Muddy Dog FAQS

The Muddy Dog Challenge is a dog-friendly obstacle event where humans can run or walk with their dogs. The event is fun, light-hearted and celebrates that irreplaceable bond between humans and their four-legged friends, all organised to raise much needed funds for Battersea.

We have 2.5k and 5K events taking place in the New Forest and West Sussex, and a new urban twist on the event which is a 3K course in London.

• London – Saturday 4 May 2024
• New Forest – Saturday 18 May 2024
• West Sussex – Saturday 25 May 2024

Due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the unpredictability of the year ahead, we have made the difficult decision to reduce the Muddy Dog series to three events in 2024, to be held in the New Forest, London and West Sussex. Many of the costs involved in running the Muddy Dog Challenge events have continued to increase, therefore hosting the number of events we have in the past unfortunately isn’t going to be possible in 2024. We have really enjoyed hosting events across the UK and hope to be back with a bigger series of Muddy Dog Challenges in the future.

We would like to share a heartfelt thank you with everyone who has attended Muddy Dog events and supported Battersea in the past, we simply couldn’t do what we do without your support.

Participants must be at least 8 years old on the day of the event. All participants purchasing an adult ticket must be aged 18 or above on the day of the event. To ensure the safety of all participants children aged 8-17 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or above. Child tickets can only be purchased alongside an adult ticket. Please note, the accompanying adult is required to be responsible for the dog and hold the dogs lead.

Dogs must be 1 year old on the day of the event.

We have participants of all ages and abilities taking part in the challenges. The events are all about having fun and are very light-hearted. You are welcome to run the course, walk the course or do a bit of both. You are able to walk around any obstacles that you don’t wish to complete. If you are unsure about your ability to complete the course, we recommend speaking to your GP.

To try to reduce our carbon footprint at our events we have made significant changes including:

• We do not provide single use plastic water bottles but instead use refillable water containers which are filled with tap water for our participants, volunteers and staff.
• Volunteers and staff are encouraged to bring their own refillable bottles and all our cups for our participants are bio-degradable.
• All our caterers are requested to not provide single use plastic.
• Our medals are made from wood and bamboo.
• Race pack envelopes are recyclable and none of the contents are plastic wrapped.
• We limit single use signage wherever possible and the majority of our cable ties are reused at future events.
• We have recycling bins at all our events.

Please email muddydog@battersea.org.uk

The New Forest and West Sussex events have a 2.5K and a 5K route option to choose from. The 2.5K routes will have 10 obstacles, and the 5K route will have 18 obstacles. There is a mix of muddy, wet and agility obstacles – don’t expect to come home clean!

The London event has one 3K route with 8 obstacles. This event focusses more on the agility style obstacles, there may be a little mud along the way, but you don’t need to worry about finishing this one covered in mud.

Choose your venue and select the ‘I want to get muddy’ button. You will be taken to ‘Enthuse’ where you can choose to enter as an individual or create/join a team.

Select the amount of tickets you would like to purchase. Child tickets will appear when you have selected an adult ticket. If you are running with a dog you can run with one child, if you are running without a dog you can run with two children.

Yes, all participants will be required to pay a non-refundable registration fee, regardless of whether they are registering as a team.

We may be able to change your start time, but this is dependent on the number of dogs in the wave you would like to change to. We cannot guarantee you will be able to move to a particular wave, but we will try our best to accommodate any change requests we receive. If you and a friend have registered separately but would like to have the same start time, please email us and we will do our best to ensure you can start together.

Please email the Muddy Dog Challenge Team at muddydog@battersea.org.uk with the details of your registration and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Please note that registration fees are non-refundable.

On the first page of the registration form click ‘Create a new team and register’. You can then register and pay for all the members of the team. Alternatively, you can enter your friends’ email addresses and they will be sent an email asking them to register and join your team. If you would like anyone to join your team at a later date, they can click ‘Join a team and register’ on the first page of the form and find your team by searching for the team name or team captain’s name.

Select the amount of tickets you would like to purchase. Child tickets will appear when you have selected an adult ticket. If you are running with a dog you can run with one child, if you are running without a dog you can run with two children.

The booking system allows 10 per team. If you would like more than 10 people in your team, please get in touch with us at muddydog@battersea.org.uk

On the first page of the form click ‘Join a team and register’, you will then be able to search for the team name, or team captain’s name. If your friends aren’t in a team, but you’d like to run at the same time as them, please email us and we’ll try to accommodate that for you.

No, you can use any form of fundraising they like. All we ask is that if you use Facebook to fundraise that they let us know as often it is difficult to locate funds from this fundraising platform.

