From Running to Skijoring

Life got complicated and blogging took a back burner. There were no posts during the height of the 2010-11 ski season--and not a lot of skiing either--but the blog has never been far from my guilty conscience.

As I make my way back from a "time out" I have begun to run again. In the past I enjoyed running on trails through the woods with an energetic canine companion but now find myself living in a traditional neighborhood with sidewalks and traffic and the need to keep my dog, Pica, on a leash. So, I did a web search for a product that might let me run hands free without turning her four paws loose to chase cars and found that many runners advise using a dog skijoring set up for running. So, what the heck is skijoring??

Funny you should ask... According to that amazing, free, online communal information pool, Wikipedia,

Skijoring ('skē-jȯr-iŋ) is a winter sport where a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog (or dogs) or a motor vehicle. It is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring meaning ski driving.

What fun!! I can't WAIT for the first snow! It turns out that for many years my boys unknowingly practiced "sleighjoring." They barreled down a slight incline at a speed much greater than gravity alone would have pulled them due to the fact that the family's faithful dog was tethered to their sled while I stood a quarter mile away screaming his name with a dog biscuit in my mitten. Certainly not an ASPCA approved activity but SO much fun for the sleighjoring youngsters!

Skijoring equipment is minimal--a harness for the dog, belt for the skier's waist and tether to join the two. The sport is growing quickly and there are competitive and recreational events in such categories as sprints, long distance, backwoods, and...pulka, where a sled glides along between dog and skier and may carry supplies or a child.

A web search for the term skijoring yields many results. One, Skijor Now , appears to be a good source for equipment as well as information on active clubs and supplies and contains links to other websites of interest.

Of course for me, this skijoring encounter was a digression from my quest for a dog-person comfortable running tether. In addition to this winter equipment, the "stuntrunner" tether was created for dogs with runners in mind and provides a hands free option that does not require snow. I'll order the stuntrunner for now, and outfit my dog for skijoring in a few months. By then I will have run myself back into shape. I may skip the recreational leagues and go straight the world championship level with my prancing poodle.

Peace, Love, and Skis!