So, there was this half marathon in Maryland earlier this year. No one told one of the participants that this was a ‘humans only’ event. Apparently a dog, Dozer, had the urge to do a little running himself. Rumor has it that Dozer jumped into the fray somewhere around the 5 mile mark and completed at least 7 miles of the 13 mile course.
Maryland Half Marathon co-founder Jon Sevel said many runners spotted Dozer in various places on the course, at times lapping up water from cups at rest areas, but nobody realized the dog was running solo. After running the final seven miles or so of the event, Dozer found his own way home Monday morning. He’s in good health after a precautionary trip to the vet and he received a medal from race organizers on Thursday.
“This is a very sweet dog,” said University of Maryland Medical Center spokeswoman Karen Warmkessel. “When I saw him today, he looked great. He was really active, and now he’s raising money for cancer research.”
To that point, Dozer now has his own runner’s page on the Maryland Half Marathon website, where fans can make a donation to the UM Greenebaum Cancer Center.
“At the very least, Dozer will have his own bib number — K9,” said Sevel. “We will definitely have him involved.”