A dog that accidentally entered a half marathon after being
let out to pee by its owner ended up finishing seventh in the race.
The impressive performance was by a two-year-old bloodhound
called Ludivine from the town of Elkmount, Alabama.
Her owner April Hamlin, 43, let the dog out to take care of
her private doggy business, only for her to wag her tail into the Trackless
Trek half marathon in the town.
Instead of stopping, Ludivine kept ploughing her way around
the course and ended up finishing in seventh place overall in an impressive
time of just under 1 hr 33 minutes.
On their Facebook page, they wrote: “This is Ludivine – she
ran the entire half marathon and finished 7th overall with a time of 1:32.56.”
Ms. Hamlin said she only became aware of Ludivine’s
escapade when her friends started sending her photos of her dog at the finish
line.
“My first reaction was that I was embarrassed and worried
that she had possibly gotten in the way of the other runners,” she told
Runner’s World.
“All I did was open the door, and she ran the race on her
own accord.
“She’s laid back and friendly, so I can’t believe she ran
the whole half marathon because she’s actually really lazy.”
Unfortunately, the race results omitted Ludivine, posting
instead the time of her guider Jon Elmore, who completed the race at the exact
same time.
Ludivine pads along beside participants at the first half
marathon to be held in Elkmont, Alabama.PHOTOGRAPH BY WERUNHUNTSVILLE/GREGG
GELMIS
Ludivine took off with runners from the start of the race
downtown. PHOTOGRAPH BY WERUNHUNTSVILLE/GREGG GELMIS
Tim Horvath ran most of the race alongside Ludivine.
PHOTOGRAPH BY WERUNHUNTSVILLE/GREGG GELMIS
Ludivine makes her final strides to the finish line; the
pup poses with her finisher's medal.PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JAKE ARMSTRONG/APRIL
HAMLIN
Ludivine dog-tired the day following the Elkmont
Half-Marathon. Photo: April Hamlin (owner).
Ludivine in her early days. Photo: April Hamlin (owner).
