On the 4th March the final BSA event took place in Moors Valley country park. Its a greatly anticipated event and closes the season of racing. This year the entry list was closed after the allowed number was reached quickly, unsurprising as its such a fun event.
Only 2 official NATBs entered the event this year but many others came along to support the club. Petra raced her awesome team of kelpies, Morph fitting into the team brilliantly, helping her bag a 3rd place in the DR4 class. Emma raced (a loose term there) her woos in the DR2F class coming in 5th. 2 further potential members raced as well, Tony Borrell competing in Bikejor and finishing an impressive 5th out of a huge class of 18. Vanessa Borrell then ran in the canicross class and finished 3rd woman with a great time. Supported in the ranks by Maggie, Mark, Chesty, Ness and Kane as always the club spirit shone through :) As always a brilliantly run event, the BSA family is a joy to be a part of, thanks to Zara and Chris for as always running a superb series with Matt Eames and Co. The NATBs decided that being as it was only a one night event they should drive to Tidworth and go for a plains run on the Sunday morning. When this plan was made we did not however envisage the fact that the weather would be appalling! Sleeping through a storm ewan we braved still running in some horizontal rain and ridiculous wind! Only running a 5mile trek instead of 10 miles was actually a bonus, breakfast and a hot cup of tea being needed once we had finished, dried the dogs and settled them for a rest! Another thoroughly enjoyed weekend spent doing what we all love!
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Canicross Midlands took their race series to Pembrey the weekend 18/19th February. There were some NATBs attending and enjoying the location.
Located at the Pembrey Country Park its a firm favourite. The course is great single track over dunes, some wicked hills and fast straight tracks. Being just a stones throw from a huge wide expanse of sandy beach you cannot fail to enjoy your stay. The event as always was well run and great fun. The Midlands team make it look easy and all competitors feel supported. Day 1 was not too warm but the Midlands team made the sensible decision to only allow everyone to run the 3k course on the second day due to the humidity increase pushing the limit quite high. The members who attended were Izzy, Helene, Emily, Emma and Roy. Emily had her trade stand in-situ as well as taking part in 2 events each day, bagging a 3rd in Female Bikejoring and a 5th in 2 dog canicross. Emilys sprollies are fabulous and work so hard for her (even sometimes princess Teagan, who is there specifically to be adored!). Izzy was battling an injured foot but her team did her proud both days, Sam giving his usual display of madness and excitement at the start line before being her main engine whilst Flo pottered along for the ride! Izzy however finished 4th in the 2 dog canicross which was great. Helene also took part in the 2 dog canicross and with her wonderful team bagged 2nd place, her gorgeous spaniels pulling her round in great style. Helene has been training hard this year and the proof is showing, well done! Helene enjoyed being able to take her whole team down onto the sand - Mazar and Toffee thoroughly enjoying the time playing around and the freedom on the beach. Emma was suffering badly with the flu bug thats knocked out half of the country so was basically there for the fun - pttering around with Kavik on the bike on Saturday caused an asthma attack so advise was to rest! On the Sunday the Midlands team kindly switched Emma's classes around so all her dogs could get a run moving them to the 3k course - at least they got a run and had a fabulous time. We shall return, thanks for a great event! Again a report written directly by Cliffy, super proud of both members, human and canine!
:) BSA Yateley Woods 4th & 5th Feb 2017 At last a race only minutes from home and I could race and then go to work. I entered only Stanley in bikejor for his first race on his own. The BSA courses wouldn't suit Vinnie's little legs. On arrival Saturday morning a very organised set up greeted me of equipment inspection and then collect your bib and be given a start time , 10.14 was our slot. Stanley was really excited at the start and thanks to Kerri for handling for me. From the off Stanley was flying going flat out, his only blip was wanting to go to speak to a Marshall when ever he saw one!! At the final climb we overtook one rider and then caught another on the finish line!! A great time of 11.23 for third place !!! Only 5 seconds separated 2nd and 4th place. On Sunday morning we had moved up to third rider out, Stanley started well but seemed not to have his drive from Saturday. We finished well but dropped 30 seconds to finish 4th. For Stanleys first outing in bikejor he was a star, considering the weekend before we had run 33.5 miles , im sure none of the other teams had been running those distances. I was impressed with the BSA slick running of an event with competitors race times up an hour after you finished. First class event. Team Tea (Cliffy!) has written a report on the ultra, read in awe below - awesome effort!
