In March 4 members attended the BSSF Thetford weekend - the weekend was great fun apart from the battering they received from Storm Kate!!!
The course was interesting and the competition fierce as it was a qualifying weekend. A great effort was made my the member Lucy, Elaine, Tracy and Toria and the club is hugely proud of them for facing the storm (literally) and ensuring both dogs and humans had a memorable weekend away together. Lucy won her class and is now a European champion :) Elaine came second in the vet canicross class, Toria 6th in biekor and Tracy 8th Well done ladies and fur friends :)
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One of our dedicated members Roxi Rose has over the last few week put in some serious miles with her dogs Millie and Tyson.
The 13th March saw Roxi and Millie take part in the Lamer Tree marathon, they completed this hilly course in 4:28:17 coming 2nd in her age category. Singing the praises of her running partner Roxi says "Millie was bloody amazing today as that was not easy. A dog really is the best running partner anyone can have -fact!" - we couldn't agree more! On the 2nd of April Roxi ran the Checkendon Challenge 5k course with her 2 dogs in the 2 dog mixed class, this 5k course is challenging in a technical manner, but running this the day before the QECP - madness! On the 3rd April Roxi and Millie competed in the Queen Elizabeth Country Park half marathon with Millie - the route takes you along the north downs way pure hills and clay.. Roxi admits to this being "one of the toughest half's I have done and the heat didn't help". She came 81st /200 people - which is awesome! To say we are proud of Roxi would be an understatement - and of course her wonderful fur running partners :) Last weekend and everyone was back in Checkendon for the 2 weekend in the series. The weather was kind, cool mornings and only a small amount of rain on the Saturday night.
As always Jan and David ran and organised fun event for all. The NATBs again put on a good showing and spent some quality time together having a laugh and having fun with their dogs. Extra congrats goes to Cliff who ran his 2 dogs Stanley and Cody for the first time as a pair and won the scooter class :) Well done all for another good show and representation of the sport and the club. Results Bikejor Female Saturday - Melanie Sheehan - 1st place Nicole Sheenah - 4th place Emma Giles - 10th place Sunday - Melanie Sheehan - 1st place Nicole Sheenah - 8th place Emma Giles - 10th place Bikejor Male Saturday - Mark Mazzucca - 1st place Cliff Tarrant - 2nd place Sunday - Mark Mazzucca - 1st place Cliff Tarrant - 2nd place Scooter Male Saturday - Cliff Tarrant - 1st place Sunday - Cliff Tarrant - 2nd place Scooter female - Saturday - Claire Spencer - 1st place Emily Thomas - 2nd place Nicole Sheehan - 5th place Sunday - Emily Thomas - 2nd place Nicole Sheehan - 3rd place VF1 Saturday - Lindsay Pettitt - 1st place Emma Giles - 6th place Sunday - Lindsay Pettitt - 4th place Emma Giles - 6th place 2dog mixed Saturday - Claire Spencer - 1st place Roxi Rose - 2nd place Isobel Powys - 6th place Sunday - Isobel Powys - 6th place The NATBs were well represented at the final event of an impressive season of events for Canicross Midlands at Catton hall.
The event itself was fun packed and very well attended as always. The course was varied with grass sections, some wooded single track and some open fields with stunning scenery. The classes were varied and on the final day a triathlon team event was run for the fun factor! The NATBs would like to pass on their thanks to the Midlands club for hosting some great events this year and congratulations of a successful series. Results 2 Dog Bikejor Overall weekend position - Lucy Teal - 3rd place Monday race - Nicole Sheehan - 1st place Bikejor female - Overall weekend poitions - Roxi Rose - 1st place Emily Thomas - 4th place Sunday race - Nicole Sheehan - 7th place Bikejor Male Friday race - Mark Mazzucca - 2nd place Scooter Female - Overall weekend position Claire Spencer - 1st place Melanie Sheehan - 3rd place Scooter Male - Overall weekend position - Mark Mazzucca - 1st place Gary Oke - 4th place Canicross Female - Monday race Lucy Matthews - 4th place Canicross Master Female - Overall weekend position Lindsay Pettitt - 2nd place Monday race - Isobel Powys - 3rd place Canicross Master Male Alan Sherwin - 2nd place Female 2 dog Canicross Isobel Powys - 4th place Junior Canicross 8-12 Overall weekend position - Jonathan Ingram - 1st place Junior Canicross U8 Overall weekend position - Elsie Instone - 2nd place Venteran dogs Roxi Rose - 1st place Emily Thomas - 2nd place A couple of NATBs were selected to represent regional clubs at a demonstration in the main arena of Crufts on the Friday.
Nicole with her dog Ice and Elsie (along with mum Claire) and Tinkerbell braved the crowds and TV cameras to run around the famous green carpet showing what the sport of canicross entails. The dogs behaved amazingly in such an alien environment and the display came across really well to those watching. Elsie even made the local newspaper, so is doubly famous! Well done guys for representing the sport so well and hopefully encouraging more people to become involved. #
The NATB's were well represented at the Forest of Deans Mad Dog Jog and a Half canicross races. Steve, Claire, Emily, Lucy and Nicole all journied to take part. There was a choice of two races, a half marathon and a 6K race for those not quite so crazy! The setting was the beautiful Forest of Dean, a well organised event with plenty of trade stands including equipment and doggy massages! The half marathon attracted an entry of 55, which created a very noisey and crazy mass start. Once out of the event base and into the forest everyone spread out as they found their pace to take them round the well marked 13.1 mile challenging and undulating trails of the beautiful Forest of Dean. The more sensible amongst us opted for the 6K fun run, over a different course to the half and incorporating more mud! Those of us lucky enough to win podium places were presented with locally made stone trophies, all entrants received a fab goody bag and a commemorative mug. It was a brilliant event, well organised and friendly, certainly one to look out for next year .... if the legs ever recover ! The weekend of 12/13th March saw a troop of NATBs attend the first Checkendon race weekend of the series.
