Why Wouldn’t You Want To Go On A Run?

I’ll admit: I’m always a bit sad when the cold, snowy days of winter dwindle away, ending my ski season for another year. But, there is always a silver lining: with summer comes trail season!

Throughout the years, Tally has been the single largest contributing factor to my health. Why? Because that girl can run! Sure, she isn’t a spring chicken like she once was—but let’s face it; neither am I! While she may not be cranking out 10 or 15 milers anymore, she still loves running more than her own life.

All photos by Will Rochfort of Caveman Collective

And I mean that literally!

One of my favorite things on the planet is watching Tally get amped before we run. Will and I learned to avoid the “R-word” in our house unless we mean business. Once “run” passes my lips, it’s like she loses control of her senses! She immediately launches to the back door, jumping 360’s in the air and yelping all the while. If we’re lucky, she’ll even do one of her trademarked shoulder slides: she drops her left shoulder, keeps her butt up in the air, and scoots across our hardwood floors in pure excitement. It’s awesome adorable every single time!

Can’t see the video? Click here.

I’d like to say she calms down once we’re outside, but that would be a lie. Girlfriend can barely contain her sheer joy when her padded paws hit the trail! Her beautiful brown eyes dart around in excitement and she yanks and pulls on the leash. If it wasn’t for her gray muzzle, you’d think she was an untrained puppy.

Eventually Tals gets it together and the two of us settle in for our run. We typically run by a lake and I can always tell when she is overheating: the leash will start to pull to the right as Tally veers directly into the cool water. She is probably the world’s worst swimmer {seriously, her doggy paddle is abysmal!} but she loves standing in the shallow end, soaking up the moisture on her stomach. When her tongue lolls out of her mouth and she gives me her doggy grin, I about die. Love this girl!

As she gets older, our runs together may occur less frequently but the exuberance is never lacking. After all, as far as Tally is concerned, why wouldn’t you want to go on a run?

I partnered up with Cotswold Outdoor for a three-part series; the first was last month’s ski day at Copper Mountain. The company is providing me with gear to go have some outdoor fun, as well as compensation for writing about my adventures. Cotswold is the largest outdoor retailer in the UK, but they’ve just touched ground here in the United States. They carry exclusive gear that other US outdoor retailers don’t typically carry, so there is a good chance you’ll find something awesome and unique. Stay tuned for next month’s post–and video!–about backpacking!

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