Runners long have espoused the benefits of regular cardiovascular exercise and how it helps keep you healthy, happy and relaxed.

At the Richmond SPCA, they're finding that if dogs could talk, they might say the same thing.

Since the SPCA started a program to have volunteers come by the Robins-Starr Humane Center to take dogs out for regular runs, the shelter has found that the participating pooches not only eat, sleep and look better but also seem more at peace in their cages or holding rooms.

And that, in turn, has translated into an unexpected benefit -- but one that remains the shelter's ultimate goal.

"When visitors come, the dogs seem to be more at ease, more relaxed -- in general, more adoptable," said Tamsen Heckel Kingry, the Richmond SPCA's chief operating officer.

Since the shelter launched the Running Buddy Program in November, 67 of the 83 participating dogs have been adopted.

"That's pretty much our goal -- to get a different dog each time we come, because that tells us these little guys got adopted out to good homes," said Allison Drezek, one of 108 volunteer runners to take part in the program so far.

"And it's neat the way it's been working. Almost every time I take a dog out, the next time I come, they're gone."

The program is the brainchild of SPCA behavior and training specialist Kaitlyn Hemsley, an avid runner. After she began taking a few wide-open dogs for lunchtime runs to calm them, she decided to take it one step further.

The shelter already has a program for volunteers to take dogs for walks, so Hemsley figured: Why not one for taking dogs on runs?

"It just seemed like common sense," she said.

Dogs must be approved by the Richmond SPCA's medical and behavioral staffs to join the Running Buddy Program.

Once cleared, they are categorized by Hemsley according to their preferred speeds. That way, when runners show up, dogs are paired with humans of similar abilities.

Runners are given sturdy nylon leashes, plastic poop bags and small, laminated map cards of a 5-kilometer running route, and then they're led back into the section of the shelter where the dogs are housed.

Hemsley tells the runners which dogs are available, what their relative speeds are, and allows them to pick a suitable running companion.

And then they're off to the races.

Everyone starts out together, but the faster dogs and their new human pals quickly ease away from the pack on a 3.1-mile course that is relatively flat and -- especially on weekends -- has relatively light vehicle traffic.

To make it easier to manage, each run is limited to 10 dogs or less, but there are plenty of runs scheduled throughout the week and on weekends. Some dogs -- and humans -- go on more than one run a day.

. . .

Kronk, a happy-go-lucky, 63-pound all-American mix, did two circuits of the running course -- one with the fast pack early in the day, and another two hours later with a group of slower dogs.

"He really seems to enjoy himself, and it's good for me, too," Ann Antonietta said after she and Kronk finished several minutes ahead of anyone else in the second run. "I'm trying to get faster, and going out with him is a great workout. He pushes me to get better."

Antonietta wasn't alone in her assessment of the program's human benefits. Karen Gammon came running in a few minutes later after being escorted around the course at a strong pace by a friendly, 36-pound beagle mix named Timmy.

"Timmy, I want to know what you're eating for breakfast," Gammon said. "Because whatever it is, I need the same thing."

Two days later, Timmy was adopted.
Contact Joe Macenka at (804) 649-6804 or jmacenka@timesdispatch.com.