Inaugural Furry Friends 5K race at the Burlington waterfront to raise money for the Burlington Humane Society and Speaking of Dogs Rescue Program.
Our friend and yoga/core instructor Caron Shepley has been one of the organizers of this race in Whitby for the past 5 years; they decided to add a new race in Burlington this fall.
It was just so much fun. So many different kinds of dogs! So many different kinds of dog owners! Little kids with big dogs. Big adults with puppies. Dogs sniffing and leaping and wagging in excitement.
AdventureDog was ready to rock.
Sherpa (Andrea Hutt Good) brought her adorable younger dog Maui to celebrate her 1st birthday. She placed 3rd in the "Female with Dog" category, which was won by Lumi Duca, whom some of you know from orienteering. She beat me even though her dog stopped for an enormous mid-race poop that she cleaned up before continuing. :)
Bob Knuckey, winner of the 1976 Toronto Marathon, had the foresight to bring a stuffed dog since he doesn't have one of his own. He tossed it in the air to celebrate at the finish line, horrifying a few spectators until race emcee Barrie Shepley quickly reassured everyone that the dog was fake!
There were serious athletes, fun runners and walkers. I'd guess that about half the people ran with a dog. It was an out-and-back run on the trail that runs along the surprisingly beautiful Burlington waterfront.
'Bent and AdventureDog looked great out there! Note that A-Dog didn't really do his job of towing 'Bent so they finished in 20:14 in 3rd place in the tough "Male with Dog" category. I was still heading out when they were coming back so I hid on the far side of the trail to prevent A-Dog from seeing me. Dogs occasionally lurched at one other to say hi but mostly they were well behaved. I suppose people only bring good dogs to something like this.
I passed a few dogs near the end.
Professional triathlete Jessey Elf set out to break the world record for 5K with a dog. As Trav has pointed out, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion when an elite runner arrived with an 8-month-old Vizsla.
He succeeded. Turns out his 16:54 record is unofficial, i.e. no drug tests, etc. Still, I think some of my Hamilton/Burlington friends should try to beat that next year!
Boys on the podium. AdventureDog was chicked by the husky who came 2nd. They won a 3-month supply of dog food, which they donated to one of the rescue associations at the event.
"Female Without Dog" category - This was only my second 5K and it was a PB although it was not that long ago that the first 5K of a 10K race would have been sub-25. So... not really a PB. It was good for a $25 gift certificate at Foot Tools though!
'Bent and AdventureDog returned to the podium as the 3rd highest fundraisers. They got an excellent dog gift basket. Many thanks to those who sponsored them!
Fun morning!