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Mitch Hutchcraft, The Great British Dog Walk. 700km for Rescue Dogs: “Adopt, Don’t Shop”
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In this episode, we speak with former-Royal Marine and world-record–breaking adventurer Mitch Hutchcraft, who completed the longest climb of Everest in historyearlier this year. Now, just six months later, he’s taking on a new mission — and this time, it’s all for the dogs.
Starting 3rd December, Mitch will run 700km / 16 back-to-back marathons from the UK’s lowest point in his hometown of Ramsey in Cambridgeshire, to the summit of Ben Nevis. Along the way he’ll visit multiple dog rescue centres, meet hundreds of owners, and highlight the urgent need to adopt, not shop as shelters across the UK reach breaking point.
The challenge was inspired by Teddy, Mitch’s new rescue dog who spent four years in a concrete cage on a puppy farm before being saved. Mitch hopes to shine a light on overcrowded sanctuaries, illegal breeding, and the thousands of dogs still waiting for a home.
In this episode:
- Mitch’s world-first 237-day Everest expedition
- Teddy’s rescue story
- Why UK dog shelters are overwhelmed
- What 700km in December will look like
- How people can join Mitch on the route
- Plans for a documentary + special guests
- How you can support the adopt-don't-shop message
Follow & support Mitch:
Instagram: @_mitchhutch
Live tracker + route: via link in his bio
Petition for improved dog breeding laws coming soon
Photo credit: Mitch Hutchcraft
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Transcript
Intro
Epic Everest Triathlon Completion
00:02:08
UKRunChat
Hi Mitch, thanks for joining us today. So just to start with, for listeners who aren't familiar with your story, what's the quick who is Mitch story? Because you you've actually come straight off the back of a huge challenge climbing Everest, haven't you? Yeah, so long story short, um my name is Mitch and yeah, six months ago longest climb of everest in history.
00:02:30
UKRunChat
It was a 237 day triathlon, 13,157 K of swimming across the English Channel, and then cycling across the world from France to India, then running and hiking from India sea level to Everest
Passion for Animal Conservation: From Puppy Rescue to Advocacy
00:02:45
UKRunChat
I've been back six months and I'm a massive animal lover, a conservationist, a solid zoology and a big lifelong dog lover. And two months ago, rescued cocky spanking puppy and he's inspired us to kind of, even though my body is still broken, to get back on the road to help us make dogs
00:03:02
UKRunChat
Yeah, it must take a lot of recovery from a huge expedition like that. you feeling okay or are you still tired? Yeah, I got the weight back on. I lost nearly 20 kilos on the expedition, so it was a lot of weight to lose.
00:03:15
UKRunChat
But I'm going to back up to it now, and even though it's going to hurt, I'm going to be able to get back on the road for something I care about. Yeah. So tell us about Teddy then. So he's he's a rescue, isn't he? And he's had quite ah a difficult start in life. He's very difficult. Yeah, he's four-year-old to school.
00:03:39
UKRunChat
went to many tears in wales and he was just kind of broken he'd never you know he lived a concrete k k cage outside kept his livestock for his whole life never had a walk his entire life four years never had a name you know never had anything and um so he was just he was just so kind most in know being a dog was
00:04:01
UKRunChat
think he came across him and she just kind of kind of had enough so we drove him over there then that was it and then we came back and we've got him for nearly three two and a half months now and yeah he's just we love him yeah you've got a dog already who no doubt has helped him kind of settle in haven't you yeah he's a big part of it a four-year-old golden retriever who I got from my mum when she was kind of having really hard time to kind of like a therapy dog but we've got him from a family friend and you know from it obviously a family home um so as i've never nothing to say obviously there's never absolutely nothing wrong with every responsible dog really in the family dogs and stuff it's just obviously the bigger up the wider picture yeah and so he came along and he was amazing was the amazing best big brother the world he was part of the my previous challenge as well so i pulled my podium for the first 2 000 kilometers across europe on the doggy trainer um he was kind of pipeald as well i so he's just the best adventure dog
00:04:56
UKRunChat
of that massive part this dog walk as well. Because Teddy's still learning how to walk, you know, because he hasn't walked for more than ever in his life. So he can't come straight in, whereas Buddy can come straight in and he can literally walk with me for 20k and he'll be absolutely fine.
00:05:09
UKRunChat
Yeah, oh, bless him. So, I mean, what did you see in the rescue centre and the puppy farms that's made you feel a have to do something about I was always knowing about it, kind of, even when I was college, how bad they are. It's just the conditions that they live in, you know, and they've got so much love to give and they've so much emotional, emotional personality.
00:05:27
UKRunChat
And it's just kind of, just had enough, I wanted to do something, just put in my little part
Planning a 700km UK Run: From Lowlands to Ben Nevis
00:05:32
UKRunChat
to help. It's the conditions, it's the lack of space in Richmond, socialization you noticed living in the cageboard in the entire life which is couple of other dogs to rely on and it's just yeah i wanted to do something yeah so where did the idea of the current challenge come from then so it's 700 kilometers isn't it yeah so i'm from cambridge a little village called ramsey literally two miles from where i went to school from went school is the lowest point in the uk is literally the woods
00:06:04
UKRunChat
oh wow
00:06:11
UKRunChat
And I've always loved mountains and I've always joked that the reason why I've done the longest climb Everest was because I'm from the lowest flattest part of the UK. And um so for I'm going to just run 16 back to my mouth from 700k from the lowest point in the UK to the highest point the UK. So from where I grew up to the top of Ben Nevis.
