JAIC Newsletter
Issue 16
9
There were aid stations every 5-9 miles, which were welcome excuses for a quite rest and re-fill of the water bottles. We had initially been carrying water for the dogs, but as it became apparent that streams, rivers and puddles were going to be a continuing feature of the day we reduced the amount of dog water we carried as the dogs were more than happy to drink from the water we had to cross.
It was also a good opportunity to give the dogs and ourselves a quick snack before continuing onwards. While I’m sure the front runners didn’t eat much on the course, when you’re out on the course for 13 hours or so it’s easier to snack occasionally rather than stop for lunch. Sausage rolls, sausages and jam sandwiches were duly shared between both people and dogs as we continued on. The course is variously described as ‘sporting’ or ‘challenging’, packing in over 2,000m of ascent and descent it felt very challenging.
We got into a routine of jogging the flats and the downhill sections and walking the uphill sections. Unfortunately, my lack of fitness and recent illness and hamstring problems were starting to take their toll as we reached the 25 mile mark. Akiko was also not looking as keen as she had been earlier, so at the 4th checkpoint at mile 26 we decided to pull out rather than continue on and risk having to pull out in the dark. So I gave Tok to Quintin and waved them off up Pen-y-Fan and got a lift back to the HQ.
Back at HQ I got changed out of the damp shoes and socks and fed Akiko and wrapped her up in the van to rest. She was so tired that she needed a bit of assistance to get into her (top tier) cage and she settled down to sleep. I got myself a bowl of chilli and went out to cheer in the finishers with another cani-cross friend whose partner was also still out on the course.
By then it was dark and all we could see was the lights approaching as people came down to the finish line. It was impossible to see who they were until they reached the spotlight at the finish line so it was a case of watching for 2 people lights accompanied by 2 dog height lights! As they came into the finish Tok suddenly realised he must be at the finish
and put on a spurt of speed and ran over to us. He even had enough energy to bounce around a bit. It didn’t last long though as he was pretty tired after the day’s exertions and both him and Star settled down with some chilli and rice, as did their human partners.
Over 230 people started the race and Tok, Quintin, Mandy and Star finished 155th out of 162 finishers in a time of 13 hours and 31 minutes, over an hour in front of the last runner in and well within the time allowed. While quite a way behind the winners, it was still a fantastic achievement.
It was then back to the pub for the night, and while the dogs were still quite tired the next day the humans were definitely suffering more from stiffness than the dogs were. We drove home the next day and spent the rest of the day doing not much at all!
Just to show that they had suffered no ill-effects, Tok managed to come second at the club Christmas obedience match the following Tuesday! Not back for a young man, particularly as most of our marks were lost for over-exuberance in the retrieve exercise!
Would we do it again? Well, lets just say that the dates are already in the diary ...