The following is an email I received from Eric a reader and his friend Sadie (the red menace).

I’m not a runner.  I hate running. But yet I run every single morning.  Why?  Because each morning I get a cold wet nose in the eye and then there’s an Australian Cattle Dog at the side of my bed making a sound that I can only compare to an air-raid siren.

6 months ago I rescued the cutest dog in the world from a county pound.  I was only marginally aware of the intense exercise needs of the Australian Cattle Dog.  She needs one (preferably two) hard runs a day.

And each morning - and I literally mean every morning - when I wake up I have the same thought:  I can’t believe I have to go out and run now.  And as soon as I’ve taken my second or third stride outside, I have the same thought:  This is so great.  I’m so lucky I have such a beautiful, sweet dog that gets me out every morning to run (at a pretty decent pace).  When I get home, I feel like a million bucks.

I’ve lost 40 pounds.  My sport (judo) has improved.

And I owe it all to my very personal trainer.

Tell your readers that there are plenty of dogs in pounds in shelters that would love to be a personal trainer, too.  And unlike the ones at the gym, you can snuggle them after the workout.

Best,

Eric

Thank you very much for the inspirational story Eric.

For those of you out there who may be curious in adopting your own personal trainer you can find hundreds of pets in your area in need of a home through Petfinder.

Or if you’re just feeling charitable go ahead and visit ASPCA.

And if you have a similar story or anything else entertaining or inspirational please email me at thebuffgeek@gmail.com.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everybody.

/sarcasm

Brilliant!

Bravo to the people who made running outdoors possible.  I never thought I’d see it accomplished in my lifetime.  Ah the miracle of invention.

/end sarcasm

BBC news revealed a shocking discovery earlier this week.  A group of crazy "scientists" have now discovered that exercise may in fact be good for the elderly.

Running can slow down aging

 "The work tracked 500 runners for more than 20 years, comparing them to similar groups of non-runners.  All were in their 50s at the start of the study.  Nineteen years into the study, 34% of the non-runners had died compared to only 15% of the runners".

Truly amazing.  Next thing you know they’ll be trying to tell us that exercise can improve sports ability or lower your cholesterol.