00:06:30
UKRunChat
Yeah, wow. So that does that does that daunt you, having come off the back of this huge challenge? Do you think you'll find it tough? Yes, I know. yeah My knee is obviously beating bits and it's going to be fast or glorious, it's going to be painful, but I don't care, it's just not getting the job done.
00:06:48
UKRunChat
Yeah. So to talk us through the route then. So what does it like actually look like on the ground? is it it's Obviously the end bit is very hilly, but what's the rest of it like? Mostly we'll be kind of on the road and that starts Peterborough kind of area.
00:07:03
UKRunChat
I said where I'm from, it comes up through on my kindos the Peak District, Edale, Sheffield, Manchester and then the Lake District, come to some Scotland, Glasgow, West Ireland way, all the way up to Scotland, I'll go up to the Benders.
00:07:17
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's going to be tough in December though, you see you set off on the 3rd, don't you? very Yeah, to the change.
00:07:28
UKRunChat
yaa was it So was the 16 back-to-back marathons, was that like the original plan or has it kind evolved? Yeah, it's when I worked out the distance and then broke it down into what would be a day. It's just kind of the number that it came out of. So how's Buddy going to get involved then? is Is Buddy going to join you for kind of certain
Rescue Dogs Join the Run: Raising Adoption Awareness
00:07:47
UKRunChat
stages?
00:07:47
UKRunChat
Relays, like intervals every single day. He'll start the day with me every single day. But then there's going to be other partners.
00:07:56
UKRunChat
they're going to be bringing rescue dogs to us. Oh wow. professional videographer who could be walking like these rescue dogs, making videos about their stories. And also, so try the other main aim is to try and get many dogs rescued as possible.
00:08:08
UKRunChat
Yeah. As physically possible. And yeah, basically, so it's going to hopefully every day there'll be different dogs, rescue dogs with us, as well as hundreds of people in the public, hundreds of members the public coming to join, bringing their dogs. We want to make this like the Forest Camp of all dog walks.
00:08:21
UKRunChat
Wow, yeah. I've got several celebrity guests, friends are coming to join. Oh, well who's joining? Tell us tell us more. who well like Football players, Benfogel, people like this.
00:08:31
UKRunChat
Yeah. Oh, wow. So how can people get involved then? Literally, just the route and the live tracker, everything will be on Instagram. Every single thing will be on there. The route, the kind of planned route, the kind of itinerary the days, but then there will also just be literally live tracker where anyone at any time can come and join at any Yeah, so people can just turn up. They don't have to book in or anything. No, no, no. Yeah, absolutely.
00:08:55
UKRunChat
Just turn up. bit With or without dog. With a dog's great. Preferable. You know I mean? Yeah, yeah. I've i've got a dog. She runs with me, actually. She would love that. I'm in Bolton, so I don't think your route's passing kind of right near us. I'll be very close.
00:09:09
UKRunChat
from Manchester, so... Oh, are I'm from Manchester, so I'll be very close to you. There'll be no excuse. Oh, okay. I'll check out the route then, and if I can join you, I definitely will, because she would love that. I've got to do my first talk I did when I got back from London.
00:09:21
UKRunChat
Oh, was it? Yeah. Yeah. It was interesting. I've got lots of friends from that area. yeah Yeah, it's a good part of the world. I would say that. I'm very biased. Yeah, it's great.
00:09:31
UKRunChat
Northern Ireland better. Yes.
The Importance of Adopting Rescue Dogs
00:09:35
UKRunChat
So, I mean, tell us a bit about the adopt not shop message then. What's what's the situation in UK rescue centres at the moment? It's just that they're at the breaking point.
00:09:45
UKRunChat
They're at the max capacity of. so upon um them properly and adopting the dog you know don't know short means and the dog, you know, they often have even more love to give and they're just misunderstood.
00:09:57
UKRunChat
So, know, dogs, they're not only that the rescue centers are so overpopulated that we need to take the pressure off them, but I suppose there's so many dogs out there that need, that have so much love to give, that need homes, that just, that I just, like, left when, but most of the most the time, though, it's knowledge, it's just, all it is is people who knowledge, people not knowing they're there, basically, and it's, that's what kind this is the main thing to do, is to just kind of bring that vision, knowledge and bring that kind of, just shine the light on it as much as we can really.
00:10:28
UKRunChat
Yeah, I mean, I guess, I mean, my dog's a rescue dog. My last dog was a rescue dog as well. And some are easier than others and some are more difficult, aren't they? Yeah, Yeah, Kind show people, like, it's mine's taught so many, so I'm like a patient.
