What Is Canicross?
The name “canicross” is a combination of the words “canine” and “cross-country”, which is actually a great description of the sport. Canicross is simply cross-country running with your dog!
Canicross is a sport for anyone and everyone. You only need a dog!
Simple, Fast and Fun
The great thing about canicross is the simplicity of the sport. The only thing you need is a proper harness system between you and your dog, a pair of running shoes – and off you go! Either you go fast or slow, if you go in the woods or in the neighborhood, if you compete or exercise, you can always have fun together with your furry friend. It’s a great way of exercising and building a stronger bond with your dog.
Canicross is an increasingly popular discipline, and a great off-season activity for mushers.
Canicross Breeds
There is actually no such thing as canicross breeds. All dog breeds can do canicross! However, some breeds are obviously better suited for performing well in competitions than others. Vorstehs, Pointers, Malinois and Border Collies are such breeds, that are usually found on top of the list in races. But don’t be surprised if a chihuahua turns up at the start line – they wanna play too!
How To Train?
The physical condition of yourself and your dog is naturally a factor affecting the canicross performance of your team. Being out running together in the woods will improve the shape of both owner and dog, making you able to run faster together. The communication between the two of you is also a crucial part of canicross. The dog should be able to understand when to go right and left based on your commands. It should also understand when to speed up and when to slow down, depending on if you are slowing down or speeding up in the harness behind. Improving these skills is a great way of working on your bond, and an efficient method for improving as a canicross team.
Full gas towards the finish line for Dice and Elaine Sherwin!
Canicross Racing
Within canicross, there are some different race formats and distances, depending on the categories. The normal distance is 4-8 kilometres, while juniors often run 2-3 kilometres. The teams usually start one-by-one or two-by-two, with 15 or 30 seconds in between each start. The World Championship in canicross is held yearly, on different sites all over the world every year.
And did you know there is even a world record for 5k canicross, set by the the british athlete Ben Robinson and his dog Blake in 2017. The time? 12:24! That’s 24,2 kph or 2:29min/k. Insanely fast…
Canicross creates a great bond between yourself and your dog.
Interested?
If you are interested in trying out canicross, getting to know the community, or maybe even join a race, internet is your friend. Most countries have organisations or Facebook pages where you can find information, overviews, results and contact info. Don’t be shy – the canicross community os known for being extremely warm and welcoming.