Runner Overtaken by Dog at High School Meet

A high school track meet in Utah notched a relay time over the weekend just short of a Usain Bolt record—but the victor was on four legs, not two. During a 4x200 Grizzly Invitational race Saturday that Logan High School runners seemed set to win, senior Gracie Laney was in the lead as she rounded the final turn, until a surprise competitor suddenly jumped into the race from out of nowhere, reports the Sacramento Bee. It was Holly, a goldendoodle belonging to Kate Heywood, a junior who was on the sidelines prepping for her own race. The dog sprinted onto the track and caught up to Laney from behind as she neared the finish line, as seen in this video of the event.

"At first, I thought it was another runner and I was surprised because we had a pretty good lead," Laney says of what she was thinking as she heard footsteps coming up behind her, per KSL. "As it got closer, I thought, 'That's too small to be a person.'" That's because it was Holly, who passed Laney and won the race, nearly tripping the high schooler as she followed right behind. Laney, not Holly, was given the official win, with a time of 1 minute, 59.27 seconds, though Holly's time was actually pretty noteworthy: She ran the final 100 meters of the race in 10.5 seconds, which is just one second behind Usain Bolt's world record, set in 2009. "Lol I can't believe I got beat by a dog," Laney wrote on Instagram. Heywood, meanwhile, says Holly often goes on runs with her, though she usually gets tuckered out after 5 miles or so. More on Holly here. (More uplifting news stories.)