There is no way to know when you’ll meet a sweet stray dog who wants to become your friend. At about 20 miles into the 155-mile cross country race Dion Leonard was running, he had to stop.
In March 2016, there was a 6-day foot race through China’s largest desert called the 4 Deserts Gobi. There were 101 people in the race, but Leonard soon found that he was competing against something else.
People ran the first 22 miles of a marathon when a little homeless dog came along. When Leonard was at the runners’ camp, he saw the dog. However, he didn’t know she would be in it for the long run.
As it turns out, she was looking for a race partner.
“On Day 2, I was at the start line for the race stage and she was standing next to me looking up at me,” Leonard told The Dodo. “I thought to myself this little dog isn’t going to last very long at my side as we raced off, but she ended up running the whole day and 23 miles distance.”
After Leonard crossed the finish line and settled in at camp, the dog still didn’t want to leave him. Leonard named his new friend Gobi. They were inseparable from that point on.
Day 3 was the same. With Leonard by her side, the once-unloved dog ran the 26-mile stretch.
“For a little dog Gobi certainly has a big heart and some pace to match,” said Leonard.
Gobi had to sit out on days 4 and 5 because the weather was too bad for her to participate. Instead, the race organizers gave her a lift to the finish line so that she could meet Leonard when he came in.
However, on the sixth and last day, she was back in the race. She ran with Leonard until they crossed the finish line together as a team.
Overall, Gobi ran more than half of the 155-mile race, which is a big deal for a dog. On the other hand, Leonard hopes that their journey together can go on even longer. He wants to take her with him to Scotland and make her his pet when he gets home.
It takes a long time and money to get a dog into the United Kingdom. Leonard wants to make it work. When he left Gobi, he left him with a trusted friend in China. Now, he’s started the process so that they can be back together. So far, many people have already given money to help pay for the procedure.
For a faithful running partner, Leonard says it’s the least he can do:
“Gobi picked me to be her pal for life, so I am doing what I can with some great support from around the word to make this happen.”
