Barefoot Leni's first Ultramarathon!
- Thread starter BFwillie_g
- Start date
Nope, no joki. I had her on the leash most of the time, to hold her back (at my pace, she could just run all day). I let her loose over about the last 15km and she tore off after rabbits and gremlins and whatever it is she chases after.
There was also some excitement involving a herd of wild boar that I'll write about later...
There was also some excitement involving a herd of wild boar that I'll write about later...
... but first, a couple more pics ...
Heading up into the woods:
Approaching the village known as "Sanspareil" (means, "without compare", was named by a Duchess):
Turning back to look at a looooooong climb we'd just finished:
Crossing through another little village, called "Hollfeld":
Heading up into the woods:
Approaching the village known as "Sanspareil" (means, "without compare", was named by a Duchess):
Turning back to look at a looooooong climb we'd just finished:
Crossing through another little village, called "Hollfeld":
Wow, you lucked out to be running in such a beautiful area. Oh yeah, and the dog looks great. I trained my dog not to chase rabbits when we are out on a run. But look out when we are home, she has yet to catch one, but has come close.
dutchie - I didn't exactly luck out, I got sent here by the US Army in 1983 and returned to stay in 1995
about the dog - I can control Leni when I really want to. I have to point at the ground and say stuff like, "don't even think about it!" and "grrrrrrr!"... then she obediently stays near me for a couple minutes. But she begins to stray and I have to do it all over again.
Thing is, generally, I love allowing her to go off and do her own running, she always comes back. But on that day, I was planning close to six hours of running and didn't want her to burn herself out. There's no way to communicate my plans to her, you know? She never knows if we're going for a little trot around the block or some huge excursion... same as driving in the car. Are we popping over to Oma's house for the afternoon or driving seven hours to Italy? Crazy life, when you think about it
about the dog - I can control Leni when I really want to. I have to point at the ground and say stuff like, "don't even think about it!" and "grrrrrrr!"... then she obediently stays near me for a couple minutes. But she begins to stray and I have to do it all over again.
Thing is, generally, I love allowing her to go off and do her own running, she always comes back. But on that day, I was planning close to six hours of running and didn't want her to burn herself out. There's no way to communicate my plans to her, you know? She never knows if we're going for a little trot around the block or some huge excursion... same as driving in the car. Are we popping over to Oma's house for the afternoon or driving seven hours to Italy? Crazy life, when you think about it
This looks so beautiful! I´m looking forward to join you for a run!
The longest run I had my dog on was 30k. He loves to go for runs and never strays more than5 meters away from me. The only thing he has developed in the last year is a dislike for early runs. If it is still dark outside he just stays in bed and kind of peeks at me as if to say I am sleeping, and it is a chore to get him out. Show him daylight and he is jumping up and down ready to go.
That's awesome!
There's a dude that runs trails somewhere near me with a little Shi Tzu. I've seen him out frequently, and one day, I passed them twice while on a long run. I thought about the options, and based on where I saw them and where the possible trailheads were, there is NO WAY the dog did less than 16 miles that day, and likely did more.
There's a dude that runs trails somewhere near me with a little Shi Tzu. I've seen him out frequently, and one day, I passed them twice while on a long run. I thought about the options, and based on where I saw them and where the possible trailheads were, there is NO WAY the dog did less than 16 miles that day, and likely did more.
hahaha Leni has always been that way, really hates to get up in the morning. I'm considering taking her along for my ultra (45mi) in May - I have no doubt that she would love it and could do it easily (more easily than me, lol) but there are two possible problems:
- Weather - if it's too warm, then obviously it's a no-run for a dog. This race is known for cold, wet, windy, crappy, muddy conditions, so it may be ok for her
- The start is 6am and I truly don't know if I can coax her out of her bed at that hour! (actually, it'll be a hotel room in May)
Those are great pictures. What a wonderful place to run, and what quaint little towns. I love the one of your doggie looking back down the road. That is precious.
There are definite challenges in trying to get a dog out the door that still wants to sleep.
