Fresh from being crowned Most Inspiring Athlete at the 2026 Milton Keynes Inspiration Awards, pet shop owner and Pickles Cani Running Club Head Coach Jack Avery is preparing to represent Great Britain at the International Canicross Federation (ICF) World Championships in Poland this November.

For many athletes, a World Championship is the culmination of years of planning. For Jack, it all began with a reactive rescue dog called Fred.

The achievement is all the more remarkable considering Jack only entered his first Canicross competition in early 2024.

A former Sussex 400-metre hurdles champion, Jack had spent years competing on the athletics track, where explosive speed and power defined his career. Canicross –running attached to your dog by a bungee line – was never meant to become another competitive pursuit.

It simply offered another way to spend time outdoors with Fred.

“Fred and I discovered Canicross because I wanted another way to enjoy the outdoors with my reactive rescue dog. There was never a grand plan to race internationally. We were just having fun together.” 

That could easily have been the end of the story. But fellow Great Britain athlete Georgie Lambert saw something in Jack that he didn’t yet see in himself.

She encouraged him to enter a race. Just one. Jack agreed. The rest, as they say, is history. Less than two years later, Jack will proudly pull on a Great Britain vest for his international debut.

This November, Jack will race alongside Queen Bee, one of Britain’s most experienced international Canicross dogs.

Bee belongs to fellow Team GB athletes Georgie and Toby Lambert, two of the UK’s most respected names in the sport. Georgie has represented Great Britain on multiple occasions, earning national titles and international podium finishes, while Toby heads to Poland as the reigning ICF Masters Men’s Canicross World Champion.

For Jack, qualifying for Team GB is an incredible honour. Being trusted with Bee means even more.

“When Georgie asked if I’d like to race with Bee, I was genuinely speechless. Bee isn’t just an experienced championship dog—she’s Georgie’s best friend. Anyone who shares life with dogs knows what that trust means. To be asked to stand on a World Championship start line with her is something I’ll never take for granted.”