Yes, but we would ask that you let us know by emailing muddydog@battersea.org.uk as the funds will only show on the person who sets up the page so we need to make sure that our records show that the JustGiving page is being shared.

Any money raised on JustGiving comes to us automatically so there’s nothing you need to do once the page is set up

Yes, we ask that every participant raises £100 to help support Battersea.

Under 18 participants do not have a fundraising target, however we encourage their accompanying adult to try to raise a bit more if they can.

The registration fee goes towards the cost of putting on the event including venue hire, obstacle design, build, and set-up, first aid and vet cover, and marketing. You will also receive a t-shirt and medal, and bandana and rosette for your dog on the day.

We ask that every adult human participant raises a minimum of £100 in sponsorship so that we can ensure as much money as possible goes towards helping our dogs and cats. You will be given up to one month after the event to complete your fundraising, so you do not need to have raised the full amount by event day. We will be providing you with lots of fundraising advice in the lead up to the event and our dedicated team will be on-hand to support you with your fundraising. If, after one month, you are still unable to reach your target, you will not be liable to make up the shortfall, but we will encourage you to continue to fundraise if possible.

You don’t need to be able to run a marathon to take part, but you’ll need to be relatively fit, particularly if you’re taking on the 5km course. You can choose to run or walk the course, or a bit of both!

This is an outdoor challenge event so please make sure you come prepared for all weather conditions. We recommend you wear running leggings, shorts, or comfortable trousers and comfortable trainers (that you don’t mind getting muddy!). Please ensure your trainers are done up tightly to avoid losing them in the mud. If it’s chilly, you can wear a long-sleeved top under your Muddy Dog Challenge t-shirt.

Keep an eye on the weather forecast leading up to the event. If it is going to be hot please ensure you wear a hat, sun cream and appropriate clothing. It is important that you keep yourself and your dog hydrated throughout the day and keep to shaded areas where possible. If it is a hot day we will consider shortening the course and if it gets extremely hot we may consider closing the course. Please check the Muddy Dog Facebook page for updates in the lead up to event days.

There will be no timing chips at the event, so please take note of the time you set off and finish.

There will be a rinsing station at the New Forest and West Sussex events where you can rinse yourself and your dog after the event.

There won’t be a rinse station at the London event due to restrictions at the venue, however we will provide buckets of water and sponges for rinsing off.

We recommend bringing a change of clothes for your journey home.

Each event opens at 9:30am, with waves going off every 10 minutes from 10:00am. All participants will select a preferred time slot when they register online, and your final start time will be sent out to you via email a couple of weeks prior to the event. If you don't receive an email with your start time confirmation, please email muddydog@battersea.org.uk and we will let you know when to arrive. Please arrive no more than 30 minutes prior to your final start time.

If your spectators would like to sit down, we recommend they bring camping chairs or picnic blankets, as there’s limited seating.

At the New Forest and West Sussex events spectators are able to watch you tackle obstacles out on the course from the dedicated Spectator Viewing Area, which they can walk to from the Start and Finish area. They are not permitted to walk along the course itself.

At the London event spectators are welcome to watch you tackle all obstacles.

In the start and finish area you’ll find the information gazebo, valuables drop, toilets, first aid, vet cover, a small selection of food and drink stalls, paddling pools and drinking water for dogs, and somewhere to rinse off.

Yes, you can - however, please be aware that you will be getting wet and muddy and you may need to crawl under obstacles, etc. Your Go-Pro may need to be taken off or folded flat in these situations.

Yes, a company called Sports Action Photo will be taking professional photos at one obstacle, and at a podium at the finish line, which you can purchase after the events. They will be available 24-48 hours after each event.

It’s fine for dogs to take part with a muzzle.

No, only one dog is allowed per adult participant.

All the obstacles are designed so that if a person or dog doesn’t want to take them on, they can walk around and move onto the next one. If you are concerned about your dog’s health or ability to take part in the event, we recommend you seek advice from your vet.

We would absolutely love for every dog to be able to take part, however there are many excitable dogs at each event, and it can be a very overwhelming experience, especially for reactive dogs. Due to the nature of the event, it is not an ideal environment for reactive or fearful dogs, which is why we ask that every dog is sociable around other dogs. If you would like to discuss this further please email us on muddydog@battersea.org.uk. If we feel that your dog is becoming reactive or stressed on the day, you may be asked to leave the event by a member of the Battersea Team.

