A typical St. Bernard tops out around 17.8 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 25.99 mph. 4.9 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). Even a typical St. Bernard would beat most people in a 100-yard sprint.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 100 St. Bernards, a typical St. Bernard tops out at 17.8 mph, and half of them run faster than 18.7 mph. That makes the St. Bernard the 187th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
1 St. Bernard has topped 25 mph, but none has reached 30 yet.
Among the most popular Working breeds, the typical St. Bernard is the slowest of the 9. The Boxer is the quickest of the bunch at 25.2 mph, and the Samoyed (21.4 mph) runs closest to the St. Bernard. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 7.4 mph gap to the Boxer is about 3.36 seconds.
Heart Mountain Bridger's Wild West Dreamin' holds the fastest consistent run by any St. Bernard: 25.99 mph at the Harrisburg Shetland Sheepdog Club in Pennsylvania on July 6, 2025. That's 100 yards in 7.87 seconds.
Not lately. The typical St. Bernard ran 18.0 mph in 2022 (38 dogs) and 17.3 mph in 2024 (49 dogs). As more everyday pets join in, the average moves around.
Wisconsin has the most St. Bernard runs, 191 of them, followed by Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona. The fastest St. Bernard run in Wisconsin is 22.78 mph.
Short legs don't stop anyone from having a blast. Any AKC-registered St. Bernard over 12 months old can enter, small dogs earn twice the points per mph toward their titles, and the crowd always cheers loudest for the little ones. Have someone your dog will run to waiting past the finish line.
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Speeds from AKC Fast CAT results. Photographers: spotted your work? Tell us at [email protected] and we'll credit it or take it down.