Accidental Winner

(image credit: Elkmont Half Marathon Facebook page)

Last Saturday (16 January 2016), paw-rent April Hamlin let her two-and-a-half-year-old pooch Ludivine out of the house to do her business but did not expect what her pooch would do next – complete an entire half-marathon! Following her tinkle, Ludivine wandered off. This did not cause April any distress as her dog has always been prone to roaming around the small town–which has a population of around four hundred–at her own will and most of the neighbours are acquainted with her. This time, however, Ludivine made her way to the starting area of the inaugural Trackless Train Trek Half-Marathon which was around half a kilometre away.

(image credit: Elkmont Half Marathon Facebook page)

The energetic pooch went on to mingle with the runners before running the entire 21km route. She crossed the finish line at 1:32:56, coming in seventh place in the race. Her participation in the race was no doubt a surprise for the organisers but they gave her credit for her run and awarded her with a medal, proudly displayed around her neck. Paw-rent April, on the other hand, only found out about her furkid's amazing feat when she received texts with photos of Ludivine from her friends who happened to be volunteering at the finish line.

(image credit: Elkmont Half Marathon Facebook page)

April had a hard time believing that her furkid ran the entire half-marathon because according to her, Ludivine is “actually very lazy” and “laid back”. However, many of the runners could testify that she did indeed run the entire course of the race. Right from the beginning, the pooch kept up alongside the race leaders although she stopped halfway to investigate a dead rabbit at around the 3 km mark. Apart from the slight distraction, her speed was consistent and she stayed within 50m of Tim Horvath, a resident of Huntsville, Alabama, who came in sixth place. Who knows, if not for the rabbit, Ludivine might have come in tops in the race!

(image credit: runnersworld.com)

Ludivine's appearance brought a lot of much-needed attention to the race and paw-rent April was thrilled that her furkid had unknowingly contributed to a greater cause. “It's the first half-marathon in Elkmont, and the people who started it are parents of the kids who run cross country…They wanted to try and fundraise because our school system doesn’t have a ton of money for cross country. Because of this dog, they are getting so much publicity, and I think that’s the best part,” said April.

Ludivine resting the day after the race. (image credit: runningmagazine.ca)

All proceeds of the race went to the cross-country and track & field teams at nearby Elkmont High School to help purchase training equipment and race entry fees for students. To learn more about the cause, head to https://runsignup.com/Race/Donate/AL/Elkmont/ElkmontHalfMarathon.