Canicross Race 2 MDR Fast Fox Moncton, April 2022

Well it was two weeks ago that I slipped into a canicross belt and attached a big ole Eurohound named Solo to me for a 3km race in the woods. We had such a great time. Now it was off to Moncton for a big harness dog sport festival hosted by Moncton Dog Runners.

I was super lucky to be allowed to run with Sarah Peel's dog Loki this weekend. He is a young gun, but his brain is all racing and going fast. Sarah helped to organize the weekend's racing, but was able to get out for the events herself as well. So to have her loan me the super Loki was incredibly nice. 

Now Loki did the Standard Distance (4.6km) Bikejor finishing up just as I arrived at the race venue. We was tired but still looked like he wanted to go again. I thought maybe that the 1.5 hours before the next event (the standard canicross) might take the edge off of him. More on that later.

So I signed in, swapped out my shoes for some running shoes and took advantage of some in between race time to pop out onto the course for some recon. The course is tucked into a nice park on the edge of Moncton.  The start is nice and flat crusher dust for about 2 km. At that point things start to get twisty with punchy little roller hills. If you run in Halifax at all and know Long Lake park, it is just like that. This section works its way up through the next couple of kms and finally with about 800m to go, it begins to descend a bit, staying twisty and becoming flat. It is pretty fast.

While there was rain the day before, there were only a few puddles and a few soft spots to contend with, nothing that would make the run difficult at all. The weather on race day was sunny with high winds, though inside the race route, the wind was minimal. Perfect.

Shoe choice was tough for me. My fast On Cloudventure Peaks from the last race were too aggressive for the crusher dust, road shoes were probably okay but maybe not grippy enough. I had an older pair of Salomon Sense Max Pro and opted to use them. A low lug and some cushion seemed like a reasonable choice. 

After what seemed like forever, it was approaching race start time. So I belted up, found Sarah P and hooked up Loki. We went for a light jog (as she suggested) with a few sprints and headed to the start line. 

If you have never seen a canicross start it is fierce looking. I got to start 1st with Sarah beside me (2 up start). Soon the time counted down and we were off. 

I purposely held back a little and eased into the start with Sarah getting a much better jump off the line. After a few hundred meters though we caught up and passed back into the lead. Loki was on fire and away we went.

I didn't bother to look at my watch because it didn't matter.  I just ran behind Loki and let him set the tempo. And he was fast. I did look at my watch after the first kilometer and we ran through it is 2:45. Dang, that was fast. I thought, well that can't last, at least for me it can't. I figured I would soon become a bit of an anchor for this boy.

He is a smooth dog for that speed though. He let me do the running and just elevated that. The leash / line never strayed from just taut. We cruised through kilometer 2, and our average pace was still 2:53 min/km. Then we began the hilly section. I felt like we slowed, but in general we didn't. I guess the downs made up for the ups in this case. Kilometer 2 and 3 were both run at a 3:03 min/km pace.

This dog was focused on going forward. I think it also helps that he had just raced this course 2 hours before and this was his home turf. I saw a few glances at a couple of squirrels, but nothing to worry about. 

Kilometer 4 we slowed. I'll take the blame. That was done at a 3:15 min/km pace, though it had the biggest elevation gain in it, so let's say that's to fault there. With now just 600m to go, the course heading slightly down to a flat finish, I thought, let's go for this Loki (because I couldn't use words). We picked it up a little, and crossed the finish line hard. Our finish time was 13:55.

Doing the math and allowing for some extra slowing down would have still had me finishing a 5km race at a sub 15:30, almost 2 minutes faster than my personal best. 

That was an amazing run for me. Loki was a great running partner. I wish I was faster for him. 

 After the finish Sarah got to have a post race photo with us and all her amazing dogs that got to run in the event. Notice that Loki barely looks tired. 

I got to then watch the sprint distance races, which included canicross, bikejor, and scooter. 2 Dog scooter is crazy to watch. 

I was able to take the overall win and we had a nice little podium picture. It was great to share the podium with Reanne and Krista (and Astrid).  The medal was awesome and I have a spot for the special medals where this will hang.

Club photo time with Club Dog Runnin'. I don't get out with the crew enough since their training times and mine commitments haven't always worked well together, but they are an amazing group. 

