Thursday, February 24, 2011

Skijor Race!

Last weekend Apollo and I competed in our first skijor race. For those unfamiliar, "skijoring" is a sport where a person on specialized cross-country skis is pulled by a dog (or 2-3 dogs). We've been doing this for exercise a couple times a week and we were ready for our first competitive race.


Paula holding back the beast!



After a count-down from the starter we are off and away.

Race: 1-dog, sprint class. ~4miles. We started out downhill really fast - Apollo was sprinting down the hill with me skiing behind with little tension on the line. After that we did a lap around a large field and then wound our way back up the hill through winding trails. Weather was about 5 below and snow.


Downhill finish.


I was exhausted, but he was ready for another lap.

Result: 20:08, 5th place (out of 18). Apollo won a new squeaky toy! We had a great time, everyone was very nice and there was a great positive dog/human atmosphere.