Em :) January 28th 2017 Hobo pace, Waterways 30.5 miles Ultra. An early start again for Team Tea leaving home at 3.30 for the four hour drive to the Hobo Pace Waterways Ultra near Retford. On arrival the base was great, next to the village hall in a lovely clean car park. The weather looked good , the rain had stopped !! Always a bonus. The main field of runners went off at 9 am and the Canicross runners then lined up. The small sleepy village was woken by Stanley and Vinnie exercising their vocal chords!! The rest of the canicrossers were from Midlands Canicross club, running for charity. When given the off the hounds didn't understand this was a distance run and we did the first 10km in a PB of 40 mins, not how to set the pace for over 30 miles. Yes this was going to make me pay later !! At mile seven the shooting started and poor Vinnie had a meltdown, no matter how much cheese or mini sausages I tempted him with he wasn't going to move. I then ended up running carrying poor Vinnie until I bumped into the Midland support crew, two ladies I'd never met Olwyn and Petra were trying to dog nap my poor Vinnie!!! They then saw my NATB shirt and K9TT logo and I realised I could trust them. Vinnie was safe and away from the noise, Stanley then set the pace for his first run all on his own. We bumped into the Midland support crew at mile 14 and Vinnie came out to run again, big mistake !!!! One mile on the shooting started again and that was it, I then had to run Vinnie back a mile and just caught the support crew as they were driving off! Vinnie was now retired for the day. I then ran that mile again!! The course was really dog friendly underfoot mainly on grass towpaths or river banks, great for the dogs but boy it was hard work, slipping sliding and trying not to turn your ankle. Around mile 20 the dreaded stiles appeared and Stanley was amazing just bouncing over 5' stiles as if they weren't there!! At around mile 28 I started to pay for my early speed, I felt like crap and running was a real effort, a few cups of coke and shotbloks at the last aid station put some fuel back in the tanks for the final drive home. I could soon see the village where we started and we just kept pushing on, and wow the finish line was closer than I thought!!! Team Tea support crew Sally was there waiting for me, I'd been tracked on track my husband app!! We were then reunited with baby beagle who was so pleased to see us. A great event very well organised, great marshalls and aid stations. We completed the 31.5 miles in 5.45 hours but I had another 2 miles to add on!! It was an experience definitely ... completed thanks to the guys from Midlands help .... I think I enjoyed it! This month we are happy to introduce our Member Tora Seaton. Toria is one of our northern members and is a lovely lady who is a valued member of our club. Her ethics and kind nature is one we should all aspire to achieve :)
Name: Toria Seaton Member since: Early 2016 No of Dogs: 3 Dog(s) name(s), sex, age(s) and breed(s): Sanka 5, springer spaniel Woodi 4, cocker spaniel Kanga 14 months, springer spaniel Occupation: Training manager in health and social care Lives in: Lincolnshire Dog sports participated in: Canicross & Bikejor Question 1: How did you start in the sport? - I was running with my shepherd on a lead and saw online about Canicross, so went to Eland Lodge to watch a race. Question 2: Which was the first dog/dogs you raced? - First race was a novice 3k with Sanka and it took us just under 45 minutes Question 3: How did you come to own your dog(s)?- Sanka was a rescue puppy at 5 months old, rescued from a working dog shed where she was eating poo as the dogs were neglected. She hadn't been handled at all and took a long time to let us hold her. Woodi, we got as our German shepherd at the time was finding Sankas "play times" too busy, so we felt Sanka could do with a little brother. I went on line and found him down in Cornwall. The lady who owns Woodi's mum was horrified by what he does,and said he would hate it.?? I beg to differ. Kanga, I decided that now I was doing more with Canicross n bikejor that I needed another dog. I told my partner I was going to look at a caravan ?? and when he asked me to send pictures so he could give his in put, I sent him 2 pictures of spaniel pups and he chose her. Kanga,comes from a working gun dog line and the lady who owns her mum is fascinated by what Kanga does and asks for regular pictures. Question 4: Interesting fact about your dogs - I call my dogs boxtrolls as they collect useless items and treasure them : socks, shoes, hats, pants, tea towels, teddies. All of them are named after Disney characters Question 5: Interesting fact about yourself - I suffer with severe anxiety, and surprisingly enough to running and biking the dogs helps by burning off the adrenaline. Best cure ever ?? (**Emma note: awesome to hear how much working with your dogs helps people in positive ways x) Question 6: Biggest achievement in a race?- beating 2 huskies and a shepherd with the cocker spaniel at a bikejor race,when we were laughed at on the start line because he was so small. (**Emma note: annoying to hear this occurred BUT so proud of our member for showing such strength and spirit x) Question 7: Dogs favourite treats?- - Home made liver cake Question 8: Favourite Song?- Your song - Elton John Dirty- Christina Aguilera I like it -Gerry n the Pacemakers Question 9: Favourite Film Hot fuzz - I love Simon peg Question 10: Favourite cake Chocolate Thanks to Toria for telling us more about her and her pack - another awesome member we are proud of :) During the start of the new year a few members took part in the BSA Ringwood event. The weather was cold and dry, which is always a bonus! The Ringwood trails are a bit up and down with 2 not very pleasant hills, one right on the finish! This didn't stop the determination of the mushers though and spirits were high.
