Feeling very chuffed right now! My husband and I, along with our two rescue dogs Red and Sidney, ran in our fourth and final race in the Human Race Off-Road series yesterday. And despite some long and tough hills we loved every minute of it (every 68 mins in fact!). It’s only been seven months since we starting doing canicross, so the dogs especially have done amazingly well.
The 13km route was set in Eridge Park, near Royal Tunbridge Wells, in Kent. Eridge Park is the largest open deer park in England. Not that we saw any deer. I’m sure they were keeping their distance. So no embarrassing “Fenton!!!” moments I’m pleased to say 😉
This made for a beautiful setting. And that, coupled with one of the warmest days of the year so far, meant that we had a great atmosphere for the race, especially at the start/finish area as spectators were able to chill out in the sun waiting for us all to get round the course.
Red and Sidney were sporting their new race collars (gotta be done!) and ran brilliantly.
Red & Sidney in their race day collars!
They still don’t pull completely the entire way round but they are getting so much better with every race we do. Sidney, our Staffy, is particularly good. He’s so focussed all the way round and is such a happy and friendly boy. At the end of the race he was excitedly trying to lick anyone who showed him any attention (or not!). Thank you again to the ladies at the finish line who gave them both a couple of biscuits 🙂
The race itself was pretty tough but very different from the other three courses we’ve done. Yes, there were the usual trails, single tracks, firetracks, ups and downs, muddy sections and tree roots to negotiate. But the hills this time were fewer in number although much much longer!
Of course, there were the humorous signs dotted about the course one associates with Human Race Events!
Who are you kidding Human Race organisers! 😉
A beautiful day for our TrailMan race
Thankfully, because we’ve had a dry spell recently, most of the paths were dry and firm underfoot but there were a few muddy/boggy areas and wet ditches to cross. One particular section of a rather long and gruelling hill that I’m sure will stay etched in my memory for a long time to come was very boggy and tough to run through. I was sliding about everywhere as though I’d had one too many rum & cokes…if only ;). I saw at least two guys who lost a trainer as they tried to make their way through the goo!
Despite that I’m pleased that we ended the race on a fast (well, in my mind it was fast!), sweeping downhill section. Aside from the very last short bit they call ‘The Wall’ that takes you up to the finish line (mmm, thanks for that Human Race! 😉 ).
To sum up, this was another excellent event run by Human Race. It was a great way to end the series and I look forward to running many more with Red and Sidney! 🙂
…and if anyone is interested in getting involved in canicross after reading this post then please get in touch via North Downs Canicrossers (the local group I run with) or the more general/national group, Canicross Trailrunners.
Wearing our North Downs Canicrossers shirts with pride after finishing the TrailMan race in one piece 🙂
“What about me?”
Dogs eagerly awaiting the start of the race
Start of TrailMan 2104 13km off road race
Canicross Diaries 