When humans plan on running a marathon, months of training goes into the process. Early mornings, long runs, monitoring of the diet, and carbo-loading for the last few days before the race all are part of the training. The actual event is grueling, with exhaustion setting in around halfway, along with dehydration and muscle ache. The days after the race are generally consumed by stiffness, and sometimes even illness brought on by the strain on the body.
Dogs, on the other hand, seem to have no concept of fatigue, or a training schedule for that matter. This was proven by Ludivine, a 2-year-old bloodhound from Elkmont, Canada. As reported by Sportbible , the dog had been let out of the house by her owner to potty, and instead, the sneaky pup dug under the fence to join in a marathon that was being run nearby.
The garden fence was no match for Ludivine’s determination, as she squirmed and wormed her way under the obstacle, and decided a marathon was just what she needed for an outing.
She joined the humans who were running along the road, delightedly wagging her tail as she charged along with them, and apparently even stopped at one point when her intrigue was piqued by a dead rabbit lying along the route.
Other bystanders reported more breaks were taken by the proud pooch, who they claim even stopped to greet some cows along her way to the finish line as well.
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Despite numerous stoppages during her race — and the fact that it’s unlikely she ever paid the entry fee or collected her race number — Ludivine managed to finish seventh overall in the race. It took her a total of just 90 minutes to finish the 13.5 mile race.
Bystanders were only too delighted to snap photos of the precious pooch charging along with her tongue hanging out of the side of her month as she went along the route. Given her rather respectable finish in the race, the organizers awarded Ludivine with a medal as well, and she couldn’t look any prouder of herself if she tried.
Ludivine’s involvement in the race led the organizers of the race to change the name of the annual event, which is now called the Elkmont’s Hound Dog Half in her honor.
Ludivine’s owner, April Hamlin, spoke of how proud she was of her dog, despite the unplanned outing.
“All I did was open the door, and she ran the race on her own accord,” she said. “My first reaction was that I was embarrassed and worried that she had possibly gotten in the way of the other runners. She’s laid back and friendly, so I can’t believe she ran the whole half marathon because she’s actually really lazy.”
When you let your dog out for a minute and she decides to complete the Elkmont, Alabama Half-Marathon… #elkmontlu pic.twitter.com/QimK53hgOS
— April Hamlin (@hamlin_april) January 21, 2016
Other runners were shocked that the dog decided to run the whole race.
“Every time I thought she had dropped off to go back home, I would hear her coming back up to me and she would race past me up to the two leaders,” said Jim Clemens, who finished fourth. “She would run off to romp through the streams and into yards to sniff around for a while.”
This year’s race takes place on January 21, almost exactly three years since Ludivine decided she needed a bit of a run.
