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Runner’s best friend: Fransesc Rodriguez and Mol

November 27, 2015
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Frasesc Rodriguez, a PhD candidate in the area of science and technology studies underlying environmental injustice, was doing field work in Costa Rica when he came across an injured street dog. Something between the homeless pup and scholar clicked.

Rodriguez, a lifelong runner, took the injured dog under his wing, bringing him back to Canada, getting him proper veterinary care for his malnourishment and injured leg. Upon the all clear from the vet, they started running together. It turned out that, like his rescuer, the young dog, now named Mol, loved to run.

“One vet guessed his age at 4 and another estimated 6, so I usually say 5 when people ask–He doesn’t seem to want to tell me himself!” Rodriguez jokes.

The two have run together in Costa Rica and in Spain, but mostly you can find them on the Lakeshore in Toronto. Their distance is usually dependent on the weather conditions of their location–5K is all Mol can handle in the Costa Rican heat, but in the cooler Canadian temperatures, he’s good for up to 12K jaunts.

“He likes to run a bit ahead of me and I let him take the lead. I find that I see more, in a sense, when I’m running with him. I’m not so focused on the particular goal or pace of the run, but really just enjoying being in the moment with him. I appreciate my surroundings more when I run with him,” Rodriguez says.

The two of them have even raced together. Mol joined Rodriguez at the end of a trail race in Barcelona. “It was really one of my best moments as a runner. At the end of the race, you’re usually just so focused on the finish line alone, but this time I was really in the moment, enjoying the crowd going crazy when they saw Mol with me,” Rodriguez says.

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