Canicross: Dogs, the countryside and PBs - what's not to love?
Ali Hall's love of running and dogs led her to co-found Cani-Sports Edinburgh
Runners - are you struggling to knock those last few seconds off to reach your target time?
Then what you might need is… a dog!
When it comes to running, there can be few things better than heading out on the trails with your best friend. And it turns out Fido can improve your PBs by more than just those vital seconds.
Just ask Ali Hall. The canicross lover and founder of Cani-Sports Edinburgh reduced her 5k time by around four minutes thanks to the added pull of 30kg of German pointer.
Ali, who “stumbled across running when I was 13 or 14 at boarding school” as a way to escape bullying and “what was a lonely environment,” told Running Tales canicross is “my big love”.
“When you combine a love for dogs, a love for running, a love for trails and the outdoors it is just fantastic,” she said.
“When I first got my late dog, Jasper, I specifically got a Vizsla so she could come on the trails with me, and could be a running companion and a training buddy for ultras.”
Although adding a dog into the equation provided even more fun for Ali, running has been an almost lifelong companion.
Her love of the sport saw her compete for Scottish Schools at cross-country and then to study psychology with sports science at university.
Ali later moved into adventure racing - a heady mix of the great outdoors, orienteering, and a host of sports ranging from kayaking, swimming, mountain biking and running to climbing and sailing, all wrapped up in a team environment - and then ultra running.
“I didn’t have the time to invest in all the different disciplines so returned to my number one love of running,” she said.
With “ten to 15 ultras” under her belt and a favourite distance of 50 miles, Ali is no ultra marathon novice - but she does display more than a hint of unwarranted impostor syndrome.
“The biggest kudos races would be 100 miles, and I’ve still not done that. I’ve got quite a fragile body and I’m not sure it would carry me there,” she said.
“I still don’t feel I’ve cut my teeth in the ultra world as I’ve not done a 100.”
Also on Running Tales:
After joining forces with Jasper, Ali met more and more people out running with their dogs and was encouraged to start a group in Edinburgh, where she lived at the time.
“Several folk encouraged me and a friend to start a group, which we called Cani-Sports Edinburgh,” she told Running Tales.
“We started 11 years ago with a run a week, which increased to two and three.
“People would come with their dogs, we would do a 5k trail route at all different levels and we would have a social afterwards.”
The group carried out fundraising to raise money for equipment which could be leant out to new canicross enthusiasts.
What is canicross?
Canicross is cross country running with dogs. Its name combines a derivative of Canis, the Latin word for dog, and the ‘cross’ of cross-country.
The sport originated in Europe as off-season training for the mushing or sledding community.
The dogs wear a special harness which goes over their shoulders and doesn’t restrict forward movement. Their human handler then wears a belt, similar to a climbing belt but lighter, and is connected to the dog via a bungee style line.
Dogs can learn commands, such as to turn left and right or to slow down and speed up.
“As long as certain health requirements are met then any dog can do it,” Ali said.
“The most important part is that the dogs have fun, and the person has fun, and you are doing this together. The dogs aren’t forced to do this.
“It’s a really safe way to exercise your dog. All the dogs are under control and they pick it up really quickly.”
Any animals taking part should be at least a year old, so that their joints and bones have developed properly. Bigger breeds may need to be a year-and-a-half old.
Canicross is a winter sport as dogs can overheat quickly in hot weather, and are susceptible to excess humidity as well.
Competitors are encouraged to make plenty of stops to allow dogs to drink, although it is important to be careful as if a dog takes on too much water during a run that can cause tummy issues or even bloat.
Ali has now moved to Ireland, but Cani-Sports Edinburgh remains hugely successful.
The group’s activities include an annual event at Foxlake in East Lothian, where races including a 5k, a shorter route of 2.5km and fun runs for children.
Ali said: “A lot of people might think you are handicapped depending on your breed of dog, and you are. You are not put in categories depending on your dog. It’s really your choice.
“Some people who have really got into the sport have maybe started off with a certain breed of dog, and then got faster, fitter, stronger dogs as they get more committed to canicross as their sport of choice.
“For me, it was finding the balance. Some people are super competitive, for others it is just about having fun and a day out for the dog.
“If you were running with a Yorkie, it’s not going to make you faster. My German Pointer is now 12 years old and is absolutely retired - he just like a walk now but in his heyday, my 5k was just over 20 minutes and he brought me to just over 16 minutes.
“That’s not necessarily standard. Some dogs will bring a bigger increase in pace, with some it will be smaller. It depends on the route and the dog.
“I was having 30kg of German pointer running with a big smile on his face, and really wanting to pull.”
Ali said the events take place on soft, trail surfaces which is better for dogs’ joints and bones than tarmac would be.
“If you are running on sandy trails and you’re running round a corner, getting towed by your dog, it can be like you are wakeboarding behind them,” she said.
“The pull you get means it is like running with the most phenomenal tail wind.”
And who says you have to tell Strava?
Thanks as ever for reading and listening to Running Tales. We couldn’t do this without your support - please back us to keep going by…
A pleasure speaking to you about this. And for anyone who has ever lost a dog or a loved one, you may know this feeling. But it is such a joy to see an image of Princess Jasper up there for the world to see. Her memory lives on.