Proud pooch finishes 7th in half marathon

But for one particularly frisky young hound dog, named Ludivine, it was something she chose to do on whim.

She told Runners World: “My first reaction was that I was embarrassed and anxious that she had possibly gotten in the way of the other runners”.

Ludivane performed well in the race.

The speedy dog completed the half marathon in 1:32:56, putting her in seventh place overall.

Two-year-old Ludivane, a bloodhound from Elkmont, a town with a population of only about 400, had been let out for a stroll by her owner, April Hamlin, when she came across the Trackless Train Trek Half Marathon.

What was unusual was that Ludivine kept pace with the runners all around the 13-mile course. “Later on, she went into a field with some mules and cows”.

She wasn’t made aware until her friends starting seeing pictures of Ludivane at the finish line pop up on Facebook.

“She would cut in front of us; I thought we were going to trip over her”, Henry recalled.

Even though the pooch strayed from the course a few times to sniff around, she still managed to cross the finish line moments after the runner who placed sixth – technically making her #7. “I saw her for the first time in the parking lot before the race”, said Horvath, Huntsville resident.

She added that Ludivine is “laid back and friendly, so I can’t believe she ran the whole half marathon because she’s actually really lazy”.

Best of all, the half marathon was devised as a way to raise money for the local cross country program, and the publicity Ludivine brought to the race could help that effort.