I have been expanding my interests of late, and this has meant I am meeting lots of new people, and in doing so, I mention canicross. This leads to the inevitable question ‘What is canicross then?’ I then explain that it is the sport of cross country running with you dog in a harness, attached via a bungee line to a belt worn by the runner. Broadly speaking, that very roughly and briefly sums up the sport.
Only it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Not even close!
Canicross to me, and indeed to most of the people and dogs I know is SO much more than that.
But let’s put MY perspective on it for now!
Running with Bailey has been a MASSIVE part of my life for the last 4.1/2 years. I have often written and spoken of our very relaxed approach to running, training and racing together. The sole reason that we do it is for fun, fitness, cake, beer and pasties. I don’t measure runs by distance, I measure them by how many beers, pies and cakes I can eat after. It’s not an exact science, and to be honest it is rare that I am in calorie deficit for too long, if ever. But hey, motivation is still motivation, whatever form it takes, right?
Canicrossing with Bailey has given us a bond that is so strong, complete strangers literally stop us in the street and comment on it. I was in a park in Brighton not so long ago, sitting and playing with Bailey. I became aware of a lady who had sat behind us, just a little closer than was normal. After about 15 minutes, she came up to us and stroked Bailey, and told us that we had caught her eye, and that she had sat down to watch us larking around, and that it was lovely to see the bond between us. And then she was gone! I was so taken aback, I didn’t even get a chance to ask for her phone number. Shame really, because she was lovely!
But that is not the only time that our bond has been spoken of. We are constantly told by pretty much everyone we meet, whether they are dog people or not, how they can see the bond between us. It is such a joy to hear, and I NEVER tire of hearing it. And it is largely down to canicross that this bond exists.
It’s not just me that gets so much from the sport. It simply would not happen if Bailey wasn’t the willing participant that he is. Like all dogs in the sport, the mere sight of the harness sends Bailey into a frenzy of excitement only surpassed by his excitement for food. He is a Labrador remember!
As I make repeated attempts to lasso the harness over his head, whilst he charges round the room, grabbing and running off with my running shoes, or indeed any other running paraphernalia I have left lying around, I can’t help but have a little pang of excitement at what lies in store for us. The prospect of my best buddy and I heading out for a run, where we work together as a team, him running beside me (he should be ahead of me really, pulling me along, but he’s either not read the rules, or if he has, he’s chosen to ignore them. Good on him I say!) is one that I relish every time I plan a run.
I am so lucky that I have a dog in Bailey that is as relaxed about canicross as I am. They say that dogs are like their owners. I will be the first to admit that Bailey has both the looks and the brains of our little team. I don’t call my blog page ‘The Beauty and The Ballast’ without good reason you know! But when it comes to our attitude towards the sport, the ‘sod being competitive, let’s just go out there and have a laugh’ attitude that we both share, for us, works every time.
That’s not to say that being a competitive team is a bad thing, Of course it isn’t! They call races ‘races’ for a reason you know! And if your team are halfway decent, why shouldn’t you push for placings, medals and glory? Bailey and I have also done this in the past. We have the trophies and medals to prove it. And whilst we have mainly only ‘won’ them when there were fewer competitors in our category than there were trophies, we still had to turn up and race to win them, so it still counts, right?
The thing is, canicross, the dogs and indeed the people we have met in the sport are our prize. Our lives have been enriched so much by the overwhelming majority of people and pups in this sport. We have both taken so much joy, laughter, pain, fun and truly great times from this sport, that the material ‘winnings’ pale into insignificance by comparison. I spend far more time both looking at and sharing the photos taken of the races and runs that we have taken part in together, than the medals and trophies. True, there are many, many more photos than trophies, but even if that were not the case, memories of the fun, laughter, joy and good times we have experienced in the sport are far more precious to us than split times, trophies and placings ever will be. Although one podium finish would be a little nice I guess!
As in most sport, there is always an element of risk involved. I bare more scars from canicrossing in the last 4.1/2 years than I ever gained from the preceding 40+ years of my life. And again, these are more precious, and mean so much more to me than the race bling.
Running through mud, bogs waste deep water, ICED waste deep water, hills so steep that gravity is often the winner, and distances so long that we measure race time with calendars rather than watches, is what canicross is to us. It is a tough sport, made less tough by the friends we have gained whilst being a part of it. It has enriched our lives so, so much. We simply would not have endured some of the tough times we have gone through in the last few years without it. I would not have the relationship with Bailey, and him me without it. At times, it might have nearly broken us. But overall, it has completely made us.
