Running a marathon is a big feat. It takes months and months of training,—you have to be physically fit, especially if you’re running a full marathon—you need to watch your diet, and the responsibility of finishing it to the best of your ability is all on you as a runner.
Now, imagine being responsible for your own time and finishing a 26-mile marathon from start to finish. Just as you’re a few miles into the race, you come upon a stray puppy. There’s an instant dilemma in your head: do you stop and look after the pup to see what happened to it and where it’s coming from? Or, do you continue running past the doggo, hoping that his/her owner will come to claim their pet? 43-year-old Khemjira Klongsanun chose the former, but with a twist.
43-year-old Khemjira Klongsanun was running a 26-mile marathon when she spotted a stray dog.
Khemjira spotted a lost dog just as she was hitting the 7-mile mark in the marathon that was taking place in Ratchaburi, Thailand. She also noticed that the other runners were passing by without paying attention to the pup. She was torn between continuing her race or stopping to see if the poor dog needed anything. Eventually, she made up her mind and stopped.
She stopped and coaxed the dog to come towards her so she can pick him up.
She stopped a little further off and kneeled down to try and convince the dog to come close to her; the runner didn’t want it attacking her, or for the dog to run away because he was scared. The initial thought that crossed her mind was that this dog needed help; there were no residential areas around so it was pretty clear that the Thai bangkaew breed puppy was either abandoned or forgot his way home.
Because she was still determined to finish the race, Khemjira scooped the dog up and ran the remaining 19 miles with the pup in tow.
Khemjira managed to get the dog close enough that she could pick him up and cradle him for a short while. But, her determination to finish this race was still lingering within, so she took the dog and ran the rest of the 19 miles with him in tow. As she crossed the finish line with the dog, the shopowner by day decided that she would take the puppy home. He is now adopted by Khemjira and is called Chombueng.
After crossing the finish line, Khemjira tried locating the pup’s owners but had no luck.
The woman wanted to cross the finish line and go find the owners of this dog but she had no luck. So, she took him home.
Talking about the experience of running with a dog, Khemjira admits that “running almost 20 miles carrying a dog was truly a challenge. It was two times tiring than a normal marathon but I did it anyway just because he is adorable.” She further mentions that it may take Chombueng some time to adapt to his new environment at their house but he will manage, she’s sure of that.
So, she’s adopted him for the time being and named him Chombueng.
Click on the link below to watch Khemjira run the 19 miles with the dog!