Yes, this is fine although you take part at your and your dog’s own risk. The main function of a titer test is to show the level of immunity a dog has to certain viruses such as parvo virus however one of the difficulties with a titer test is that the immunity can change depending on the length of time since the last vaccine and the longer the time frame, the less exact the result becomes. Our concern is obviously the safety of the dogs taking part and if your dog is not vaccinated then s/he is more susceptible to viruses such as parvo but also others such as distemper, hepatitis, para influenza and leptospirosis. We would strongly recommend that you speak to your vet about having a titer test instead of a vaccination which is what we would naturally prefer for safety reasons.

We would urge you to firstly seek advice from your vet and if they are happy for your dog to take part then please contact us at muddydog@battersea.org.uk. We ask you to contact us so that we are aware of your dog’s needs and we are then able to provide additional support if needed. It is important too that we communicate your dog’s needs to our Canine Team onsite at the event.

Your dog must be on lead at all times whilst at the event, including out on the course. We strongly advise using a harness to attach your dog’s lead, instead of their collar. This will reduce the tension around their neck and ensure they are as comfortable as possible.

Canicross style leads are permitted. 

Slip leads and extendable leads are not allowed.

Please visit our volunteer page to find out more information and to register to volunteer at one of the events.

We have lots of different volunteer roles available on the day including:

• Looking after an obstacle which might involve helping participants and their dogs through the obstacle, holding the dog's lead while a participant makes their way through and cheering them on
• Checking participants and their dogs in before they start the course. Handing out water to keep participants and their dogs hydrated
• Cheering on and high fiving participants as they come through the finish line
• Handing out medals and rosettes
• Helping participant rinse down their muddy dog after they finished
• Manage the participants bag drop

Several of the volunteer roles will include spending time on your feet, often amongst crowds and dogs, and may be in areas that do not have full mobility access, particularly roles supporting along the course. However, we do have some roles based in the event village, where more seating is available. You will be allocated a role on the event day but If you would like to discuss roles ahead of this, please email us on muddydogvolunteer@battersea.org.uk

You will be volunteering at the event for the whole day, starting at 8.30am and finishing between 3pm and 5pm. If you need to arrive late or leave earlier, that is fine but please let us know in advance by emailing muddydogvolunteer@battersea.org.uk

You will receive important information via email ahead of the events. You will get a t-shirt and thank you gift on the day, which you can take home.

We will provide snacks, hot drinks and water on the day, however please bring your own lunch.

No, please do not bring your dog with you if you are volunteering on the day. You will not be able to volunteer with your dog.

Yes, you will be able to claim up to £10 for your travel per day of volunteering. You will be provided with snacks on the day but not a full lunch. Unfortunately, we are unable to cover your lunch expenses.

Please email us on muddydogvolunteer@battersea.org.uk

There is plenty of free parking at the New Forest and West Sussex events. However, there is no event specific parking at the Crystal Palace event. Free parking is available at the Thicket Road, Anerley Hill and Crystal Palace Park Road entrances to the park, however spaces aren’t guaranteed. We would therefore encourage anyone that is able to do so to travel to the event by public transport. The park is a short walk from both Crystal Palace Station and Penge West Station and there are multiple buses serving the park. The start of the course will be at the Crystal Palace Bowl , please head there when you arrive at the park.

Although cases of Alabama Rot in the UK are rare, this disease can have serious or fatal consequences for dogs, so Battersea would encourage all dog owners to take care to look out for the early symptoms in their own pets. The first symptoms of Alabama Rot are typically skin lesions, ulcers, or sores that appear on the legs, body, mouth or tongue and the dog will often lick at the sores. Although an environmental cause for this disease is considered possible, e.g. bugs in mud, it has not been proven with testing to date.

As little is yet known about the cause, it is difficult to give specific advice about prevention. However, dog owners are advised to consider washing their dog if they become wet or muddy on a walk and to regularly check their dog over for any sores. Over 90% of cases of Alabama rot are seen between November and May. If an owner finds an unexplained skin lesion(s), ulcer(s), or sores, not caused by any known injury, we encourage them to seek advice from their own vet immediately. It’s far better to be safe than sorry.

We’re consulting with the UK’s leading specialists on the disease, Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, to ensure we have as muchinformation about the disease as possible. The risk to dogs taking part in Muddy Dog Challenge is considered very low, and although an environmental cause for this disease is considered possible, e.g. bugs in mud, it has not been proven with testing to date. Over 90% of cases of Alabama rot are seen between November and May. If you have any concerns about taking part, please seek advice from your vet.

Further details about the disease can be found here. We recommend that you seek advice from your vet if you have questions or concerns thereafter.

There is no age, sex, or breed predisposition. No medical problems have been proven to predispose the disease.

There is no evidence to suggest Alabama Rot affects humans or any other animals.