When April Hamlin opened up her door to let her two-year-old pooch, Ludivane, out for a stroll, little did she know that the bloodhound would soon become a local hero.
Discovering the Elkmont half-marathon on her wanderings, Ludivane decided it was one run she couldn’t turn down. Not only did she join in, but she ran the entire 13.1 miles.
1hrs 32mins 56secs later, Ludivane had placed an impressive seventh place, putting most other runners’ times to shame. April herself was completely oblivious to ‘Ludo’s’ activities until friends started to send pictures of the proud hound at the finish line.
The canine’s efforts were valiantly rewarded with a medal by the powers that be at Elkmont half-marathon, along with a statement that read: “This is Ludivane – she ran the entire half marathon and finished 7th overall with a time of 1:32.56.”
Ms Hamlin told Runner’s World US: “My first reaction was that I was embarrassed and worried that she had possibly gotten in the way of the other runners
“All I did was open the door, and she ran the race on her own accord.”
Ludivane, we salute you!
