Parkrun time again, but with one important difference; Susan was on marshal duty so I was to run with BOTH our Beagles. I’ve run with the two of them on on the beach many times, and more often than I had to stop every few minutes either because they’ve tied me up like a maypole with their leads, or because they’ve decided that it was time for an impromptu wrestling match. I feared the worst, but had a secret hope that the “hunt” atmosphere of the run would keep them focused on going forward.

We were joined in the run by Bundy and her dad Brian, and as we approached the starting area Beanie & Biggles predictably bayed their heads off, then got into an even louder squabble over who should have chief baying rights. I kept well back from the main group, and felt confident that this would allow the other runners to hear the starter’s orders. As it turned out, this may have been only partially effective as Susan – who was at her marshal station half way round the other side of the loch – could hear ‘em loud and clear!

As soon as the race started I took off the brakes and suddenly I was flying along. There’s a surprising amount of power in two beagles and for the first few hundred yards they ran brilliantly. Further on as I stuck to the grass beside the path, I had to fight quite a strong sideways pull as they kept trying to get me up by the other runners. Despite this we stormed through the first half of the course and amazingly stayed within view of the leaders. Our twin-engined Beagle mobile eased down on the second half of the course, but still we kept up with Brian and Bundy and the five of us ran down the long home straight together.

Shouldn’t be far to go now, but where’s that blummin’ finish line!

Both Beagle cylinders are firing well!

Bundy’s running superbly too!

Most weeks at Strathclyde someone brings along some post race treats for the two-legged runners, and this time there was some particularly tasty tablet and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers. Beanie did her level best to mug everyone who took the treats, and when she struck out, she settled for mugging the camera:

I’m cute – please give me your tablet!

I beseech you kind sir, give me your tablet!

OI! GIVE ME YOUR BLUMMIN’ TABLET ALREADY!!!

When cuteness, dancing and vocal protests fail, there’s only one thing to try: prayer!

Sadly all Beanie’s efforts won her was a couple of poxy Tesco bone biscuits from my sweaty pocket, but this disappointment was forgotten when Susan returned from her marshal duties. She’d been given the position just before the turning point half way along the course, and managed to record video of all the runners as they passed. If you look carefully around the 1:44 mark, you’ll spot a certain three Beagles making their appearance:

The best bit of the original video has been cut though; trying to be encouraging to one particular runner she shouted:

“Well done! You’re nearly there!” and then as she realized the poor soul had only completed 49.5% of the course, she added “Well not really, but..”
Lift ‘em up, then slap ‘em right back down! That’s how we roll :D

Many thanks to Scott from The Hub Paper for all the great photos from this week’s run. You can see many more photos from the set here (but that one of Beanie’s food-related prayer is just priceless!)

Every now and then I like to spice up Beagle teatime by serving their kibble in food-dispensing toys. We have separate toys for each of them; Beanie gets her kibble in a  plastic jar whose open neck is blocked by a knotted rope, while Biggles gets his food in a hard ball that makes a squeaky noise as it rolls.

At one point we tried giving them both the jar toy, but while Beanie quickly learned to release the kibble in the manner envisaged by the toy’s creator, Biggles found a faster and much more direct method. He simply chewed through the knotted rope then rolled the jar around until the kibble fell out! So, now he gets the more or less chew-proof ball, and Beanie keeps the one remaining undamaged treat jar.

The idea behind such toys is to keep the dog stimulated and occupied so the owner can get some peace, kind of a set-it-and-forget thing, but in our house it doesn’t work out like that – it’s much more interactive. As you’ll see in the video, Biggles rolls his ball around at quite a pace, and inevitably some of the kibble manages to dodge his mouth and find its way under doors and furniture. We quickly learned that it’s absolutely vital to locate all this stray kibble, because if we don’t either he or Beanie (particularly Beanie!) will try to get it on their own, and anything that stands in their way is likely to take serious damage. For that reason, the second the ball goes empty I have to join Biggles for a team kibble hunt. I press my head down close to the floor and try to peer under the furniture, and more often than not I feel his furry head right beside mine as he does the same. Once we’re confident that all the strays have been rounded up and deposited in his stomach, I can turn my attention to Beanie. Usually there’s still a fair chunk of kibble left in her jar and I get to be her hero as I open it up and give her easy access.

A Challenging Tea from Paul Roberts on Vimeo.

Beanie and especially Biggles tend to get quite excited in the few minutes before a parkrun, but ever since Strathclyde started having pre-run warmups the excitement level has hit fever pitch. I have to forgo the warmup and keep a significant distance away from the group so that my boy’s baying doesn’t drown out any announcements, and this in turn frustrates him. This Saturday he became so frustrated that he managed to back out of his harness and do a runner!

It caught me completely by surprise; I expect Beanie to do that sort of thing because she’s always wiggling into and out of things, but the Bigglet? He’s not normally much into wiggling. This Saturday though he wiggled like Houdini in a straitjacket and won his freedom. He bolted first towards Susan & Beanie who were doing the warmup.

Susan and Beanie during the warmup, mere seconds before my boy’s escape

I could see the surprise and shock on Susan’s face as she spotted him – she said afterwards that she was thinking “hey, that dog looks just like Biggles. Oh c&*p it is Biggles!” The errant Biggly Boy did a quick flyby of his Mum and sister then veered off towards the start line. I had visions of his little white bottom disappearing into the freezing fog never to be seen again, or at least not for a few hours, and I called him. I had no expectation that it would work, but I had to try something ‘cos I certainly can’t run fast enough to catch the little bugger!

Amazingly my little boy did a U-turn as soon as he heard me and came running back. I figured he wasn’t going to stop when he reached me so I readied myself to catch him, but he came to a halt right by me and rolled straight onto his side. I must stress at this point that I’ve never practiced the Caesar Millan submission thing with him, but I guess he picked up on the stress in my voice and decided to go directly into the “naughty position” he’d seen on TV to save time! There was barely a minute left before the run but Biggles offered no struggle as I got him back into his harness and we made it to our customary starting position at the rear of the group in the nick of time.

The harness goes on. Again.

After that little hiccup, everything went smoothly. Susan and Beanie managed a terrific personal best despite the slippery ice while me and little Steve McQueen ran hard and came very close to equaling our current PB. I felt that was a good result for Team McQueen given that I’d spent most of the run on grass and gravel to avoid ending up on my arse.

Those last few yards were torture, but we managed to finish just ahead of Ally Rob and her handsome Dalmation Harvey

Susan and Beanie charge for the finish line!

Some of Saturday’s canicrossers after the run

A big “thank you” is due to Mike Ward at Busby Video for giving his permission to use these photos. You’ll find the full set of photos from the event here.