It was the eve of the 10 Milhas Garoto, a super-traditional street race on the Brazilian calendar, which drives Vitória and Vila Velha, in Espírito Santo, crazy and interrupts an entire shift of production at the almost century-old factory of chocolates and other delicacies Garoto, now a brand of Garoto. transnational Nestlé.
Context: the factory only stops three times a year, one of which is due to the test.
And, that Saturday, in front of a shopping mall in Vitória, the preliminaries were taking place, several short heats of races for children of different age groups.
An incredible stimulus to bring little ones into sport.
But what caught my attention the most in the program was the “cachorrida”, the dog race, a sport taken very seriously by some runners and which is beginning to multiply across Brazil.
In São Paulo, one of the races on the huge Santander Track&Field circuit, for example, also puts pets to sweat in the parking lot of Shopping Center Norte.
In Vitória, Marquinho Machado from Espírito Santo came in second, but considering the size of his partner, the Yorkshire Taís (a tribute to the actress Taís Araújo), weighing 700g, he should have ended up with gold, silver, bronze and platinum.
When publishing the video of the duo’s arrival on the networks of my website Jornalistas que Correm, with the dog being pulled in a sprint, a viewer became worried. “Dogs aren’t made for this,” he wrote.
Well, some weren’t done at all, trainer Feitosa Leal, partner at The Dog Resort, in Alto da Lapa, São Paulo, told me, and himself also an occasional trainer of racing dogs.
Dogs that have already crossed the Cape of Tormentas, aged 8 or over, should not run; dogs with any health concerns; those with long spines, like the dachshund (the one from “Cofap”); brachycephalic, those with a short snout and who constantly pant (French and English bulldogs, shih-tzu, pug).
“Of course there are exceptions, like those dogs with a lot of energy, who love to chase the ball. Those, trained and conditioned, can run.”
Even the Yorkshire Terrier Taís Feitosa might release it, depending on the owner’s behavior. “Very small dogs like Yorkshire dogs have energy, they are hunters, but they require more cautious training, they are hairy, they need to keep their hair trimmed so that they cool down well. And their stride is very short, they can end up jumping up and down. accompany the owner. We have to be very aware of the pace the dog can handle.”
Important: not all dogs can run, but all dogs must walk.
I never thought about pairing up a dog with my stray Marechal, who is estimated to be 9 to 10 years old. For people who see hidden meanings in everything, Marechal would deserve the role, as we met precisely after training.
About two years ago, when leaving USP, Marechal followed me after a 10 km, maybe 12 km gravel ride (mine), at Cepê (USP’s Sports Practices Center), crossed the access loop to Marginal Pinheiros, remained in socially acceptable distance across the entire length of the Cidade Universitária bridge and, seeing that his fate now depended on throwing himself with that stranger through the narrow pedestrian-only passage of one of those public streets turned private, he did what had to be done.
He didn’t even need to use his most persuasive “zapp” there, spinning his back on the grass while keeping his gaze fixed on his companion.
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