Canicross Race at Pineland Farms in Maine

Shortly before I arrived in Connecticut, my new mom (Kathy) found out about a sport called Canicross.  It is a very popular sport in Europe, and just becoming known in the United States.  Canicross involves 1 dog (that would be me) hitched up with a harness to one person (Kathy).  You both  run over a course of 5 kilometers to 5 miles. The dogs job is to pull and help their human run a little faster than normal.  It's a lot of fun because there are lots of people and dogs running at the same time.  I've only had 6 weeks to learn how to do this.  Kathy and I have worked hard to get ready for my first race at Pineland Farms, Maine, and I love having my own job.  

 Saturday morning we got up very early, and drove to Pineland Farms.  It was nice to be one of the first dogs there as I got to look around the course, I got very comfortable, and I met other dogs as they arrived.  There were all sorts of dogs... big ones, little ones, friendly ones, not so friendly ones....  Of course, my tail wagged non stop like always, so everyone knew I was friendly and pretty soon I had lots of new friends.  I think 100 people must have petted me and told me what a beautiful, good boy I was.    By the time the race started, I was ready for a nap and I laid down right on the starting line.

But when the bell rang, I was ready to "GO".   I got a little confused at the start because there were dogs everywhere, and they were bumping into me and getting tangled up with our leashes, but after 4 or 5 minutes, I really got the hang of it and I LOVED it. 

I ran so fast, and Kathy held on for dear life.  We passed the snooty poodles who wouldn't play at the start, and we passed a bunch of other dogs too.  We ran and ran, and pretty soon, just as I was getting tired, I heard cheering and bells.  People were calling my name and saying "GO MAUI".  So, I did!  I just ran right to the finish and then Kathy picked me up and told me what a good boy I was.  

 All kinds of people came over to see me and tell me how good I was.  I didn't even know it, but we won a prize!  It is a nice wooden trophy- I took a bite to be sure that it is real wood.

We had some snacks, drank a lot of water, and then watched Ken run in a different race.  I would have gone again, but I was pretty tired and there weren't any other dogs in this race so it didn't look as fun.  All the people in his race were barefoot, and Ken is trying to learn to run barefoot too.

 That night we drove to another hotel, and I crashed out on one of the beds.  Tomorrow is another big day- we are hiking Mount Washington.