With a little help from man's best friend

Took a gander at the training schedule for the upcoming week this morning - we're switching gears a bit to start working on race pace. But that wasn't what got my attention.

The weekly e-mail also lists upcoming races, which I usually skim over because, let's face it, you can only place 1,350 so many times in one month before your pride begins to wane.

But my eyes lingered on one listing:

Pineland Farms Trail Challenge (50 miles, 50K, 25K and K9 canicross), New Gloucester, 6 a.m. for 50 miles, 8 a.m. for 50K, 10 a.m. for 25K, 10:30 for K9. Contact: Erik Boucher 210-8655.

K9 Canicross? What in the devil's name is that? And why didn't John mention that there's FREE BEER and a BBQ?

I enlisted the help of my dear friend Google (who is always there for me, always helpful and who only rarely lures me down twisting paths of little-known links that waste 10, 20, 45 minutes and dead end on sites that I can't talk about in mixed company).

So here's the deal:

"Canicross is the sport of running or walking your dog in harness with equipment similar or the same used for skijoring. Canicross is not simply walking the dog. Running with a dog on a leash is not canicross. In canicross the dog pulls you, just like in skijoring." [From Skijor.com]

Fabulous. But what the heck is "skijoring"?

I'll investigate that later - in the mean time I need to work out this canicross thing. It's a brilliant idea - why should I put in all the effort when there are pets out there that can bear the burden?

When I was young I recall tying hot dogs to a fishing pole, then dangling them in front of our family dog, Brandy, so she'd pull the red wagon I was sitting in (sometimes I'd be on roller skates, you know, to keep things interesting).

I no doubt stole that idea from a cartoon - and I'm sure I was told it wasn't a nice thing to do to the dog. Regardless, I was on to something.

I'm without a pet now (curse you rental agreement!) so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for available canines with champion potential.

My friend Michelle just got a puppy last week, but it weighs about an ounce and isn't quite ready for K9 racing. We'll check back in with her in a few weeks once the steroids have a chance to do their magic.

Now, I'm off set the record straight and seek out my place as the Rightful Founder of Canicross. If I could just find a dog to pull me to the courthouse...

"Screw shoes" and beer bottles: just another Thursday run

It was just another Thursday for most of us - maybe you ran the Back Cove, or met up with your buddies for dinner. Maybe you caught The Office on TV or finished up some laundry. The point is, it's just Thursday.

But in collegeland, Thursday (particularly a sunny spring Thursday at the end of the semester) means two things: beers and beers.

The Reach the Beacon group tried something different last night and ran over to Baxter Woods off Stevens Ave. (in Portland, of course).

To get there, we ran across Forest Ave. onto Coyle St.

Not a block up the road we come upon some Thursday evening festivities (beer, of course, being the guest of honor). There were tables of beer bottles and a happy collection of coeds enjoying the mild temps (and the much-anticipated end of the semester).

As our group ran by, a few guys shouted out some "Woohoos." Then a few more. Then the applause started. And for no good reason whatsoever, our small running group started our trek to Baxter Woods with the kind of shouts and cheers I imagine only Olympic gold medalists ever really hear.

It was odd...but really cool.

I should have taken a picture. I told myself I'd take one on the way back - but I didn't. At the last minute I chickened out. Let's face it, I watch YouTube - those college kids scare me.

But this is essentially what it looked like:

When we got back, Ian Parlin from Trail Monsters gave us a chat about trail running. I'm going to give the trail thing a try one of these weekends - road running gets a little dull after a while. But more on that another time.

The big learning last night was the phrase "screw shoes."

If your mind is in the gutter with mine, or your maturity level hasn't grown appropriately with your age, you should have laughed.

But screw shoes aren't dirty...er, they ARE...but the real dirt kind of dirty. They're running shoes with screws (yes, screw screws) driven into the bottoms. Helps runners get traction when running on ice and snow.

Why are people are running on ice and snow? Beats me.