For my birthday I received a running lead (leash) so that I could take our dog Rubee out with me on my runs. In addition to running with Rubee twice this weekend, I also just had my first run together with the kids (and my wife). As an ardent solo runner for years, it is nice to have new companions on my runs.

I’ve taken Rubee out on several 5+ mile runs in the last week or so and she loves it. I love it too and, I have to admit, some of that is because that first mile is a tad bit easier when you have a dog excitedly pulling you forward. By the second half of our runs she is happy to just trot at my exact pace right by my side and is the perfect partner. This lead is my favorite under-£100 thing I’ve owned in recent memory (my favorite shoes are slightly more so they don’t count).

The kids-as-running partners are pretty great as well. We competed in the Inflatable 5k which consisted of 15-ish different inflatable obstacle course sections along with sections of flat running. It was basically like someone chopped up a bouncy castle play space and spread it out over the length of a park. Not exactly about pure running but both the kids enjoyed it and I’m betting there will be many more runs in our future.

It’s nice to have some company on my runs.