A lot of people run with their dogs. It’s great to give them exercise and they make good companions for passing the miles. I do not run with my dog because, quite frankly, it’s embarrassing. She is a super speedy greyhound, whom we adopted from Greyhound Friends 4 1/2 years ago. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take Holly for a little run because she gave me the puppy dog eyes as I was lacing up my sneakers. We headed out the door and hit the streets.
I was running at about 8:30ish to warm up and there is Holly– WALKING quickly next to me. I am sure that people laugh at me when they see me running with a greyhound–built for speed. 
I must look like I am barely hanging on for dear life. Although greyhounds are built for speed, you do have to build up their endurance for going the distance. They are anatomically designed to accelerate up to 55 mph in about six strides! So, I was redeemed at the end of the run when Holly was trailing behind me. Slow and steady wins the race!
If it was a warm summer day, Holly would have cooled down after the run with a nice ice bath (complete with a toy motorcycle!). 
Instead, she opted for a nap (and yes, she really does sleep like that). There is a reason that they are called “50 mph couch potatoes.”
I too run with my dog, a German Wirehair Pointer. He often walks briskly while I am running next to him. The best is when he pulls me up the hills, NOW that’s a funny sight!!
That’s awesome Dawn! am sure he really loves the exercise, and I have to say, I wouldn’t mind being pulled up some hills!
I run with my grey also. We do about 3-3.5 miles at a time. She loves it and really misses it when we skip a day. We’ve made friends along our way. She has a male shepherd mix dog that comes out and joins us for our run. Our end point is a horse farm where we stop and say hi to our favorite horse. Alaska (my grey) and the horse “nose kiss”. It’s the cutest thing. And yes…I jog and she walks briskly beside me. Such a great way to start the day!
I think I am going to try to work Holly up to that distance. She loves the exercise and is allows a willing companion—wish I could say the same for my husband! Your comment made be think of this picture–have you ever seen it? Greyhound Friends used to give it out with a certain level of membership.
HA! Yes I share your pain. I also run with my Grey “Bones” we run daily, and yes he is speed walking. Many days after the run, I want to see just how winded he is and how much “play” he still has. We will run windsprints in the back yard and race. I think I’m racing, he sometimes stops and takes a drink of water and still beats me.! Embarrassing!
My husband and I are considering adopting a retired Greyhound. I’m an avid runner and would like to run with the dog. I keep seeing conflicting things about running with Greyhounds on the internet. Our adoption center says it can be done just to build up distance slowly. What advice do you have?
I would follow their advice. One thing many people don’t know about greys is that they are built for short bursts of speed–kind of like a cheetah. When you take them out to run, they will run fast during the beginning and start dragging after a bit. You need to do a sort of Couch to 5k for dogs program with them to help build up their endurance. That being said, your grey will LOVE getting to head out the door daily with you! Good luck–I hope you find a grey that will be a perfect fit. We have had 2 and love them to pieces! 🙂