RUBY THE RUNNER...FIGHTER

Sharp Mountain, with its many trails, sits directly behind my house. For many years, I ran the trails to find solitude, and soft-surface comfort for tired legs. My Redbone Coonhound, Ruby, logged many miles on those trails with me. Last November, she was diagnosed with a severe liver disease, was given only two months to live, but she fought, and finally lost her battle on Friday. Since her illness, she was reduced to walks rather than runs, and last Wednesday she took her final walk, a brave, but fun, 1-mile trek.

Run with your pups as long as you and they are able. It is good for them and it's good for you. I hope Ruby is running trails and sniffing rabbits in doggy heaven.

CONFLICTED

It's here!

Today, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are "celebrating" the Winter Solstice.

In northeastern Pennsylvania the sun rose at 7:25 this morning, and it will set at 4:41 p.m., affording us the shortest amount of possible daylight.

That's the good news.

From today on, the days will get longer.

But...

As I gaze out my window, snow piles abound and a blanket of crunchy ice covers my back yard.

And the official Pennsylvania colors of brown and gray are in full bloom, and will be until sometime in April.

Running will be challenging for the next 90 days or so. Last year, we had no snow until mid-January, when a storm pummeled us with 30 inches of white stuff.

Already, we've had our share of snow, ice, and temperatures in the single-digits.

I write for a great website, www.linkedfitness.com, which is located in Australia. Several of my followers on the site have reported to me about training conditions during their summer, which is now.

Makes me want to hop on a plane and join them.

So, on this conflicting day, let's make our collective glasses half full.

The days WILL get longer.

We ARE coming out of the darkness.

Maybe the winter won't be so bad.

If not, there's always Australia.

THE BIG 1-0

Today is Dixie's birthday.

My chocolate Labrador Retriever is 10 years old.

There is one universal truth in life: we love our dogs. Dogs are the best. In some cases, they are more loyal, trustworthy and loving than humans.

We call Dixie, "Mother Teresa." She does not possess a mean bone in her body. She loves, loves to be loved, and remains a puppy, even at her advanced age.

Dixie is a runner, and serves as a canine version of all of us who love to lace up the running shoes.

As a puppy, she would routinely run 3 to 6 miles with me, on the secluded mountain trails behind my house.

On one of those workouts, she was chased by two dogs, who did not share her kind heart. In an effort to escape, she twisted her leg, developed a pronounced limp, which was diagnosed as a torn ACL. She was only two years old.

A skilled surgeon repaired the leg, and, although it sometimes gets weak, the repaired limb has served her well.

Just like all aging runners, Dixie has reduced her mileage. 2 miles seems to be her limit these days. And her pace has slowed. Her workout is now is reduced to a fast trot. She breathes heavily and sleeps a lot when she returns from her run.

But, like all of us, when she hears the words, "Time to go for a run," she is ready to spring into action. And, as we all tend to do, she starts out too quickly, and pays for it as the workout goes on.

I see the greying of her face. I realize that the lifespan of our dogs is way to short, and I am gripped with sadness.

She knows if I'm injured or ill, and she lies next to me, often with a big paw draped across my chest. She senses sadness, anger, and pain.

My wife reminds me that I treat Dixie like a baby, and my reply is, "What's your point?"

Dogs ARE a our babies, and they earn and deserve our love every day.

Dixie and I are going for a birthday run now.

I hope we can go for many, many more.

A WARNING FROM RUBY

Hi, my name is Ruby.

I'm a 7-year old Redbone Coonhound, and I live with my human mom and dad, Crissy and Joe, and with my big dog sister, Dixie, a 9-year old Labrador Retriever, in a place called Pottsville, which is in the eastern Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania.

Joe really likes to run, and he often takes me with him. I like to run, but when he takes me along in the mountain behind our house, I spend more time sniffing and chasing rabbits than I do running with him.

I hear Joe talking to his friends about fierce creatures he sometimes encounters when he runs on trails. He sees black snakes and copperhead snakes, and dogs that are not always friendly as I am. He's even seen a couple of black bears.

Well, I have a real warning for you runners. I like to chase squirrels, chipmunks and the aforementioned rabbits around my backyard, and a few weeks back I had an encounter with a groundhog that didn't fare too well for me, but was even worse for Mr. Groundhog.

But the fiercest of all creatures ambushed me last night.

If you ever encounter him when you are running, you better run in the other direction.

As I approached the strange beast in what I thought was a stealth-like manner, he got me.

The creature, which had a hide resembling a tuxedo-clad lounge singer from the Poconos, unleashed an acrid, foul smelling spray that burned my eyes and allowed him to escape.

Frustrated and feeling like a tear-gassed rioter, I approached the safety of my deck. Soon after my mom opened the door to let me in, she panicked. "It smells like something's on fire," she said.

Indeed, the smell was something like burnt rubber.

Whenever mom or dad seems upset, I scurry under the dining room table. Sure enough, dad knew something was amiss. He took one whiff of me and exclaimed, "Ruby was sprayed by a skunk."

Now I don't know a skunk from caviar, but I'll tell you this, My last 24 hours have been a nightmare.

First, I've been quarantined. No more going in mom and dad's room for a while.

Next, I have been subjected to numerous tomato juice baths. (although it doesn't taste too bad), and I've been lathered up with mixtures of baking soda and peroxide. And, what's worse, mom and dad seem to be avoiding me like the plague. And, I'm told that our house smells like that skunk character.

So, if you're out there for a nice run through the woods and you see a skunk, run like you've seen a striped, black and white ghost. A skunk is a nasty creature.

I'll take a groundhog any day.

TRAINING WITH OUR (BEST) FRIENDS

We all recognize the healthy benefits of running.

Running improves our physical health. It makes us feel better mentally.

