Paws pounded the pavement in downtown Conway on March 9 for the 19th annual Chase Race and Paws, which featured a 2-mile race and a 1-mile race with dogs.

Josh Kazanovicz, from Hot Springs, was initially interested in the 2-mile race as part of the Arkansas Road Runners Club of America’s Grand Prix series.

“Then we found out that there was also a dog race. My mom’s got a puppy that’s a year old and he loves running, so we thought that’d just be super fun, to do a race with a dog. We’ve never heard of that before,” he said.

Kazanovicz and Puckerz, a bichon, were in first place but got lost at the race’s turnaround.

“We got confused by the cones, and we kept going,” he said.

Kazanovicz said police officers pointed behind him.

“We turned around and looked, and saw everybody else had turned around,” he said.

“We wanted to win. But we got a little lost out there. We didn’t turn around, so we got a little bit slower than what he had hoped for,” he said.

To prepare for the race, Kazanovicz said he and Puckerz “ran around the block a few times.”

“He loves running around the neighborhood,” he said.

Lennon Bates, from Little Rock, is chairperson of the Arkansas Grand Prix committee and said the race had “great” energy.

“I try to participate in as many races as I can to fundraise, and I enjoy seeing the dogs,” she said.

“I think that the dog aspect makes a big difference from a lot of races,” she said. “I think that always makes it a really fun race, because you have dogs cheering you on, and you get to watch them run a race afterward.”

Dale Burris, 73, from Russellville, ran with his dog, Harbor.

“We run a lot and he loves to run,” he said. “He did it last year, and he seems to enjoy it.”

“We were hoping for eight minutes, and I think we did 7:58, so that was pretty close,” Burris said.

Burris said the race was “awesome.”

“I like the downtown area. It’s a little crowded at the start, but it’s real nice running up in the downtown area of Conway for sure,” he said.

Ryan Moon, from Little Rock, came to run with his friend’s dog, Winston, because his owner had foot surgery.

“He did good. He drug me,” Moon said. “ I run, and this dog drug me. Halfway through, he was like, ‘OK, I’m pretty good now.’”

“I’m part of a running group, the Lemmings, so one points, we all run,” he said.

Moon said the dog aspect of the race made it more fun.

“If my dog was more social, he would be here,” he said.

Tom Aspel, 68, from Russellville, said he’s been running for “50-something years.”

“I used to be able to win these races. Now, I’ve been getting older, thought I’d try this one. I didn’t run for quite a while, so I’m trying to run again and thought I’d go maybe 26-27 minutes, went 29 minutes,” he said. “Next year, hopefully, it’ll be maybe under 20 minutes.”

Aspel said the event was “a feel-good” race.

“This is a very nice, small, compact race. It’s competitive. All the people are really friendly. Cops out there do a good job, they’re friendly. You say hi to them, they’re encouraging, too,” he said.

“It’s all positive. You get some people like me, hobbling along, people trying to overcome something, weight, even depression or something. It’s very upbeat,” he said. “It’s a different lifestyle.”

“If you want something to change your life, this is one way,” he said. “And you meet a lot of good people, people that are go-getters, people that find success in what they do.”

Aspel said running can become a “philosophy of life.”

“‘OK, I can run a marathon, a 2-mile, whatever it is, I can complete that. Well, I’m having trouble in life. I’ll treat it like my race. I’ll get to the end of it.’ And I think a lot of people do that,” Aspel said.

Don Potter, who founded the Conway Running Club, started the annual Chase Race and Paws event in memory of his late son, Chase.

Aspel said he “knew Don real well” before his passing in September 2022, and that “he was a great guy all the way around.”

“Don has been running since — I remember him in his 40s, and he died in his 80s,” Aspel said.

Eric Glover, 57, from Conway, also knew and ran with Potter before his passing.

“I moved my parts in honor of Don Potter,” Glover said. 

“I remember seeing Don the very first time and thinking, ‘Hey, there’s somebody that maybe I can run with.’ No, he was way faster than I was, and it was surprising because he was 30 years older than me.

“I was over 50 before I started running, so finding people that were even older than I was, but were still daily active, motivated me because I knew if they could do it, so could I,” Glover said.

Glover said he participated because of “the friends, the fun, the fellowship,” and that his only goal was to “not die,” which he achieved.

“I love being part of the running community,” he said.