The BSA events are so well run and such a fun group of events that we look forward to taking part in them. Hannah Giles and Mary Fortser could only race on the Saturday this time. Hannah running Oki in the bikejor clocking up a respectable time of 15:43 which for a young dog in his first season is a great time, Hannah finished with a huge smile on her face! In Saturdays results that left them in 12th place. Mary ran the gorgeous Aggie in canicross, finishing in a time of 28:18, Aggie decided that puddle diving was of course part of the fun and both came belting up the final hill finishing with laughs. The Saturday results left her in 9th place. Petra Broadbelt was taking part in the 4 dog open rig class. Deciding however to drop Psy the boys gave Petra a great run on the first day with a time of 18:17 and a placing of 4th. On the second day the ground was softer after some overnight rain, the course is sandy and Petra had noticed that Bean had been pulling to the left as wheel dog, so she swapped the team around putting Bean up front and Diesel at the back, this change in team position obviously worked because her second day run time was 16:49, pushing her up to 3rd :) Finally Emma Giles ran the woos in the DR2F class - the woos put in a good performance on day one, with a reasonably fast time of 23:37, typical mal pace there and standard! Now Emma knows her woos and the second day is always a bit slower because they are totally bamboozled by having to run the same course again! Kavik did his normal amble at the beginning and only decided that he would run after the first 1k ! Second day time recorded of 25:15 - leaving the team in 3rd place overall. As always Roy dashed around being Mushers Mucker for everyone, ensuring starts were well managed and the team had fun. We spent the weekend with some potential new members whom we look forward to welcoming to the club soon! So all in all another fab weekend of racing. Roll on the next event! Gary attended the AMCUK Rally at the weekend, this club are now offering Open classes, which is new and great, so I am sensing more people will be enjoying them soon. Gary wrote a great write up so i am basically copying this below :) Sounds as always as if the conection between gary and his team is second to none. Well done :) #proudnatbs Just back from the AMCUK Grizedale rally. Well that was certainly an eventful weekend! The event itself was great, trails were challenging (4.5 miles of fast downhills, some with tight turns, and harsh up hills) but nice and wide and clearly marked. Organisers and everyone who entered were lovely. A fair few mushers didn't fare so well on the trail, especially in the fast turns with a couple of broken rigs and one or two mushers going over the handlebars! Saturday in 4 dog open Loki, Kaala, Khaleesi and Sasha had a pretty good run that found us in 3rd place. Khaleesi also proved she has mastered the "Alaskan Poo" 😃. 2 dog open however was a terrible run, made worse by the fact Tia struggled to finish but Ludo was such a good boy and listened to his slow command so I could basically walk Tia in. Later in the day when she'd had a rest, she had developed a limp so I scratched 2 dog on day two. Day two of four dog, I went out feeling really positive and hoping for a faster time. Then disaster struck, very early in the race Loki stopped and refused to run (during a downhill of all places!). Loki would never refuse to run unless something was wrong. I somehow managed to get to the marshal point where I decided to pull out of the race. However, after discussing the safest ways to get the team back in, I chose to drop Loki off with the Marshal and finish with 3 dogs. Kaala got her team home safely but the second she crossed the finish line, she stopped dead which was when I realised she'd led the team home with a cut paw. Horrible weekend for results but so proud of our dogs. Loki was a good boy with the marshal and in the truck when it collected the marshals. Kaala was awesome taking the team home out in front on her own, and with a minor injury herself. Ludo was such a good boy getting Tia back safely by listening and responding to their least favourite command! Nice end to the weekend though when the organisers did something pretty much unheard of at rallies. 2 dog open class only had 3 entries but as I didn't race the second day, you wouldn't normally get the 3rd place prize but in this instance, they awarded it to me. Def going to race AMCUK again, unfortunately I can't make their Greystoke rally 😩 GWe had some members attend the UCSC Sherwood event the weekend of 10th December.
