Stray Dog Completed A 1200 Mile, 20 Day Bike Race

This puppy ran around 37 miles a day!!! The team gave her food and water along the way,
and occasionally helped him out with a ride on one of their bicycles.

A stray dog ran with cyclists across China, following them as they completed a three-week cycling race across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, covering more than 1,200 miles.

The small dog began her journey on May 4th, after Xiao Yong, a college student from Wuhan province, fed her a drumstick, according to NDTV. The dog, nicknamed Xiao Sa, or “Little Sa” ran alongside the cyclists the whole way, showing more endurance than even some of the athletes, who stopped at some points to ride a bus instead of bike.

Xiao Yong, who now owns Xiao Sa, stated:

“At first we didn’t consider keeping it and thought it just wanted to follow us for a while. But it showed a very strong willpower and followed us all the way here. There is a steep downhill slope in Litang, so to make it easier we made a cage for it.”

Xiao Sa soon became the team’s mascot, and a national hero in China. ABC News reports that a blog that one of the cyclists started, detailed their trip (reported to be a graduation trip among friends) and also the adventures of Xiao Sa, attracting over 40,000 followers by the end of the race.

The Telegraph reported that some fans even nicknamed her “Forrest Gump” after Tom Hank’s character that ran for months in the movie “Forrest Gump.”

Xiao Sa in her new home.