Checkendon is a favorite with us as its one of the most technical courses in the country. Single track through woods, with roots, trees, small gaps, some mud and your own confidence to deal with! At just over 5.3k the course =, although flat, is a handful and it gets the respect it is due. The next event, weekend of 2/3rd April is already almost booked up, but if you want further information on this great event go to their page - www.checkendonchallenge.co.uk The race is run as 2 separate races over the Saturday and Sunday, so the below gives results for both days. Great results from the gang again - well done all! Results Bikejor Female Saturday Melanie Sheehan - 1st place Bikejor Female Sunday Melanie Sheehan - 1st place Bikejor Male Saturday Mark Mazzucca 1st place Cliff Tarrant - 3rd place Bikejor Male Sunday Mark Mazzucca 1st place Cliff Tarrant - 3rd place Scooter Female - Saturday Claire Spencer - 1st place Emily Thomas - 2nd place Nicole Sheehan - 3rd place Emma Giles - 8th place Scooter Female - Sunday Claire Spencer - 1st place Nicole Sheehan - 3rd place Emma Giles - 7th place 10k canicross - Saturday Steve Cutler - 7th place 10k canicross - Sunday Steve Cutler - 8th place VF1 canicross - Saturday Lindsay Pettitt - 2nd place VF1 canicross- Sunday Lindsay Pettit - 3rd place F1 Female canicross - Sunday only Jenny Barragan - 7th place 2dog mixed canicross - Saturday Claire Spencer - 1st place Isobel Powys - 2nd place 2dog mixed canicross - Sunday Claire Spencer - 1st place Isobel Powys - 4th place Juniors 6-8 Canicross- Saturday Elsie Instone - 1st place Juniors 6-8 Canicross- Sunday Elsie Instone - 1st place March's member to meet is another one of our original members, he is a super fast champion, please meet Mark :)
Name: Mark Mazzucca Member since: The beginning ... No of Dogs: 5 at home with us, 2 oldies, Fox and Griff now keeping the mother in law company down the road Dog(s) name(s), sex, age(s) and breed(s): 2 Eurohounds William ,5 years old His nephew Ice 2years old from Kieth Johnson Halo; a vorsteh from Germany Finally a new addition that i picked up from CZ, Dusan is a CZ Greyster ski-jor dog and is 20 weeks old Occupation: Construction Lives in: Glos Dog sports participated in: Bikejor, Scooter, and a bit of rig running Question 1: How did you start in the sport? I got involved by driving my wife Kim to events.....! Question 2: Which was the first dog/dogs you raced? First event was a mass start bikejor in Stambrugue Belgium with Oki in 2010. Question 3: How did you come to own your dog(s)? The first dogs were all rescue,but later ones are purpose bred for the sport. Question 4: Interesting fact about your dogs - Simply they are all loved by me for different reasons Question 5: Interesting fact about yourself - I worked on the film set of "Saving Private Ryan" ,not best mates with Tom Hanks ,in fact i didn't even see him, lol Question 6: Biggest achievement in a race ... William and i have been a good team over the years in bikejor, winning not only in domestic races but also have won the Scottish National Championships, the Dutch open national championships, the AAA European race series held in three countries, twice ECF European v2bikejor champion,and 6th in +40 in the worlds held in Italy, but mostly i enjoy just spending quality time with my boys at the weekend. Question 7: Dogs favourite treats - My boys don't have a fav treat as such, but they tend to behave like circling sharks when i bring home whole green tripe to cut up Question 8: Favourite Song .. Paint it black by the Rolling Stones gets whacked up to 11 when its on the radio Question 9: Favourite Film ... Pulp Fiction ,so many stories in one film Question 10: Favourite cake .. Black forest gateau ,yum This weekend saw the NATBs involved in a few different events.
But the most impressive was Steve Cutler taking part, with Finn, in the Green Man Ultra Marathon. 46 miles of off road running with his trusty friend. It looks as if Steve and Finn ran on every type of surface possible but powered through. The distance needed to be completed by 8pm; Steve and Finn crossed the line at 7.25pm, so with ample time to spare! They averaged between 4.6-4.1 mph across the whole distance which is a good steady pace. This looked as hard as it probably was and we are immensely proud of Steve, and Finn, for completing this extremely difficult challenge. Roxi with Millie, and Cliff with Stanley and Vinnie took part in the Trailscape Half Marathon, this is again and event off road, which was muddy (ankle deep) and hard going. Both completed the course in their normal impressive times, but in Roxi's words she had a "sense of humor failure" - to be honest I think any of us would have!! Finally, a group of NATBs, Claire, Dan, Rachel, Kane and Emma went to the final BSA event of the season, the Moors Valley night race. We all love this event and it was a lovely crisp night. Results were; Canicross (just a 4 second gap in the below results!!) Dan Brown - 1st Claire Spencer - 2nd DS2 Claire Spencer (running 1 dog)- 2nd Bikejor Rachel Brown - 7th 2 Dog Freight Emma Giles - 7th Last weekend saw a few NATBs busy with various activities.
Roxi Rose took part in the Stowe pacesetter event running Millie for the first time ever in a scooter class. Millie performed amazingly and stomped home to gain 1st place - what an amazing dog, Roxi is rightly proud of her. Emily Thomas took part in the Colchester Cani-sports race, she came in as 5th woman and is, in her words "chuffed with that", as we are :) Some other members met up for a training run on Sunday morning on the plains, exercising the 16 dogs between them! The weather was great and the cold air helped everyone enjoy their dog sports activities. Well done all :) |
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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