Aneta Erlebachová: a look back at the September–October 2023 races

ČASS Czech Canicross Championship

On its traditional September dates, 23–24 September 2023, the Czech Canicross Championship took place. The race was held near Hluboká nad Vltavou, at the Křivonoska campsite, which was hosting the Czech Championship for the 3rd year in a row.

After a long time deciding, I decided in the end to start with Azeri. For Azeri it was her very first canicross race, her first race with me, and straight away such a big one. But because we’re not afraid of that, we decided to give it a go.

The trail was 3.7 km long, and although for the Elite category it was the same as the year before, for me it was a change. In previous years I had raced in the junior category, and juniors have a shorter route. But I liked the Elite route much more.

There were plenty of technical sections – for example, hitting a wooden footbridge coming down a gentle slope right after the start was quite something. Otherwise the route led through the forest, on nice paths, hard in places, full of roots in others. And of course there had to be mud. And by the way, Křivonoska is a paradise for mushroom pickers, so loads of mushrooms were growing not only all around but on the trail too.

Friday: We arrived at Křivonoska straight after lunch and settled into a little cabin at the campsite. I walked the route with Azeri so that over the next days she would find her way better and know where to run. Then I ran the trail once more myself. In the evening, though by then in the rain, there was registration.

Saturday: We were busy from the morning. I gave Azeri a drink at 4 in the morning and then at 6, at 7 there was a quick musher meeting about the race, and at 8 it was already the start. I went into the race without any ambitions. The only thing I wanted was a good first race, above all without any bad experiences for the dog. All sorts of things can go wrong, and they’re much harder to put right afterwards. I didn’t know what to expect from Azeri, and I was curious what she would come up with on the trail. But what she showed? I don’t get it, but thank you! She ran like a pro and put in a completely commanding performance. She didn’t bother about anything or anyone on the trail. A photographer lying on the ground, something she had never seen while in harness, did throw her a little, but that doesn’t count. She turned without hesitating, even on the very difficult run-in to the finish, where the finish trail passed the start and there were lots of people, dogs and noise. It didn’t faze her at all, and she would happily have kept running (unlike me). She simply didn’t give away a single metre. And the result? TOP 10 at the Czech Championship in the Elite category is a really nice start.

After the race I walked Azeri, gave her a drink again and let her rest. I made myself go for a cool-down jog and a stretch. Anyone who does sport knows you can’t do without it, even though nobody likes these things much. Unfortunately I didn’t see anything of the other races, which is a pity, because it was surely a great show.

Sunday: The morning routine repeated itself. Today too the start was at 8 in the morning. The start was by the Gundersen method, which means that the racers start with the same gaps they finished with the day before. This time I was a bit calmer; at least I had some idea of how the race would go. And on top of that there was a gap of about 30 seconds both in front of us and behind us. So we ran a lovely solo race where we didn’t have to deal with anything. Azeri again worked brilliantly; she responded and paid attention perfectly.

So we’re taking home 10th place from the 2023 Czech Championship. Even so, this experience is worth gold to me; I really enjoyed the whole weekend. On top of that, Azeri handled her debut as well as she possibly could, and I’m really very proud of her. After the last few races, which didn’t go well, it was a pleasant change.

Finally, I also have to praise the work of the organisers, who handled the whole event excellently.

Mostecký kros 2023

A group of enthusiasts from my home club, MC Český ráj, decided once again to make use of the long autumn weekend and hold a race in the little village of Mostek. It was the second time we had organised the race here, so we had everything important on the organising side well practised from the year before.

The route here is, I dare say, really superb. It leads through the forest on a soft surface, but at the same time it’s fast and technical, with lots of interesting passages between the trees. What’s more, the start goes uphill, which can test the racers right at the beginning.

We walked the route 14 days beforehand, going to see what state it was actually in, in case anything needed fixing before the race. So the day before, the route was marked: “chalked”, the roots spray-painted, little fences put up and so on. Registration bags with little gifts, numbers and chips were prepared too. The next morning the preparations continued. Water had to be brought in, and little pools for the dogs and refreshment tents put up.

When registration opened, the real rush began. But we managed that too without much confusion, and the starts could begin. Because most of the helpers, us included, wanted to race too, we kept swapping between our jobs and racing. So fitting the starts together so that everyone could manage everything was a tough nut to crack.

The very first to start was Azeri with Ilona Erlebachová in the bikejoring category. Meanwhile I was walking Ilona’s dog Eclips to warm him up and getting him ready for the start. Azeri flew round the trail in a great time. About 7 minutes after Azeri finished, Eclips started with Ilona in the bikejoring category, and in the end he beat his younger sis Azeri by 10 s. And while Ilona took both dogs back to the car to give them a drink, walk them and reward them, I went to help at the start, lining up the racers. I was there until someone took over from me and I could go and warm up with a run before canicross with Stormy.

Canicross with Stormy is nice. After all, I can keep up with her much better than with Azeri. A big bonus is that thanks to her comfortable pull you don’t get blisters (anyone who runs canicross knows). We really enjoyed the race!

So we’re taking home:

• 1st place: me and Stormy in CCW, dogs over 23 kg
• 1st place: Ilona and Eclips in BKW
• 2nd place: Ilona and Azeri in BKW

Dogrun Vrchlabí

After Mostecký kros we didn’t have much time left to recover. Just two days later, on the Saturday, Stormy and I lined up at the start of another race – this time Dogrun.

Dogrun has been held in Vrchlabí several times now, at the Vejsplachy cross-country area, which is not far from our home. So not running was hardly an option for us.

We chose the shorter route, which was 2.5 km long. I reckoned that after the demanding week before, that would be enough for us; after all, I’m still trying to get moving again after the Czech Championship. And it paid off.

So we could really enjoy the race. The organisers had prepared a very varied route for us, one that was very demanding for the dogs to find their way on. There were Krkonoše climbs and descents, various zigzags across a meadow, and even a spot where the trail passed the start and finish chute. At almost nine years old, Stormy is experienced, so she didn’t let anything throw her and pulled us all the way to first place. At the finish, Stormy’s favourite banana was waiting for us.

All in all – a lovely three-race block successfully behind us!

More about Aneta on the Aneta Erlebachová page.