Running reduces our stress. It allows us to appreciate nature and the beauty that surrounds us.

Running affords us the opportunity to live longer, and to live a better quality of life.

Many of us enjoy running with our friends.

But what about our "best" friends?

They deserve, and often appreciate the opportunity to train, and sometimes race, with us.

So, if your dogs are runners (I guess all dogs are runners), if you'd like your dogs to become runners, or would like to train them properly to enter a race with you someday, you should follow the exploits of Guinness and Dory, on their Facebook community page, Road to Twilight. https://www.facebook.com/Road-to-Twilight-1624622337807090. There, the dogs hope to share their training journey to inspire others to run with their dogs and to highlight what issues may arise and how to manage them best for the dogs.

Guinness is an 8 year old Australian Working Kelpie, who hails from near Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia. He's been running with his "mom," a veterinarian, for pretty much all his life since he was old enough. He prefers the trails more than road running. His favorite food is chicken and his favorite place to be is on the couch cuddled up next to his mom. He has completed the Twilight Half Marathon twice, as well as a number of 5k and 10k fun runs. His doggie family include Cinnabar the Australian Cattle Dog (who has run two half marathons too, but at 10 years old now prefers the shorter distances) and two Whippets, Tiger and Sherbet, who have done a few 10k fun runs.

Dory is a 3 year old Dalmatian from New South Wales. He lives with Dougal the Jack Russell Terrier, who has participated in agility competitions and is a regular participant in park runs. She has also completed several 7km fun runs and is often cheered during a run with "Spotty Dog!"

On their Facebook page, the dogs hope to share their training journey to inspire others to run with their dogs and to highlight what issues may arise and how to manage them best for the dogs. Audrey, "mom" to these fine athletes, says, "As a vet, I've seen so many dogs improve their physical and mental health from running - one that really sticks in my mind is a dog with very severe separation anxiety who was so relaxed and happy after a 10k run! Those endorphins are just so good!"

Sounds like the effect that running has on all of us.

Running makes us feel good.

If you want to feel good about our best friends, visit Guinness' and Dory's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Road-to-Twilight-1624622337807090.

You'll be inspired.

RUNNING COMPANIONS' SPECIAL DAY

The mountain trails behind my house zigzag for miels, forming an isolated setting for me and two of my favorite running companions, who never complain, run in all kinds of weather, and rarely tire of the excitement a good workout seems to provide,

We're all aging, so we don't log as many miles as we used. To be sure, the older of the two companions is approaching her golden years.

Today, they are reduced to a maximum of two miles, as the crow flies, although their wandering makes for perhaps double that amount.

Often, since they seem to be drawn to muddy puddles, my post-workout regimen includes giving them a bath.

Dixie, age 9, is my Chocolate Lab; and Ruby, 7, is a Redbone Coonhound.

At age 2, after a mountain training run, Dixie returned home limping dramatically. The diagnosis was a torn ACL. We had it surgically repaired, and she's been fine ever since. Labs being very emotional, Dixie will not leave my side as we run, for fear I'll lose her.

Ruby, on the other hand, is pure hound. The scent of a rabbit is enough for her to abandon me in a heart beat.

Dogs can be terrific running partners. Their companionship is good for us, and, like us, their health is enhanced by the activity.

In fact, I cannot announce that I am going for a run, lest my dogs go crazy. I must either say I'm going for a "r-u-n," or that I'm, "Going to work."

So, here's to greatest companions on National Dog Day.

They offer us unrequited love, and their time with us is much too short.

HOMETOWN PROUD

On Saturday morning I watched a race.

And...I loved it.

All day Friday I signed books www.muldowneyrunning.com at the packet pickup for the 3rd Annual Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5K, http://www.lagerjogger.com/ held in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, home of Yuengling, America's Oldest Brewery.

I met hundreds of runners who were delighted to come to my modest hometown of about 15,000 residents, to climb numerous hills, on narrow, pothole-ridden streets, for the opportunity to run a race in order to sample fine beer which has been brewed in the same location, on the side of Sharp Mountain, fed with pure spring water, since 1829.

3,000 runners toed the starting line, or got fairly close to it. It took my daughter, Kelly, nearly three minutes to touch the start pad at the beginning of the race. Hoisted in the arm of a local fire engine's bucket, Yuengling owner, 5th generation Yuengling, Dick, started the field, promptly at 9:00 a.m..

The top three runners for both the men and the women were very fast, but this was a people's race.
There was a "Spartan," clad in Yuengling Lager garb, and one of the top finishers was "Lord Chesterfield," which happens to be a delicious brand of Yuengling beer.

The two-mile mark on the course is located on the final hill, one last nosebleed before runners complete a final downhill mile to the finish and oceans of Yuengling beer. It is also about 100 yards from my house. So, along with my wife and dog Dixie, a loving chocolate Labrador Retriever who loves runners, we took a short walk down the hill to cheer on the competitors. We assured the runners that there were no more hills ahead, that they had a tailwind behind them, and that plenty of beer was being brewed a mile down the road.

The runners, as runners are, were grateful for the support and encouragement. Some stopped to pet Dixie; others took pictures in front of the lager bottle that served as the mile marker.

In all, runners from 33 states participated in the race, by far the biggest event our city sees in any given year.

Runners and races have the ability to breathe vitality and bring an energy to a community.

Pottsville was a happening place thanks to a fantastic race over the weekend.

E-I-E-I-O

In my first book, Running Shorts: A Collection of  Stories and Advice for Antone Who Has Ever Laced Up a Pair of Running Shoes, I penned a chapter entitled, 'E-I-E-I-O, in which I described some of my animal encounters along the roads over the years.

A friend sent me this picture today, and I'm happy to say that this is one encounter I'm very glad I've never had!