Well it if pretty obvious I am behind in my blogging duties. The racing season kicked off with the Dirty Dog on October 25&26, and since then I have raced most weekends and spent whatever other time I had catching up on normal life things I neglected when racing. I have returned and will start to squeeze in time to blog on the races and training so far this season. It will be a story that continues post to post. Hope your enjoy!!
The Dirty Dog race is the first race I intended to run for this fall "dryland season." For any of you who have not seen a dryland sled dog race (“dryland” means racing without snow) - it is a sight you must take in! Humans hop on mountain bikes, scooters and 3 wheeled rigs - pulled by 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 dogs. There is even an event called "cani-cross" where a human wears a belt, attaches a harnessed dog to it, and both run down the trail together. The race trails are through forests, corn fields, sand, mud, and hard packed dirt. What a great way to start off the season as there is no snow required.
I decided to race both the 1 and 2 dog bikejor classes this year. I would race Etan and Eli (my personal dogs) in the 2 dog class and Beckett (my roommate’s dogs) in one dog bike. Etan and Eli are a little faster, and Beckett needs a little experience on her own (so running the 1 dog event seemed like a good fit).
For those of you unfamiliar with "bikejoring" - a human rides a mountain bike with one or two dogs attached via line with a bungie. The dogs wear harnesses, and are running and pulling as the human peddles as fast as they can to help out. Typically the off road course for the events are 1.5 to 3 miles run two days in a row. The whole course flies by in a few minutes time.
I have raced a few dryalnd races in the past couple years. They have always been immense fun. This year I decided to make a go at being a bit more competitive. Why no see how well we could do. No more daydreaming, talking the talk, or just showing up. Instead I was going to plan, train, and set goals. The whole idea felt good - but I was a little uneasy about our prospects.
There are typically two classes for any dogsled event. "Pro-Class" usually with money payout and possibly trophies, and "Sportsman" with certificates or maybe trophies. Beyond the money or trophies or certificates - is the competition. The sportsman class allows people to race against a group of people at their own level. It allows you to enter the world of dog sled racing, work towards being competitive, put your skills to the test, and just have so much fun competing. All but one race I’ve done have been in sportsman’s class - but I had an inkling to enter into Pro class.
I was nervous. This idea was more or a whisper in my mind, and I was afraid to say it out loud. I was a competent bikjorer, and my dogs experienced racers. We’ve spend much time running for run and for races. There were no requirements other than competency to race in the Pro class. No one judges you for finishing at the back of the Pro class pack nor for choosing to race in the sportsman’s class. So why then enter in with the “Pro’s” and why be nervous about it? Because of the thought in the back of my mind - can I do it? Can I not only run with the pro bikejorers - but really compete? Where my dogs fast enough? Would we edge our way forwards to tumble backwards? I didn’t know. With the Dirty Dog being the first race, I figured it could be our test to see whether we would enter Pro Class or Sportsman class for the rest of the dryland season. I did not know where we would fall on the spectrum of competitors. The only thing I knew is that we needed to put in the time to give it a real go and see what we could do. So I sketching out a plan for how I could place a little higher on the list of finishers.
The Dirty Dog race is the first race I intended to run for this fall "dryland season." For any of you who have not seen a dryland sled dog race (“dryland” means racing without snow) - it is a sight you must take in! Humans hop on mountain bikes, scooters and 3 wheeled rigs - pulled by 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 dogs. There is even an event called "cani-cross" where a human wears a belt, attaches a harnessed dog to it, and both run down the trail together. The race trails are through forests, corn fields, sand, mud, and hard packed dirt. What a great way to start off the season as there is no snow required.
I decided to race both the 1 and 2 dog bikejor classes this year. I would race Etan and Eli (my personal dogs) in the 2 dog class and Beckett (my roommate’s dogs) in one dog bike. Etan and Eli are a little faster, and Beckett needs a little experience on her own (so running the 1 dog event seemed like a good fit).
For those of you unfamiliar with "bikejoring" - a human rides a mountain bike with one or two dogs attached via line with a bungie. The dogs wear harnesses, and are running and pulling as the human peddles as fast as they can to help out. Typically the off road course for the events are 1.5 to 3 miles run two days in a row. The whole course flies by in a few minutes time.
I have raced a few dryalnd races in the past couple years. They have always been immense fun. This year I decided to make a go at being a bit more competitive. Why no see how well we could do. No more daydreaming, talking the talk, or just showing up. Instead I was going to plan, train, and set goals. The whole idea felt good - but I was a little uneasy about our prospects.
There are typically two classes for any dogsled event. "Pro-Class" usually with money payout and possibly trophies, and "Sportsman" with certificates or maybe trophies. Beyond the money or trophies or certificates - is the competition. The sportsman class allows people to race against a group of people at their own level. It allows you to enter the world of dog sled racing, work towards being competitive, put your skills to the test, and just have so much fun competing. All but one race I’ve done have been in sportsman’s class - but I had an inkling to enter into Pro class.
I was nervous. This idea was more or a whisper in my mind, and I was afraid to say it out loud. I was a competent bikjorer, and my dogs experienced racers. We’ve spend much time running for run and for races. There were no requirements other than competency to race in the Pro class. No one judges you for finishing at the back of the Pro class pack nor for choosing to race in the sportsman’s class. So why then enter in with the “Pro’s” and why be nervous about it? Because of the thought in the back of my mind - can I do it? Can I not only run with the pro bikejorers - but really compete? Where my dogs fast enough? Would we edge our way forwards to tumble backwards? I didn’t know. With the Dirty Dog being the first race, I figured it could be our test to see whether we would enter Pro Class or Sportsman class for the rest of the dryland season. I did not know where we would fall on the spectrum of competitors. The only thing I knew is that we needed to put in the time to give it a real go and see what we could do. So I sketching out a plan for how I could place a little higher on the list of finishers.