An Ode To Bomber

First time I ever ran with Bomber I did an unexpected PB for my hilly 14K threshold course. It was 30C and he was about 18months old. From the time he was a puppy Bomber loved to run. He would spend hours running laps of the sheep. Usually he would make the lap about 500metres get back to his starting position flop to the ground for a few seconds staring at the sheep and then he’d go again. I would estimate he did up to 60K a day like this. Fences were no trouble. Unlike any other dog I’ve met he would sail over barbed wire fences as part of his interval. During our first run he managed to keep up at 3.45/k even whilst taking a couple of 200metre detours to drink from a dam. Each of these would involve a couple of fence jumps and on the 4^th and final jump he must have over-estimated his weary legs as he hit the top wire pretty hard but ran ahead the last 4k showing no ill effects. This rest when you’re dead attitude was typical Bomber.

Bomber was my sister’s sheep dog and although not very gifted in his profession he was extremely enthusiastic. I started taking him and the other farm dogs for runs during lunch break whilst working at the farm. He would always bark at me as if I was a motorbike chasing my legs until I hit a reasonable speed or distance down the road. I took this as a compliment but I wasn’t sure if he thought I was a vehicle or a dog, because if I ever stopped to pee he would have to go on top. On his first long run we did about 22K out and back and when it was time to turn I stopped, had a leak, and then started running home. After peeing himself he decided we were now starting a new run and we had to go through the whole barking routine again.

Last year I found myself in good form, at the farm and due for a long run. As it was winter, cold and with plenty of puddles around it was perfect conditions to take Bomber out. We ran into the nearby town about 14K where there’s a dog’s water bowl at the pub. We both had a sip and headed home in sub 2 hours. After this I was really keen on taking up Anne’s offer of keeping Bomber so she could get a new more useful sheepdog. Bel wasn’t as keen on getting a dog because of the work and restrictions of having a pet. Instead we arranged another home for him and he was dropped at our place one Friday evening. Friday is quickly followed by Saturday morning long runs so before dropping him at his new home I thought I’d take him for a last run. At 30K I dropped him with Bel and even though he’d been flagging the last few k’s he wasn’t at all impressed about me continuing without him. Bel decided seeing him in our backyard that she actually quite liked having a dog again and plans were hastily changed to keep him.

Bomber proved a timely addition to my training in the final few weeks before heading to Wales and I’m sure running in the pre-dawn dark with him helped my race. One particular morning stands out. We headed off for 90min out and back along an isolated beach. Just after the turn-around a big storm hit with fierce headwinds and stinging horizontal rain. I took to the dunes to get some respite but as there is no track and it was dark this proved inadequate. We headed back to the beach and Bomber turned around as if to say “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Fortunately the rain soon cleared and we were almost dry by the time we returned home.

Bomber was a quick learner and although he’d never been on a lead until he was about 6 got the hang of it pretty quickly. Also he had seen few cars and those he did see he would often chase and bark at. Within weeks I was able to run with him alongside busy roads off the lead and he was no problem. He loved chasing cars at the farm, running in front barking at the front wheels and one day this caused him to be run over. This slowed him down for a few months but by the time he came to live with us he showed no ill effects. He could very easily distinguish between friend and foe with cars. Recently I drove to a friend’s place for early morning speedwork and afterwards heading home I made the mistake of getting in the car before him. A flick switched as he said to himself, “I remember this game” and started barking at the car. Not pleasant before first light at a set of units.

Bomber and I did a lot of early morning running together. One of the great things about having a dog is they will run with you at 3am if that’s when you want to go. We saw heaps of sunrises together and just Thursday morning we were cresting a hill behind which was an awesome array of pinks and oranges. At the top of the hill Bomber stopped (he never stopped except to pee) staring at the beauty before us.

Bomber wasn’t just a dog. He was athletically supreme. He could sprint at 55K/hour and would play “lion” chase with us. He could run 50K pre-hydrated with tuna juice (and learned very quickly it helps to drink early) and he could still jump barbed wire fences and make it look like he was floating. He was also a very gentle animal and my 3 year old would give him cuddles when she was upset or just because she loved him.