Graeme Miller and Chester at Glamis Castle for the third leg of the Fur Nations series

Graeme Miller and his dog Chester had been firing on all cylinders in the Fur Nations series

You couldn’t get a much more picturesque venue for the third leg of the CaniX Fur Nations series than Glamis Castle in Scotland. The castle was spectacular and grounds were immaculate for the final showdown and since he was representing Scotland, it was effectively a home fixture for Graeme Miller.

Graeme and Chester with the Scotland squad for the final Fur Nations clash

Graeme was scoring points for Scotland in the Fur Nations series

The Fur Nations series pitted Canicross runners from England, Wales and Scotland against each other as they looked to score points for their respective countries. Graeme was of course there with his furry friend Chester who had been mightily impressive in all the races they’d done thus far.

Graeme and Chester racing well on the first day of their Fur Nations race at Pembrey

Graeme and Chester on the first day of the Fur Nations series at Pembrey

Chester posing with an animal statue on the first day of the Fur Nations series in Pembrey

Chester was proving to be the real deal when it comes to racing dogs

The first leg of the Fur Nations series was at Pembrey in Wales and Day 1 featured a twisty, technical 5k course where runners were sent out at 15 second intervals. Getting round in 18:26, Graeme was a little disappointed with his run that day.

Graeme and Chester on the first day of the Fur Nations in Pembrey

Graeme and Chester negotiate the twisty 5k route

Chester with q Giant Hedgehog on Day 1 of the Fur Nations in Pembrey

Chester with a Giant Hedgehog sculpture made out of wood

Graeme Miller and Chester on the first day of the Fur Nations in Pembrey

Graeme and Chester after completing their first Fur Nations race

On Day 2 it was seeded, so the fastest runners went off first. Graeme was more focused and determined to do better that time and completed the course in 17:45, which was an average pace of 5:48. The two 5k times were then added together to decide the positions. Graeme finished 2nd V50 in a very tight contest, with just five seconds separating him and the first placed runner.

Graeme and Chester motoring on Day 2 of the Fur Nations match in Pembrey (7)

Graeme and Chester in action on the second day of the event

Chester on the second day of the Fur Nations in Pembrey

Chester was in fine form on day two at Pembrey

Graeme and Chester on the second day of the Fur Nations at Pembrey

Graeme and Chester rocketed round in 17:45 on the second day

Graeme and Chester make their way down the narrow path

Graeme and Chester head down the narrow path

Graeme and Chester on the second day of racing in the Fur Nations series at Pembrey

It was a good start to the proceedings for Graeme and Chester

Graeme gets a prize for 2nd V50 at Pembrey

Graeme collects his prize for 2nd V50 over the first two races

The Beach Race on Day 3 of the Fur Nations first match

Day 3 of the Pembrey match featured a Beach Race

The third day provided the opportunity for him to spend some time on the beach. Not sunbathing or building sandcastles though. He was racing on it. Up early for a 6:45am start so they could beat the tide, the athletes and their dogs gathered for a mass start. Then it was a mile out and a mile back.

Graeme Miller and Chester in the Beach Race on Day 3 of the Fur Nations opening fixture

Graeme and Chester zoom across the sand

Graeme ran well in that to finish in 10 minutes 34 seconds which was an average pace of 5:18. That put him in 4th place overall and 2nd in the V50 category.

Graeme and Chester racing along the beach at Pembrey

It was a one mile out, one mile back race

Graeme Miller and Chester after the Beach Race on Day 3 of the Fur Nations first match

Graeme finished 4th overall in the Beach Race

It was very close between Scotland and Wales and in the end Wales edged it by 11 points to take 2nd place for match one. England ran away with though, finishing almost 600 points ahead.

Graeme Miller and Chester at Cannock Chase on Day 1 of the Fur Nations second match

Graeme and Chester on the first day of the second Fur Nations fixture in Cannock Chase

The second leg of the Fur Nations series was in Cannock Chase. Day 1 was a seeded start in groups of 15. The course was touch as it was hilly and muddy with plenty of twists and turns. Graeme completed the first race in a time of 20:14 which made him 2nd Vet Male.

It rained heavily overnight and the course was even more muddy the next day. Despite taking a nasty fall when trying to overtake another runner, Graeme went on to finish in 20:09, which put him 2nd in the V50 category.

Chester possesses a steely determination

Chester possesses a steely determination once he gets on that start line

When it came to racing the 10k on the Monday, both his calves were rock solid from the hills and were very painful. Still managing to finish in 42:34, Graeme came in 2nd overall and was 1st V50.

He was up against some very talented runners at Cannock Chase though such as Tony Lambert of Alton Sports. He won all three races with times of 16:09 and 15:54 for days 1 and 2 and 36:52 in the 10k.

Scotland finished ahead of Wales this time but England were over 1,000 points clear and won the second fixture of the series very convincingly. The Scotland squad were determined to restore some pride at Glamis Castle and put on a good show in the final fixture.

The Scotland squad in front of Glamis Castle

The Scotland squad assemble in front of Glamis Castle

Chester with a lion statue at Glamis Castle

Chester attacks his races like a lion hunting his prey

The course they faced for the first couple of days was around 3.25 miles. The first kilometre of the route was all uphill. Then it was down a flight of about 20 steps before heading through a stony burn. On the first day, Graeme completed it in 20 minutes 23 seconds which put him 4th overall and 2nd vet. His average pace for the run was 6:15.

Graeme Miller and Chester in the Fur Nations at Glamis Castle

Graeme and Chester in action on the third fixture of the Fur Nations

The second day, Graeme got round quicker, putting in a 5:59 for his first mile, a 5:37 for his second mile and a 6:19 for the third mile. His finishing time of 19:32 put him in 4th place again 2nd vet behind fellow Scot Douglas Kenmure. Graeme’s average pace on this occasion was 5:57 minutes per mile.

Graeme and Chester head through the field in the Glamis Estate

The scenery was nice but Graeme wasn’t stopping to admire it

The course on the third and final day was the same as the previous days for the first half. Then it went round a part of the Glamis Estate that the public do not have access to.

Unfortunately Graeme couldn’t take in too much of the scenery though as he was focused more on just staying on his feet. Clocking an excellent time of 37:03, Graeme finished 3rd overall and was 1st vet, registering an average pace of 6:17 for the 5.9 miles.

Chester posing at Glamis Castle

Chester had made his owner proud with some exceptional runs in the Fur Nations series

Scotland had the top three runners that day, with Jamie Stevenson winning it in 32:30 and Louise Mitchell taking 2nd place in 35:13. Louise was actually the fastest of anyone on both the first and second days.

Chester in front of Glamis Castle

Chester ended the Canicross season on a high at Glamis Castle

Scotland won the third fixture, beating England by 549 points which was a tremendous revival from them. It wasn’t enough to arrest the deficit for the whole series though and England were winners in the end by over 1,000 points.

Graeme and Chester more than played their part though over the course of an enthralling series and having the countries competing against each other added an element of spice to the proceedings and made it all the more meaningful.

It’s now the end of the Canicross season but it’s certainly been a very successful venture into it for Graeme and he’ll be looking to continue his top form when the action resumes in the autumn.