The race formerly known as Elkmont Half Marathon – The Trackless Train Trek, has a new dog marathon name. This all came about as the result of an unregistered race participant in 2016. Ludivine, known as “Lu” around Elkmont, accidentally entered the 13.1-mile half-marathon race because she is a curious bloodhound. When a group of people gathered at the start line near her farm home, Lu went to check out the commotion.
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When the runners started running, Lu started running. She kept running with the group of strangers through the entire course. She took a few rest stops to relieve herself and investigate some cows, but that didn’t affect her final times. With roughly 300 million scent receptors, it surprises us that the bloodhound didn’t get more distracted during the run. She placed first in the women’s division and seventh overall.
At the finish line, Lu earned a finisher’s medal, and the entire town celebrated her race results. Lu’s owner, April Hamlin, was unaware of her dog’s escapades until after the event. A friend called April during the award ceremony and told her she needed to come down there. During an interview with CNN, April said:
“Apparently she went to the race start and took off win the runners at the starting shot. She stayed with a few of the front runners, ran off to sniff some animal carcasses, romp in the water, and then back to the race. I understand she stayed on the course for 13.1 miles, finished seventh, and was the highest placed female.”
The race, now known as the Elkmont Hound Dog Half Marathon, was organized through 2020. We can’t find any record of the event since then. It is quite possible that it did not make the transition to post-COVID planning schedules. In 2017, race promoters used a unique banner as inspiration:
As a runner, I can attest to the fact that running a half marathon is a Herculean feat if you haven’t been training for the event. Lu’s mom, April, said that the dog was usually pretty lazy, and this was not something she would have expected her dog to do. But, alas, Lu did participate and took home top honors in her division. Her perseverance and dedication to the mission earned her a distinctive place in the history of the small town. Share this if you’d like to see this race return.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here.
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