Nearly 30 dogs along with their owners will enjoy a 37.73-mile walkies at the weekend when they step (and trot) out to raise money for charity.

The ManxSPCA will be the beneficiary of their effort, with each participant pledging to raise £50 from the venture.

Organiser Pauline Dolman came up with the idea and will be taking part along with one of her three dogs, her pet chihuahua.

’It was just a crazy idea I had,’ she said.

’Last year I ran a pug party, so this year I thought we could do the TT course.’

In fact, the walk takes the form of a relay, with each pair walking just one mile of the course before handing the baton (or stick, ball or dog chew) to the next.

’Everyone has an assigned start and finish point and everyone has been out to check for parking and we will be driving around to check and help out. So we are just hoping for good weather,’ she said.

The walk is being supported by Isle of Man Trike Tours, who will run one pair over the 10-mile mountain section, from Waterworks to the Creg-ny-Baa. This was decided to allay safety concerns about walkers on the Mountain Road, the difficulty of swapping walkers in that section and exposure to the elements, should the weather deteriorate.

’The police said in principle we could do it but there were also concerns should a dog become loose on the road,’ she said.

MSPCA dog Max will have the honour of starting the relay from the TT Grandstand at 7.30am on Sunday and they hope to be finished by 7.30pm the same day.

Anyone who would like to offer sponsorship can contact Mrs Dolman at [email protected] and she can offer payment by Paypal.