Official results from the Hill Country Strong 30k are here: I finished 10th out of 32 registered runners, which I'm pleased with. I shaved about 15 minutes off my last 30k time. This course had a little bit of everything: mud, hills, rocks, water crossings (4), toads, horse droppings, you name it. I decided to start with the main group at 7 p.m.

Hard to put a string of thoughts together about anything without first acknowledging the heartache and devastation that the July 4th flooding has brought to Central Texas. If you're looking for ways to help, here are a few resources that my local YMCA provided: Kerr County Flood Relief Fund – The Community Foundation of the Hill Country - a 501(c)(3) public charity serving the Texas Hill Country - will direct funds to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance. 

I'm a little sore and still walking a bit funny after Saturday night's 30k at Pedernales Falls. I'm also starting to look forward to my next 30k, which is at Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area on June 28th. I reviewed my old race bibs - I try to document my results on the back of the bib after every race. There were a few I needed to catch up on from some older Capt'n Karl's races.

"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades" or so an old adage goes. Somewhere along the line, a sage pitcher condensed this phrase to a more succinct "close counts", which serves as a reminder that it's important to keep one's shoes close to the stake. Close games often come down to points, to the extent that you can be off your game in terms of ringer percentage and still come out on top if you're racking up pennies consistently.