IN PICTURES: We tackled the Auchingarrich Clarty Paws Mud Run

Dozens of dogs and humans got absolutely filthy at the Auchingarrich wildlife park's second Clarty Paws run in the Comrie countryside

By Morag Lindsay

September 25 2023, 5:53am

Morag and Nancy on the slide at the Auchingarrich Clarty Paws mud run. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

I signed up for the Auchingarrich Clarty Paws run, thinking it was one of those dog agility courses like you see in the show ring at Crufts.

Three kilometres in, caked in muck, I found myself approaching the sign for the ‘mud slide of doom’.

It was round about then that I found myself wondering if Nancy is one of those hero dogs who runs to alert rescuers. (When I know in my heart she’s the kind who makes straight for the tea room in the hope of a scone).

Fifteen minutes later we were crossing the finish line: filthy, soaked, windswept and nettle-stung.

Morag Lindsay running through muddy puddle while Nancy the spaniel runs along the side. — Nancy got the brains in the family. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

One of us was wagging her tail though. The other was grinning from ear to ear.

And judging by the other faces in the car park, we won’t be the only ones signing up for the next Clarty Paws run at Auchingarrich in the spring.

Clarty Paws runners supporting Auchingarrich dog walk

Nancy and I were among about 40 pair of humans and dogs who completed the mud run on Saturday and Sunday.

Girl running with sausage dog at Auchingarrich. — Dogs in all shapes and sizes completed the course. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

The 5k course took runners through ponds and ditches, up and down hills, over obstacles and slides and past llamas and flamingos.

It’s the second time it’s been held at the wildlife park on the outskirts of Comrie.

Auchingarrich bosses are raising funds for a new safe dog walk by the burn that runs along the park edge.

They want to install fencing, dog bins, drinking facilities and a wash down/cool down shower for hot days.

Group of runners, covered in mud with a small terrier dog running out in front at Auchingarrich. — The Auchingarrich Clarty Paws run was a hit with dogs and their two-legged friends. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

Owner Alexa Reid said: “It’s a lovely area down there. We want to put in bridges and drainage, so people can come and walk their dogs for free.

“But it also means visitors who have come a long distance can let their dogs out to stretch a legs and then go and enjoy the rest of the park themselves.”

From Clarty Paws to Halloween

Auchingarrich was taken over by Alexa and Rob Matthews last summer. It is home to a wide variety of creatures including otters, lemurs, emus and wallabies.

The park recently welcomed the biggest flock of Chilean flamingos in the UK. The 43 birds arrived from another zoo near Cumbria and have quickly settled into their surroundings.