Suzanne Gysin - Paintings and Drawings

Friday, November 6, 2026

I ran my first 5k race after I turned 67. That is quite old to start competing. I ran faster in the race than in my training, and it gave me hope and raised my ambition to run a 10k race. I started running longer, 8 km came easy. But Lea, my dog and running partner started to fall behind.

Lea is 8. All these years we walked about 4 km every day. Last year, we started running, and Lea loved it. She was excited to run and her excitement was contagious. We built up our stamina together, starting very slowly, running 2 minutes, walking 2 minutes. Over time, I became faster, or she became slower. I noticed that the long runs were a little much. She also no longer kept up with the short, fast runs. I decided I would let her set the pace once a week.

Usually, when I run, I have my phone with me. My audio book playing, my running app measuring distance, pace, and elevation, and the stopwatch going. When Lea sets the pace, none of that is needed. The phone stays at home. No watch, no phone, no glasses. Lea runs in front of me tail wagging and setting a friendly pace. She has a funny way of shaking her booty when running. It makes me smile every time. Every once in a while, she gets distracted and goes to investigate something on the side of the path. I take this time to catch my breath and look around. I notice the plants, the trees, the colors, and landscape. When she returns to the path, we run again. When another dog comes along, she takes the time to greet the dog and get a pet from the owner. I have a friendly chat with my fellow dog owner. Sometimes, Lea sees a stick that looks so good she cannot resist picking it up and carrying it for a while. On hot days, a quick dip in the creek is in order.

Lea knows how to enjoy a run. And I, without ambition, get a lesson on how to live in the moment. I know that shaving 10 seconds of my time is not what will keep me running. It is these wonderful quirky runs, the booty shaking, tail wagging, stick carrying, that will make me go out and run again and again.