How does a dog "accidentally" run a half marathon? Great question! It's actually pretty simple and straightforward. And hilarious. Mostly hilarious!
A half marathon is 13.1 miles. Something I doubt Ludivine, the two-and-a-half-year-old Bloodhound knew anything about before accidentally "competing." The "accident" part comes into play because Ludivine's owner didn't run or participate in the race. Ludivine got let out to use the bathroom on Sunday and somehow ended up at the starting line of the Elkmont Trackless Train Half Marathon in Alabama. When everybody took off at the beginning of the race, Ludivine took off too! It was reported that she stopped twice. Once to sniff a dead rabbit on the side of the road, and once to check out a few cows. I'm not surprised; Bloodhounds always follow their nose!
Despite her breaks, she still managed to come in 7th place! She finished at a hair over the 1.5 hour mark. Ludivine's owner, April Hamlin said:
“All I did was open the door, and she ran the race on her own accord. 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.”
The fourth-place finisher, Jim Clemens stated:
“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. She would run off to romp through the streams and into yards to sniff around for a while.”
Ludivine, you're a one of a kind character. We're glad you had a blast and got some exercise! If you liked this video, leave a like and share!
Frank says
I love it.