Blog: Wombling free by Georgia Fuke

Womble living his best life!

Womble came to me at four months old. He had quite a turbulent start in life and no stability during his key developmental stages, but his fourth move would be to his fur-ever home … mine. Understandably, these early experiences left him an insecure and anxious pup carrying a lot of "baggage." Our journey faced challenges and frustration, and it took time to truly understand him. 

At the time of Womble's arrival, I had not long started canicross with my other dog Timmy, who much prefers to take in the scenery at a steady pace rather than race across the countryside. But he enabled me to take part in the sport. As Womble grew, it became clear he would surpass his little-big brother in size and have much more energy and enthusiasm (that's me politely saying he was a lunatic!).

I soon realised I had an opportunity to shape a new running partner, and I felt confident that Womble would genuinely love canicross. At this point, I knew he was too young for canicross, but I made running a focus of our training. I worked hard to prepare him as best I could for the day he would be old enough to try.

Canicross proved to be the saving grace for our relationship. Dealing with a difficult dog and trying to undo past trauma takes its toll. However, Womble has gone from a complex, worried, insecure dog to one with confidence. With each success, his view of the world changed. He became a far more grounded dog, and I started to enjoy his company rather than be stressed by it. We both found we had a purpose, and I was beginning to see his true potential.

Today that once worried puppy afraid of his own shadow is now a 22kg running machine! We are nearing the end of our first season, and I could not be more proud of him. He has helped me achieve things I never thought possible, as I never considered myself a runner. As the season draws to an end, our highlights are crossing the finish line at the gruelling Cani-Trail UK half-marathon and finally achieving a sub-30-minute time in the 5km during our first race of 2026, a target I’d been aiming for throughout 2025. We have two races remaining, with the next one being particularly special as my boyfriend will be running with Timmy. They began running together at the end of last year.  

Womble will have a well-deserved break over the summer. Having seen what he can achieve, our goals have moved. I am committed to working hard to become as fit and fast as I can so we can reach our full potential. We have new competition targets in our sights for the upcoming season! 

Womble isn't so sure about the bath