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LOGAN — As Logan High School senior Gracie Laney neared the finish line of the 4X200 meter relay with a commanding finish Saturday, she felt footsteps coming from behind.
With her challenger closing in quickly, Laney gave it her all but it wasn't enough. She would be the second one to cross the finish line.
Yet, as she crossed, she nearly tripped over the competition — that just happened to be a puppy who had chased her down from a good 30 meters behind.
That's right, a tiny dog (breed unknown) carrying leash and all, ghosted runner after runner in its hunt for the first-place finish. The captivating race was captured by MileSplit, and shared on YouTube for all to relive over and over again.
And reliving that moment was something Laney has had a good time doing because, according to her, it all happened so fast.
"At first, I thought it was another runner and I was surprised because we had a pretty good lead," she said. "As it got closer, I thought, 'That's too small to be a person,' and then I noticed it was a dog."
In a matter of seconds, Laney's emotions went from fighting a competitor to being afraid for her physical well-being as she nearly tripped over the dog who crossed over in her lane. And when that didn't happen, she began to worry for the dog's safety because her shoes had spikes.
"When the dog crossed in my lane, I was afraid that I was going to trip over it, and then I was worried that I was going to spike it with my spikes," she recalled. "It all happened so fast."
As for the dog, nobody knows where it came from or where it went. Even so, it made for a memorable moment immortalized in digital (dogital?) cinema.