Toria and Tracy attended both days and thoroughly enjoyed the well run event. Its always great up in Sherwood. As always the girls had a riot! The next event they attended was the New Years event in Thetford. Also at this event were gary and Lucy.This event is always well attended and great fun. Seeing in the New Year with friends is always a huge bonus. The dogs and humans had a wonderful time. Gary wrote on his Fb page "Tired of racing open class against hounds as our dogs are all rescues and not papered, I decided to start racing 6-8 dog as there would be less hound teams. Tactical move worked ridiculously well over the weekend at the UCSC Eastern Open as I was the only 6 dog Open class that turned up, which is just as well after this mornings nightmare of a run!" Results from Sherwood have disappeared so below are the Thetford results :) Results DR4-6 Open - Gary Oke - 1st place DR3-4 Open - Lucy Teal - 7th place DB1 F- Toria Seaton - 7th place Tracy Evans - 8th place 1 Dog Canicross M Open- Gary Oke - 7th place (only 1 run) 1 Dog Canicross Open F- Tracy Evans - 5th place Lucy Teal - 6th place 2 Dog Canicross F Open- Toria Seaton - 3rd place A wonderful write up form our very own Izzy - sit back and enjoy :)
If you are sitting comfortably, then I will begin... 'One wet and misty December 10th, up even before the lark had pressed snooze on the alarm clock. I limped out of the house. I mean, I cut my hair, faffed about wondering what to take; making myself late as a result of pressing stuff that couldn't wait. It made me think back to times of homework and exams……. Eventually got to Pembrey, South Wales, at 9.10. Race start was 10am. Wee'd and poo'd, me and the dogs, warmed up as much as poss. **No wee or poo used for warm up!! And so to the race! All two dogs went in the first wave. Set off at a fair pace, but then got over taken. One chap over took with his two hound type dogs, then they would piss about, so I would have to overtake. This went on for a while. It was a bit slowing, not his fault and they got going in the end, by which time a fair few other runners came along, so let them by, I did. I honestly needed a rest…but It does put one off ones stride. Flo managed to wrap herself round a tree, then they dragged me into the pond. They both worked hard and Flo was well behaved. My bad foot held out to end of race, just. Day two was a different story.... Sam was a nutter at the start, thus making Flo nuts too. I had to take them to one side. Honest to god they were crazy, I'm lucky to have some of my fingers left. Flo ran down the start line barking. From then on, any dog trying to pass Flo 'the bitch from hell', it was lunged at. I should have been ready for this. However, I was tired. The other different part of the story It only took the first 1k to realise that, not only was it a mistake not to put the extra insoles in my running shoes (caused a rubbed toe the day before), but running at all was a problem. Where my right leg had taken all the strain of helping my left leg the day before, it said no fecking way the next day. Bloody 3 mins longer the 2nd day, nightmare!! And the slower I got the more peeps ran by the more Flo was a bitch from hell. Possibly a painful lesson??!! I'd love to be happy with first prize, however, I'm not sure I can. I take home that I was faster than last year at same race and I was faster than a few peeps running that weekend but as I was the only one running it was by default! Note from the NATBs – you have to be in it to win it #proudnatbs The NATBs are pleased to welcome some wonderful new members to the club.
Hannah Giles is Emma and Roys daughter who is being dragged into the sport, not kicking and screaming (!!) but with much excitment. Hannah is the owner of Oki a northern inuit who is a bundle of madness! Hannah enjoys canicross and bikejor with Oki and is looking forward to the events and the training runs with everyone. Mary Forster is one of Hannahs good friends and trains with Hannah and Emma regularly with her dog Aggi. Elenaour Tarrant is Cliff's daughter and is being coerced into the sport to help Cliff and Sally exercise their dogs! She is a wonderful new member who we are pleased to have on board. Another new member is Danielle White she 2 sibes a mal and a cross. Danielle enjoys scoots her lovely dogs and is looking to join us fun and cake! Finally Matt West is a long term dog sports participant and has over the years gained an great reputation in the sports world with his Staffords. Matt takes part with his dogs in athletics, bikejor, canicross (when he has too!) and is training his lurcher in the gun sports techniques. He is a valued new member, as well as being nutty enough to get in! We look forward to you all representing the NATBs with fun at events and training together with much laughter! Welcome to the mad house!! :) |
AuthorThe NATBs will be keeping you up to date on their members, their dogs and events for the 2015/2016 Season. Hope you enjoy! Archive
April 2019
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