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Wayzata Man Loses 80 Pounds ... Skijoring

WAYZATA, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Wayzata man is only a portion of the man he once was after he lost 80 pounds in a very Minnesota-like way.

Here's a look at Dallas Johnson before and after he started skijoring. The sport combines cross country skiing with dog racing and the two are tethered together with a bungee.  But weight loss is just one of the ways skijoring changed the lives of Dallas and his pup, Comet.

Dallas Johnson Skijoring
(credit: CBS)

"I became this typical middle-aged guy, I was pushing 240 pounds. My days of being an athlete were long behind me and my body was starting to fall apart," Johnson said if his life back in 2009.

The transformation started in 2009, when he and his family watched the Loppet race.

"I looked over and I saw the skijor races going on and I thought this is the best thing in the world. I can have a dog pull me while I go skiing, I won't have to work was the idea," Johnson said.

His family adopted Comet, an Alaskan husky. He soon realized it was a lot of work for Comet and for him.

"Suddenly I found out I had to pull, had to work out with the dog, she wanted me to work too. I started to lose weight that way," Johnson said.

In just more than a year, he and Comet did it. Dallas lost 80 pounds.

"She's my coach, she wakes up in the morning, she comes to my bed and grabs my hand," Johnson said.

Along the way of this weight loss journey, Dallas and Comet got good, really, really good.

"We've been lucky. We won the national championships here last weekend at the Loppet," he said.

Come Sunday, the pair will travel to Germany to represent the U.S. in the World Championships.

"We have a dog who's very fast, she does a good job. I'm probably skiing in a class of skiers that I don't deserve to be skiing in," Johnson said.

Proving there's not much a dog and her human can't do.

"Well we want to win. Comet loves, loves to win," Johnson said.

Win or lose, Comet is awarded with a dog biscuit at the end of every race. Dallas tries to stick to salads.

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