WHO’S RUNNING WHO HERE?
Nov 6th 2007NolanIN THE MEDIA
WHO’S RUNNING WHO HERE? Great Falls Tribune, August 2007, Written By Karen Land - 11/2/2007
Nolan Taylor, a Great Falls native, and his 1-year old German Shorthair Pointer, Grody, thrive on the teamwork, excitement, and speed involved in canicross, a sport where a harnessed dog pulls a human runner. Although canicross is new to the United States, the highly competitive sport is already quite popular in Europe and South America.
To be honest, I knew very little about canicross until I met Nolan, 25, just a few weeks ago at the pre-race dinner for the Elkhorn Mountain Endurance Runs (Nolan finished the 50K in 6th place with a time of 6:02:44). Nolan knew I was a musher and told me about his upcoming plans to compete in the professional class canicross races at the East Meets West Dryland Challenge in Brainerd, Minnesota this coming November 17th and 18th. I felt silly but had to ask, Exactly what is canicross?
A lot of people think canicross is just running with a dog on a leash, Nolan said. It’s not walking the dog. It’s dog-powered cross-country running. In mushing or skijoring, you’re only as fast as your slowest dog. But in canicross, I’m the weak link in this partnership. It’s a human speed sport that depends on not just what the dog can do, but what you can do as well. I keep waiting for Grody to lose patience with me.
Nolan explained that teaming a well-conditioned, command-trained dog with a human runner in good shape can take 30-45 seconds off that runner’s best time for a mile.
Every time I’m airborne, Grody pulls me an extra 4 to 6 feet forward, Nolan explained. A couple of times I thought I might have to butt plant on the downhills because my legs couldn’t keep up. Whoa and easy are Grody�s least favorite commands.
Even though Nolan claims to be the weak link in his canicross team, his dog, Grody, is lucky to have such an accomplished runner in wheel. Nolan graduated from Great Falls High in 2000; his senior year he was All-State in cross-country, placing 10th. He went on to run cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track for Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota where he was a seven-time All-American, holding many distance records.
The East Meets West course is all trail, Nolan said. I’d like to cover the 1.7 miles both days in a sub-4:30 pace.
Nolan plans to hit the training hard come September. Because of the hot weather this summer, Grody’s runs have been limited.
We’ll get up to 4-5 runs per week once it cools off, Nolan said. Every time we go out to train, I come up with a goal for the day. Some days we work on speed and other days we concentrate on work ethic or command training.
Canicross races are beginning to show up at dryland racing events held throughout the United States. Dryland racing has become a popular alternative to traditional dog mushing events because of the lack of snow in many parts of the country; sports such as bikejoring (harnessed dogs pulling someone on a bicycle), scooter racing, and cart racing have become quite competitive.
Canicross has been a little slower to take off here in the United States, Nolan explained. I�m not sure why. Everything about the sport is so humble. It only takes a harness for the dog, a line, and a skijoring harness or padded belt for you and you’re ready to run. Maybe, it’s taking a little longer to catch on because you do have to be in shape to do it.
But you don’t have to go out and buy an expensive dog to come up with a great canicross partner.
I knew I wanted a German Shorthair Pointer because they’re hard to beat for speed and endurance. Plus, I wanted a velcro dog who wanted to be part of my family too. Grody was a rescue dog from the humane society. He’s everything I could want in a 1-dog team.
For more information on canicross or other canine dryland sports, check out these websites: www.skijor.com, www.skijornow.com, and www.isdra-dryland-racing.info.
Good luck to Nolan and Grody! I’ll let you know how they do.
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