There have been a lot of discussions lately relating to
running parkrun with dogs. Decisions have
been made and it is time to move on.
However, I thought today that it would be a nice idea to share with
others the advantage and disadvantage that a human runner has when running with
a dog. I think a lot of people have
assumed that if they borrow one of my dogs then they are guaranteed a personal
best time and will be running faster than they ever thought possible. Whilst this may be possible, it is not quite
that simple….
Firstly, when running attached to a dog, you have to be
fully trusting of that dog. You have to
know how it will react to almost every situation and you have to be one step
ahead. A look to the left, flick of ear
to the right… it could indicate that there is something out of sight that has
their attention…
Today as we flew down the starting chute at parkrun, I knew
that Kroi was in pursuit of “something”.
His body was tense and Kez frequently “bounced” him (Kez scolds his
little brother by pouncing on him when he believes that he is being naughty). At first I thought that Kroi was chasing Clive
(who was on a bike desperately trying to get down the course and into position
to take photographs of the runners), but Kroi has never previously been
interested in chasing other runners or cyclists. Then I wondered if it was just because the
weather was a little cooler or was it because the herd of wild ponies were close
by…
As we approached the first left hand turn, my instinct was
correct. The herd of horses were
galloping across the course heading towards the “onion smelling” factory!! One straggler was panicking as it had been
left behind by the herd and was in danger of being trapped in the gorse
bushes. I had to take action to avoid further panicking the poor pony. I pulled the dogs off the course, which meant
that Kroi suddenly decided that following the herd at full speed would be more
fun than taking a detour and then re-joining the course….
This is where it gets a little scary. For a split second, Kroi surged forward after
the horses before Kez and I were able to turn him round and back onto the
course. Had I not been able to regain
control so quickly, he would have gone into full flight after the horses,
taking both Kez and I with him. He can
run at more than 30 miles per hour, I cannot and he is also infinitely stronger
than me!
Back on the course, the dogs’ enthusiasm dropped and we were
soon being caught by our fellow parkrunners.
A loose pack of dogs being walked on the common further slowed us down
as I had to ensure we trotted safely through them. We slalomed round them and started picking up
the pace, only for a completely out of control dog to come charging across, barking
and snarling at the two huskies. They
panicked and I panicked, fearing yet another vicious dog attack. We slowed down again, checking to make sure
we were not going to infringe any other runners. As the aggressive dog launched itself at the
boys I shouted at it and miraculously it pulled away and started heading back
to its owner. By now Kez and Kroi were
down to “jogging” and I was able to hold a conversation with the leading male
runner as he overtook me.
Feeling frustrated I decided to still push myself on, even
if the dogs were no longer “assisting” me.
I could still have an okay run and get another step closer to my 100th
parkrun, no point in just giving up.
As we took the final turn, another off lead dog came
charging across. This time we stopped
completely as it barged against my leg.
Had I continued running, I most definitely would have been tripped up
and hurt badly on the gravel surface.
I managed to encourage the dogs to pick up the pace in the
last half mile of the run, finishing strongly and pleased to see that it was
Kroi encouraging Kez to run quicker – Kez has become rather lazy of late!!
Had I not been running with dogs today, I would not have
been worried about stampeding ponies, I would not have had to take detours off
the course, would not have been chased by off lead dogs and would not have had
to stop three times….. I am not
complaining about any of this, I accept that when I run with dogs I am constrained
as well as assisted - it is both challenging, and great fun! Safety will always be my top priority.
I mentioned tears at the start of this story….
After I had finished the run, a man with an American accent
approached me. His first words to me
were “you are an international inspiration”.
As I looked quizzically at him he expanded furthermore on his opening
statement. Visiting family in the area
he had been on Greenham Common last weekend and had seen me running past with
the huskies. He had been so inspired by
the sight that he had returned today in the hope that we would be there and he
could get a photograph to send to his wife.
They live in Hollywood and have two Siberian Huskies. He has now purchased harnesses for humans and
huskies and is going to train them to run with him and his wife, and ski with
them in the snow…
And there’s more…
A young boy, having just run parkrun, came over to speak to
me. He wanted to know if I had finished
first. I said no and he looked very
disappointed. I then went onto say that
as usual, the huskies finished ahead of me!
He immediately started smiling and said that one day, when he was older
he wanted to have a husky. He said that he would love to run as fast as me, but
as I had run for Great Britain, he would never be that fast. I told him that I had been practising for
many years and that if he practised lots then he probably would one day be just
as fast as me, if not faster. His beaming
smile told me that he understood….
I have a long standing dream to inspire a nation. I myself was inspired by the Olympic motto to
“inspire a generation”…..
Today I realised that I may well be living my own
dream. Warm feeling inside and happy
tears free flowing, I made a vow today to do more.....
(image courtesy of tzruns.com)
