ON THE RUN: Durham Resident Shares Her Love for Canicross

Jessica Tomkoski hasn’t always been a runner. But she has enjoyed hiking with her dogs Shelley – a 9-year-old rescue Great Dane – and Lance, a 1-year-old German Shorthair Pointer.

Now, though, Tomkoski runs up to 10 kilometers in a sport known as canicross – dryland mushing where dogs in a harness pull a running human who wears a hip belt while running on trails.

“It is a team sport where the dog and human work together to navigate trails and achieve faster times than the human could run alone,” she said.

Tomkoski, a 30-year-old private practice physical therapist who lives in Penrith in South Durham, recommends the North Carolina Urban Mushing Facebook group for anyone interested in the sport.

“I discovered canicross when looking for a more comfortable way to hike with Shelley, and the right gear made all the difference as she helped up hills and had a ‘job’ to do,” Tomkoski said. “We had been cani-hiking for a while, and we just started adding running intervals. I wasn’t a runner before canicross, but now with the dogs, I’ve run up to 10K distances. I love the teamwork with my dogs and how they can help keep me motivated to stay active.”

This weekend, NC Urban Mushing hosts the Mushing Mutts Canicross Race and Dog Friendly 5K in Holly Springs. It’s North Carolina’s first canicross race, with the goal of promoting safe participation in dog-powered sports. Canicross has gear requirements, while the dog-friendly race is more flexible, allowing participants to run or walk their dogs in whatever gear they’d like.

Profits from the race go to Saving Grace NC, the local rescue where Tomkoski got Shelley.