Is MDR trying to earn top spot for post race cake over the Halifax Movember Run? I mean, they do have flowers. Also a chocolate / vanilla mix cake? Dang.

It was a worthwhile trip up to Moncton for sure. The win is great, but I love an event like this one. Lots of opportunities, success measured in personal achievements, and dogs. Lots of dogs. 

Next up we head to Keppoch Mountain, and you should consider checking this sport out, May 14th.  

I meanwhile have to work on strengthening my body to run at these speeds. Seaside Chiro has been doing wonders on keeping me lose and ready to run, and I have added back some work with Anita Connors at Beaverbank Physio, as she finds little extra ways to allow me to take advantage of the speed I am being offered. 

Canicross Race 1 - CDR Rust Buster 3K, April 2022

 I'm a little late getting to this one, I guess I am out of practice writing race reports! 

A couple of weeks ago now I took part in my first official in person canicross race. I did one official virtual race last season, but that was it. 

For a few years now I have been helping the local harness dog sport scene in the Maritimes by serving on the board of the MAHDS, which serves to oversee harness dog racing's growth and safety. My role outside of the board had been mostly hosting events for other racers. After last year's 50K Ultra challenge, I wanted something new this year, so short and extremely fast it was!

First off, I didn't race with my dogs. They are 4 lbs soaking wet. Instead I borrowed a trusty new friend names Solo from my New Brunswick friend Val Michon. Solo is a big 80+ lb Eurohound and he can move. Val had a new dog in her stable and was going to run with him for this event. 

This race would be short and fast. 3k long but it included access roads, deep mud, rolling twisty hills and rooty sections. In some areas this would be close to canitrail racing (canicross on technical single track). 

I went out for a reconnaissance and warm up run to explore the course. It was going to be a fun run for sure.

After choosing my shoes (super grippy On Cloudventure Peaks), I got harnessed up and met up with Solo, so we could have a little bonding time. 80lbs of determined dog is not easy to control, but he was pretty good at not just towing me around too much.

As race time was getting close we all started to line up. While some canicross races are mass start, most are on tight paths and go in a time trial like fashion, with either 1 or 2 races starting at that same time and a small gap before the next start. This race was a 1 up start with 15 seconds between runners. I was starting 11th.

The excitement was growing, the dogs were howling, and the runners were starting to take off.

Soon my time came and I was off. A quick zip for 100m up a dirt path and then onto an access road for a moment where you can really gain some speed. I peaked out at a 2:35 min/km pace for a bit then settled into an easy (?)  3 min/km pace through twists and turns and mud. I quickly started ot catch and pass other runners and Solo was flying.

I knew we would be fast, and assumed I would catch a couple of people per kilometer, but wasn't quite ready to have worked my way up to the 6th place starter with 1.5km. Now, this is when things got "fun." The 6th place runner was Val and Solo was very happy to see her and decided he wanted to run with her instead. Ah, dogs, you just can't always plan what they will want to do. 

I kept running, though his heart wasn't in it as much. Finally we got far enough ahead that he started to pick it up again and we were flying. But then we ran into Sarah W, and while she was totally willing to let me pass her and Eddie, Solo didn't want to be rude. Finally I convinced Solo it was good idea and we took off again. 

Our final 1.5km was not as fats as our first 1.5km on the race, but the good news it wasn't for a lack of fitness. We both had a lot more to give. What we lacked was training as a team, and this sport is about being a team. Some dogs will pull anyone with no issue, some dogs won't pull anyone but their training partner. Solo just needed some more time with me I think to build that trust level.

We crossed the finish line running hard, which was great and made me happy. My 3K on a dead flat no turns crusher dust trail last year was a 9:30 with Asil (she's one of those run with whoever let's go kind of dogs). This run on a a twisty turny, muddy, hilly, rooty, course was a 10:08. And considering the last bit wasn't us working at our best, I am happy with that result. We did have to wait to see who won the race because it was a time trial start. Ultimately we did by just a little bit over Sarah P and Loki.

 

That mud on my shoe was actually Solo's foot print. I did say he was a big boy. 

Next up is the canicross race in Moncton.