Race report by Jon.
Spring bank holiday weekend was the final leg of the Fur Nations international canicross series, this time hosted by the Scotland team at the fabulous Glamis Castle.
The England team had a good lead over Scotland from the previous legs at Pembrey, Wales and Shipley, England. However, the Scots as always turned out in absolute droves for their home event. As the scoring system rewards participation numbers as well as athletic excellence, it was still all to play for.
The first race, on Saturday morning was a 5k. The course at Glamis is brilliant, with a river crossing, a ditch, steps and a variety of terrain to navigate. My race time with Huxley and Hope was wrecked by monstrously long toilet stops by the dogs. Nevertheless, we finished 9th in our 2 dog category, so scored 9 team points.
On Sunday morning, it was another 5k on the same course. Runners are set off at 5 second intervals. Based on our relatively poor performance the day before, we were seeded to start amongst the slower runners. This time though both dogs, but especially Huxley, brought their A game. Huxley loves overtaking other dogs. As a result, we pushed a high pace and worked our way up through the field. With no toilet stops either, we were rewarded with a PB for the course that was 21 seconds faster than our previous best from the year before. This time we came in 6th and earned 12 points.
The final race on Monday was a 10k using some of the 5k route with an extra loop added in. I woke up with heavy legs after my efforts the day before. I wasn’t hopeful of it going well and two toilet stops by the dogs early in the run hampered our chances even more. In the end we finished the 10k slower than the year before, but still managed 6th place and a further 12 points.
Overall, the weekend was fabulous. The racing was chilled, friendly and supportive. As always, the Scottish hospitality was exceptional, with a number of different social events taking place in the afternoons and evenings. I was made up with my 5k time, even if it did slow my 10k.
As for the overall result, Scotland put on a brilliant show and won their home leg convincingly, but couldn’t quite overturn England’s series lead. As a result, England retained their Fur Nations trophy, Scotland second and Wales third.
