Craving a seriously fun way to get outside with your four-legged bestie? Say hello to Canicross — the white-hot cross-country trail-running craze where your dog does the heavy lifting! This once-undersung sport is exploding in popularity, and it's easy to see why: it's a turbo-charged cocktail of outdoor cardio, team-building with your pup, and bonding with a whole community of fellow dog fanatics. At a moment when athletic doggo content — think viral surfing hounds and dock-diving daredevils — is taking over our feeds, Canicross is proof that real-life trail time beats any screen.
Meet Alexis Karpf — a full-blown Canicross devotee who also wears the hat of Marketing and Operations Coordinator for North American Canicross.
“Our motto is simple: ‘All breeds and speeds welcome!’” Karpf enthuses. “If you love the great outdoors, Canicross was made for you — no exceptions, no excuses.”
the loyal century — So what makes this different from an ordinary jog with Fido? In Canicross, your dog is the engine — literally! A snug, high-performance harness gives your pup maximum pulling comfort, hooked to you via a bungee lead (never longer than six feet) clipped onto a specialized running belt. That clever belt-and-bungee combo soaks up the shock and protects your back from injury. Sure, the dog hauls, but you're the one calling the shots — teaching commands like “left,” “right,” “slow down,” and “speed up.” The endgame? A killer team effort where you and your pup cross the finish line together.
“Hands down, the greatest payoff is the unbreakable bond forged when you and your dog are in it together,” says Karpf. “Out on the trail, we’re endlessly talking to our dogs — cheering them up hills, pushing them toward the finish. Somehow, we end up motivating ourselves right alongside them to chase something hard.”
And there's a flavor for every fitness level, she points out. “Canihiking and caniwalking are big hits in our program too. This sport was never about speed records — it's about teamwork, soaking up each other's company, and being outdoors! Plenty of our newcomers aren't runners at all; they just want a fun way to get moving with their dogs.”
Every breed is welcome at this party. Canicross traces its roots to the dog-sledding world, where mushers needed a smart way to keep their teams fit during the off-season — so early Canicross pups were mostly classic mushing stock. But as the sport took off on its own, the breed list exploded, and now you'll see purebreds and mutts of every shape and size tearing up the trails.
“Our ranks are packed with pups of every possible size — feisty little terriers, long-bodied Dachshunds, even pint-sized Chihuahuas!” Karpf gushes.
the loyal century — Honestly, the social scene alone might be just as big a magnet as the fresh-air bonding time with your dog.
“This sport is literally how we became friends!” Karpf laughs. “The three of us — NACC founders Alexis Karpf, Lizzie Hill, and Jacqui Johnson — had all dabbled in dog sports for ages, but Canicross is the one we truly fell head-over-heels for. It gave us something amazing to do with our dogs AND a reason to reunite every single weekend.”
Canicross also turbo-charged their sense of adventure. Every weekend, the trio picked a brand-new trail and vanished into the woods for hours of muddy, tail-wagging fun. Before long, they were sharing their meetups online and inviting other dog runners to tag along — and the sport simply took off from there.
“Canicross has completely rewritten our lives and launched us on a wild, unpredictable adventure,” says Karpf. “When we began in 2019, we just wanted to spread our passion for the sport and for training alongside our dogs. We could never have dreamed of the tidal wave of love and support that followed. Watching total strangers cheer each other on to get outdoors with their pups every day — that's been the single greatest prize of all.”
*Ready to give Canicross a shot? Head over to nacanicross.com to find NACC Ambassadors across the US and Canada who host meetups — the perfect launchpad for connecting with the community and learning the ropes.
the loyal century — Obsessed with this story yet? Then buckle up, because there's a whole kennel of tail-wagging, heart-pumping adventures waiting in every issue of Modern Dog magazine. Smash that subscribe button RIGHT NOW — you definitely won't want to miss a single paw-print!