This fall I plan on getting a lot more runs on trails, I don't normally do them in summer because of the demon mosquitos and horseflies, and the heat and humidity but I take advantage of the cooler weather of Fall and Winter. My boy Rocky is getting back into running this month (HW treatment over the summer) and last night we went for a 3 mile run on a local trail here in Newburgh, right around 6 p.m so the sun was going down fast. There were only two other people on the trail, it was barely 60 degrees and felt amazing, I had ran 4 miles that morning (on the road) and I'd have to say the trail run felt so much better. Rocky really enjoyed it too, hopefully I can hit the trails tomorrow or Sunday but we'll have to see.

My boy Rocky

Rocky is starting to figure out our running days,  and he knows when we are heading somewhere for a run.

The GSP are awesome, and fast. I remember one at our dog park when Rocky was just a pup, her name was Coco and she was the fastest dog there. But Rocky would have none of it, all winter he worked on getting faster (and bigger) and by spring the following year at 1 1/2 years old he was keeping right on her tail. Beautiful dogs, Ignore the watermark but here is a one photo of her and a photo of her with Rocky on her heels:

Sure, I run with my leashless beasts all the time. Here is a rare photo of them with leashes on. The springer spaniel though is pretty much retired from running. He is about 10 now and prefers to just go hiking or walking. The german pointer though is a trail animal. She runs 30-50 miles/week with me. I normally run after work and about 5pm she wanders into my office and starts looking around (I work at home).

 

Here is my four legged running buddy. He goes with me on pretty much all of my runs and is a big reason I started running regularly, wish there were more dog friendly races.

My ole girl was an awesome dog, loved the woods and loved chasing animals even more so. Rocky is more obedient but I think mainly because he still wonders what the hell a deer is, he doesn't have the prey drive that Molly had. I learned to spot animals quickly while out on trails, because once Molly saw it, she was gone and after it without any hesitation. Never got hold of one, but I think she just loved the thrill of the chase, whether it was rabbits, squirrels, raccoon, or deer.... she'd chase it. She passed away last December due to lung cancer, just a month after turning 14 years old. Lung cancer was the only thing that slowed that dog down, otherwise you would never had known she was older than 6 years.

This was her in March of 2012, just a few months before the cancer started slowing her down, but what made it worse was the humid summer.