dizzy -- don't use one earbud for a long run, kids. It will throw off your equilibrium -- nauseous and a total wreck.

I threw up a few times but was mentally saved by a guy doing the 50-miler who was having his own issues.

His conversation with me kept me distracted enough through the last half mile that I managed a finish.

Motto: never underestimate a race.

Kick in a buck or a few for ALS

Photo: part of the catacombs at Bluff Creek Ranch

Yesterday's 30K run at Jalapeño Hundred turned out pretty well.

My mind was right, I had my podcasts/music and the weather was great.

Loved the course, despite the sand (think: running in small dunes). I got a coupla blisters, but I was pretty happy to finish faster than usual.

Oh, and I prefer sand to rocks ANY day.

If you have done any races with Tejas Trails, you have probably run across Nancy Marks.

She's got pixie-short hair, wears cute skirts and talks a lot. (Yes, even more than me.)

She just turned 60 and finished the Cactus Rose 150-miler last month. She didn't sleep. But she hallucinated, had her tunes, didn't eat much and just pushed herself to beat the cutoff.

She has a very consistent pace and a great mental outlook that I found inspiring.

She shares some of her tips as well as some war stories.

This is easily one of my favorite master's interviews.

Photo: Nancy with RD Chris McWatters, getting two 75-mile medals. She did get the buckle soon after.

I wasn't planning to talk about how much I hate this time of year, but I did.

I hate Halloween. It's the last time I saw my mother coherent. We watched part of "The Fog."

Later that night, she was suffering. I had to make a call to give her morphine to ease her pain.

She died a few days later.

This time of year is crap for me and my sister.

This year, as a pandemic rages and our country seems poised on the brink of civil war, I am having a hard time focusing on running.

Photo: Clara Zmurk on the day she eloped with Don Pazdera, circa 1954 (I think).

I struggled to find a way to inner peace as I set out to conquer the Cactus Rose 25 M on Friday. With virtually no one around, that solitude set the stage for a handful of plans to DNF, which I did.

I learned a few things about myself and my training.

Oh, also, the student magazine that I advise, won an award for being one of the best in the nation! So, there's that.