The boar story:
We were running through a valley, all alone in the world, Leni was on the leash. There was a steep climb up to the left and I heard some rustling up there, nothing unusal. My thoughts went from 'birds', to 'rabbits', to 'deer' as the sound got louder and clearly turned into the sound of an animal running. Still nothing unusual, I expected a deer to hop out and cross the path in front of us (and told Leni, "Don't even think about it", and shortened my hold on her leash).
In that very second, the sound turned into a thundering herd of wild boar, at least ten of them, charging down the hill at full-speed (30mph?) and passing about twenty meters ahead of us. When I saw them, I seriously thought "Buffallo???" for a second before coming to my senses. Leni started barking her head off and tried to get away to chase after them. They were huge:
and if we had been about 15 seconds quicker (if I had stopped to take one less picture beforehand), they would have trampeled us into the ground, and who knows, maybe stopped to take a bite out of us along the way.
Well, that was pretty exciting. I have to say I enjoyed it, wow! What a sight! They were so loud, probably because the were going down such a steep hill to begin with. And then poof, they were gone, down into the valley on the right. Incredible.
We just continued jogging along at my slow pace and about a minute later, I understood better what had happened. The gunshots started riging out down in the valley. It was a forced hunt. Someone up at the top of the climb had spooked them and led them into the trap. From the sound of it, there were probably 4 or 5 hunters, and the shooting went on for a very long time...
So, after that, I was doubly glad that I had decided to keep Leni on the leash for this particular run!
oooops! Time to go to work !
We were running through a valley, all alone in the world, Leni was on the leash. There was a steep climb up to the left and I heard some rustling up there, nothing unusal. My thoughts went from 'birds', to 'rabbits', to 'deer' as the sound got louder and clearly turned into the sound of an animal running. Still nothing unusual, I expected a deer to hop out and cross the path in front of us (and told Leni, "Don't even think about it", and shortened my hold on her leash).
In that very second, the sound turned into a thundering herd of wild boar, at least ten of them, charging down the hill at full-speed (30mph?) and passing about twenty meters ahead of us. When I saw them, I seriously thought "Buffallo???" for a second before coming to my senses. Leni started barking her head off and tried to get away to chase after them. They were huge:
and if we had been about 15 seconds quicker (if I had stopped to take one less picture beforehand), they would have trampeled us into the ground, and who knows, maybe stopped to take a bite out of us along the way.
Well, that was pretty exciting. I have to say I enjoyed it, wow! What a sight! They were so loud, probably because the were going down such a steep hill to begin with. And then poof, they were gone, down into the valley on the right. Incredible.
We just continued jogging along at my slow pace and about a minute later, I understood better what had happened. The gunshots started riging out down in the valley. It was a forced hunt. Someone up at the top of the climb had spooked them and led them into the trap. From the sound of it, there were probably 4 or 5 hunters, and the shooting went on for a very long time...
So, after that, I was doubly glad that I had decided to keep Leni on the leash for this particular run!
oooops! Time to go to work !
Scary! This happened to me once, too. Only at night... I still have vivid memories of the ground shaking as the wild boars bombed across the street very close to us. We were in shock, they must have been, too. If you truly enjoyed this, you´re a brave man!
yeah, that's a pretty sweet pic, and I didn't know she was in it till I got home and flipped through the photos on my phone
Joe - yeah, I'm like that, lol. I mean, for me, it was a real treat (until I heard the slaughter). I have to admit, though, I always order "Wild" when it's on the Speisekarte. Are there a lot of them where you live, too? We've got wolves here now as well, in the Fichtelgebirge. And Mr. Beaver moved in a few years ago and is busy rearranging the Roter Main behind the house. Huge rabbits, dear, pheasants... storks, herons... we live in a virtual game park here.
Dutchie - YES, we've figured that out. When we first got Leni (our first dog), we were expecting to deal with a hyperactive, crazy child every morning. But, left to her own will, she'd sleep till 11 o'clock every day.
I expected that TJ, sorry to upset you, really. But the truth is, boar and deer here really have to be controlled (somehow). They multiply like crazy and left to themselves, they'd truly overrun everything. So, I feel horrible for the animals but... what's the alternative?
fwiw, hunters in this area are extremely well-trained and schooled, and the few that I know are very humane and genuinely have the best interests of the animals at heart.
