I love it when I discover an aspect of life that inspires and motivates me, or when I undertake something that sparks my flame.At the weekend, I took part in a cani-cross event. What an incredible experience. This is a sport where you run with your dog. You have a waist belt with attachment to a long lead with bungee, which clips to a special harness on your dog. The theory is that your dog then pulls you along. There were 200 dogs competing, quite a few people running with pairs of dogs - an array of all interesting shapes and sizes of dogs and people. The atmosphere was wonderful, with everyone helpful and focused on the fun element, rather than the competitive edge.
The distance was 5k and I ran with my old dog Cassie [see picture] - who is almost 12. She is fit as a flea and, despite never having done it before, she ran ahead of me well. I didn't have the equipment so had to carry the lead, which made it a little harder to run. It took me 34 minutes, which was quite slow, although in my defence I have only been running for six weeks and had built up to running two miles, three times a week, so I had an extra mile to run.
My fiance also took part with my 3-year-old dog and he blasted home in 24 minutes. His core fitness is much more established than mine.
We were still talking about the experience days later. I can't quite explain what was so good about it, but I think in part it was the sense of working as a team with your dog. It felt good to be running along woodland trails, skirting round the deep mud and on tracks. My dog and I guided each other as best we could, each checking how the other was doing from time to time. This teamwork was practically wordless, apart from a bit of encouragement, but it worked so beautifully. Now hooked, we plan to attend all events except one at Northumberland.
The experience made me think about how much we rely on creating teams by using words when, if we tuned in to each others strengths and weaknesses, we could be much more effective. Teamwork, when operating in perfect symmetry is an incredible process.
Still high from the experience and now running 3.5 miles on my runs, instead of 2, I am preparing for the next event at the end of March.
What sport motivates and inspires you in this way?
Still high from the experience and now running 3.5 miles on my runs, instead of 2, I am preparing for the next event at the end of March.
What sport motivates and inspires you in this way?
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