The Elkmont Trackless Train Treck Half Marathon in Canada received a surprise entrant when a bloodhound accidentally joined the race.

Ludivane, a two-and-a-half year old hound, was let out to her back garden to pee.

But her owner was left stunned when she escaped and found her way to the race.

And Ludivane didn’t just join in in running the entire 13.1 mile circuit - she finished in seventh place with a time of 1:32:56.

She would’ve finished with a quicker time had she not stopped to sniff a dead rabbit at the two-mile mark and deserted the track to check out a stream and play with cows in a nearby field.

The dog was given a medal for her efforts in the race, which was ran in 2016.

Her owner, April Hamlin, told Runner’s World: “All I did was open the door, and she ran the race of her own accord.”

Ms Hamlin only learned of Ludivane’s achievements after she received texts and friends from friends at the event.

“My first reaction was that I was embarrassed and worried that she had possibly gotten in the way of the other runners,” she added.

The hound’s efforts left her owner very surprised - as she’s usually very lazy.

“She’s laid back and friendly, so I can’t believe she ran the whole half marathon because she’s actually really lazy,” Ms Hamlin continued.

Jim Clemens, who finished fourth in the race, revealed what it was like to keep seeing Ludivane suddenly burst ahead of him.

“Every time I thought she had dropped off to go back home, I would hear her coming back up to me and she would race past me up to the two leaders,” he said.

She would run off to romp through the streams and into yards to sniff around for a while.

Imagine training for months just to be beaten by a dog!