Dog accidentally enters half-marathon, finishes in 7th

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Monday, January 25, 2016
Ludivine, a 2-year-old bloodhound, races alongside marathon runners in the Elkmont Half-Marathon.
WeRunHuntsville/G Gelmis & J Armstrong

ELKMONT, Ala. -- These long-distance runners had a surprise finisher in their ranks at a recent race -- a 2-year-old bloodhound named Ludivine.

On Jan 16, 2016, April Hamlin let her dog outside to go do "business" out in the yard, but she just kept running, according to Runner's World. Ludivine kept running until she ran into the The Elkmont Half-Marathon (Trackless Train Trek), and unknowingly joined in the race.

In an email to ABC, Hamlin said "She is a wonderful pet, but she does like to sniff around when she's out of the house. She used to come to the school to find her two 'kids' at the playground and the school secretary would call me and I'd take her home...so, that's when I started keeping her up more."

Ludivine ran the entire 13.1 mile course in 1:32:56. Out of 165 finishers, she placed seventh overall.

"She's laid back and friendly, so I can't believe she ran the whole half marathon because she's actually really lazy," Hamlin told Runner's World.

Proceeds of the marathon go to the cross-country and track and field teams at nearby Elkmont High School.

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