gayle ritchie with toby the labrador

In a bid to lose our post-Christmas bellies, my labrador Toby and I hooked up with canicross leader Linzi Melville in January.

Unlike Linzi’s svelte weimaraner, who was raring to go, Toby was somewhat bemused by the concept. I’d spent four years training him to walk to heel so the fact he was being asked to run ahead of me while attached to a bungee line confused him.

There are a few commands you need to know, many of which are used for sled dogs but when I tried to tempt Toby with “go on, yes, go forward”. He simply gazed up at me in bewilderment.

When we finally got moving, he trotted along at my side and then stopped to cock his lego na tree stump, trip ping me up, and gouging a chunk out of my elbow. No word of a lie – I still have the scar.

Once I’d concluded I didn’t need an ambulance, we headed for a twisty, narrow trail through the heart of the woods. With Linzi and Indie speeding on ahead, Toby was keen to keep up and finally, we got a true taste of the joys of the sport.

It’s hard to differentiate “being dragged” by your dog and “being attached” but for a few minutes, both Toby and I were loving it.

We flew through trees, ducked to dodge branches and jumped over slippery roots – and no more injuries were suffered.

When we stopped, I was out of breath but totally exhilarated.