00:10:43
UKRunChat
zone
00:10:47
UKRunChat
You grow with them, you really do. And a lot people think because they're a rescue dog they're going to be troubled, but that's definitely not the case a lot of the time. lot of the time they're just, you know, it could have been any dog and they just couldn't look after them or so many different circumstances.
00:11:04
UKRunChat
Yeah, that they are very different. I know my first rescue dog, she was the easiest dog in the world. She was just lovely. And my current dog is so anxious. But she like you say, she's taught me a lot. She's taught me a lot that I didn't really understand about dog ownership before.
00:11:19
UKRunChat
so they really do. That's what mean. They're just, yeah, people will understand. So that's the message. I'm talking about how much they actually teach you. So on of it, we'll start to see. We'll start to make more decisions.
00:11:31
UKRunChat
Yeah. So how many rescue centres are you visiting on the way then? This must have taken a huge amount of planning. Yeah, I mean, we're still very much in the process. I've only just started to reach out to them. But I know obviously I've got a person, a friend who's reaching out to each one individually.
00:11:45
UKRunChat
sure once they hear that this is coming past them, that it's going to be very easy. We've got these updates that are close to them. It's going to, yeah, hopefully there's going to be many as possible. We've got a list of 25 of them.
00:11:56
UKRunChat
Yeah, wow. And what are you hoping to kind of do in the rescue centres? You're just going to have some conversations with people. I will visit a lot of them myself personally. I'm doing a kind of video because I've got a professional videographer filming the entire thing.
00:12:11
UKRunChat
I'm hoping there be documentary after. I've got a friend who is BBC documentary maker who might be pitching it to the VX or Channel 4 once I have all the footage.
00:12:23
UKRunChat
So I will be doing interviews with people in the dog shelters to get
Documenting the Journey: Creating a Documentary
00:12:27
UKRunChat
more information and just... to do stories with all the dogs in there and i'm showcase the dogs from each shelter that need homes. Yeah, kind of everything.
Engaging Fans: Following the Journey on Instagram
00:12:38
UKRunChat
So day one, so you're setting off from Ramsey and you're heading up to Ben Nevis. So if if people can't join you on the road, how else can they support you with your mission?
00:12:50
UKRunChat
So literally by just by going onto the Instagram, sharing the best way they do it by literally sharing my page as many friends as possible and sharing every post because every single new follower, new friend that they tag is running towards that.
00:13:02
UKRunChat
But also by telling people, directing people to the link on the bio of my Instagram where there'll be information information, information on how to buy kind of things for these docs.
00:13:16
UKRunChat
yeah okay and just what's your instagram mitch just for people so it's just underscore mitch hutch underscore m-i-t-c-h h-u-t-c-h um normally people search mitch hutch okay you'll come up straight away if you just search m-i-t-c-h-h-u-t-c-h-mitch hutch but probably just say it's underscore underscore mitch hutch yeah and um yeah yeah we'll we'll put that in the show notes so if you do want to support mitch in his um challenge um then do do check out his instagram because all the information's in there and you'll be posting daily updates as well i'm guessing that's great yeah thank you yeah so so just what's your what what does your training look like for this because i guess you've been doing a lot of recovery haven't you because it's not really had much no i've just been running every other day so i'm running day on day off and i just kind of i've been doing my very
00:14:08
UKRunChat
lots of strength work squats and that kind of stuff. And it's just so yeah, basically just running and every other day when I can, kind of trying to build up know at least 10k if not more than I can on other days.
00:14:23
UKRunChat
And just, yeah, again, with kind of some strength and conditioning work as well. Yeah, that's also important. i think a lot of runners forget that quite a lot of the time, don't they? Yeah, and try to stretch as much as I can, which is hard.
00:14:34
UKRunChat
Yeah. So are you are you kind of generally a runner or are you going into this? No. I hate running.
00:14:43
UKRunChat
Yeah. So this is like big, this is big for you. Yeah.
00:14:50
UKRunChat
yeah so this is this is like big this is big field yeah
00:15:10
UKRunChat
just kind of yeah it's painful when I run as well yeah so is that what you're feeling most apprehensive about yeah just kind of after like few days you know just the way until how bad it will be you know what I mean yeah yeah but you've obviously got the mental resilience to know you can get through has it yeah yeah it is it is so which which part are you most looking forward to
00:15:38
UKRunChat
Yeah, lots of dogs. Lots and lots. Yeah. Oh, that'll be really lovely. Yeah. yeah so and know um long and jordan um
00:15:53
UKRunChat
yeah there lots of dogs like yeah lotss and lots yeah oh that'll be real little lovely play yeah Oh, well, thanks so much. Thank you so much for joining us today. That's right. Don't think it. I think so. Is there anything we've missed or that people need to know? That's it, really. There's a main message out there. And just to put on there, obviously, there is going to be a petition to try and change, to basically improve, tighten up the kind of legal dog breeding laws and stuff. I'm still getting the specifics, but, yeah, will be kind of mainly directing people to Instagram to do them three things, to share.
00:16:28
UKRunChat
this most walk and sign the petition. Yeah, all right. Oh, well, thank you yeah thank you so much, Mitch. It's been lovely chatting to you, and I hope it goes really well.