Just over 18 months ago I was having a really tough time, including the breakdown of a relationship resulting having to move home from Newcastle to Leicestershire to live with my mum and dad for a short while. During this time I did a lot of soul searching and wanted to get back to the things that I really loved in life – sports coaching and spending time with dogs. I decided that I was going to set up my own business involving dog walking and pet sitting – but I also wanted to do something a little bit ‘extra’. I got the idea of wanting to be a personal trainer for dogs and got researching activities and courses I could take to explore this further. That’s when I came across DogFit and their Canicross Trainer Programme – and I just knew it was what I had been looking for. It was the perfect fit for my business and I fell in love with the sport straight away.

After launching the business in Loughborough (Leicestershire) and just as I was getting into the swing of things I met the love of my life on a night out in Leeds. A few months later and we decided that it was time to take the step of moving in together and for me to move to Leeds. Although I knew it was absolutely the right thing to do – moving to a new city again was a bit nerve-wracking and the idea of having to reset my business in Leeds just as I had spent the previous 9 months launching it in Leicestershire (as it had really started taking off) was a bit gut-wrenching.

However, it has been the best thing I have ever done and launching Swift Paws in Leeds and becoming the DogFit canicross partner for Leeds has been absolutely brilliant. It’s helped me to make so many new friends in the area (and also get to know Leeds better from traveling around to deliver sessions). I even ended up on BBC Radio Leeds talking about why I think canicross is a great sport to get into!

To say being a DogFit Canicross Trainer has changed my life would be an understatement. Not only did it fit in perfectly with my brand new (and 1st ever) business, but I have met so many wonderful people and doggies that I consider to be friends. In fact, just before Christmas, I adopted “Beau Beau” – the first dog that I did canicross with (canicrossed for their owner). She is such an important part of my life and family now and I simply could not be without her.

I absolutely love running canicross sessions and introducing humans and their doggies to the amazing sport. I particularly love our couch 2-5k and 5k-10k courses as you meet so many inspiring people and get to know them and their doggies from running with them week after week. The best part is bringing together a great group of people and doggies that support each other and become good friends.

My most memorable canicross moment was in November 2019 when my fiance proposed to me 5 mins before I had to run back to back intro to canicross sessions and I had to go off and deliver the session and when I got there both customers were so excited and gave me the biggest hugs ever. For me, that is what canicross is about – having fun and meeting wonderful people and doggies and making friends whilst getting fitter together.