Lockdown puppy leads woman to international husky racing

When Danielle Marshall picked up her new puppy Luna in 2020, she had no idea it would lead to her representing her country in sled dog racing.

The 32-year-old, from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, was looking for ways to tire out her energetic and headstrong new husky cross.

She found groups of other owners who were running with their dogs tied to their waists, so she thought she would give it a go with Luna.

Danielle now spends 12 hours every week racing a team around Nottinghamshire's forests, and is preparing to take them to Sweden to represent Great Britain on the international stage.

"What I enjoy the most about it first and foremost is the dogs, it's that we get to enjoy something together," she said, shortly before she let her team of baying huskies dash off into the woods.

"We do this amazing sport as a team and it's both of our efforts together.

"I love dogs and I think it's absolutely incredible what a dog can do.

"I also really like the adrenaline. You can't ride around on roller coasters all day so I do this instead."

Danielle and her husband Jacob were looking for a dog during lockdown and agreed on a husky.

They found Luna, now six, because her previous owners had decided they could not keep up with the amount of exercise the breed needs.

Danielle started running with Luna tied to her waist, a sport known as canicross, but at a husky event, she took it further.

They had a taster session where you could add your dog to a team of others and get pulled around on a wheeled rig.

She gave it a go, and fell in love.

Danielle got more involved in the sport and started training with a coach, attending racing events around the country.

She and her and her husband have bought three more since getting Luna, enough for a team.

That team now includes six-year-old Siri, who she said is the "engine".

At the front is Moose, a three-year-old from Poland who is the "brains" of the operation – meaning he makes decisions about which way to run.

He is supposed to follow her instructions, but sometimes has other ideas.

In the middle is four-year-old Willow, who she joked "just looks pretty".

Luna cannot take part in all of the events as she is not a pedigree, but she still trains with the others.

The dogs play such a large part in the couple's lives, they came to her wedding earlier this year.

She said: "A lot of my friends and family just think that I'm absolutely mad.

"But I think I've always been like that, doing things that are sort of out of the ordinary."

The sport, also known as dry-land mushing, involves tying one or more of the dogs to something with wheels, such as a bike, scooter, or specially designed three-wheel "rig", and then letting them run and pull you along.

You control their movements by shouting commands.

It is done on dryland, rather than snow, which is more convenient in Nottinghamshire's climate.

Danielle won silver in the British Sleddog Sports Federation national championships for the 2025-26 season, racing in the four-dog rig and two-dog scooter events.

This qualified her for her first international competition, the International Federation of Sleddog Sports Dryland European Championships, where she will be part of the Great Britain team.

She will be racing in the 5.5km (3.4 mile) two-dog scooter race and the 4.5km (2.8 mile) four-dog rig race.

Each event is run twice and the fastest overall racer and dogs wins.

She is self-funded and works a 9-5 office job. She will be driving herself from Worksop to Gävle in Sweden with her dogs in a van to make the contest, scheduled to take place between 14 and 18 October.

According to her coach Vickie Pullin, the sport is not recognised by the UK government and so athletes are not eligible for state funding, but Danielle will be competing against paid professionals in Sweden.

The 41-year-old said: "It's hard enough being a human athlete and having to worry about your individual sport, but having to train an animal on top of that and a full-time job, it's a big commitment, so she's done amazing.

"The IFSS is one of the largest governing bodies in our sport.

"The competition that she's going to have, it's the highest there is in the world.

"So it's big, it's huge, it's an amazing opportunity for her and her dogs. And I actually think she's going to do really well."

While she is also excited for the challenge, and is hoping for a good result, for Danielle, it is still mostly about having fun with her dogs.

"First and foremost, they're definitely my pets," she said.

"And then it just helps that they're also absolutely amazing teammates as well."

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