Dog wins medal and hearts of human runners

SYDNEY - A dog called Stormy has been awarded a medal after completing a half-marathon in outback Australia and winning the hearts of its human competitors.

The crossbreed diligently ran the 21-kilometer Goldfields Pipeline Marathon near the West Australian town of Kalgoorlie this month in two-and-a-half hours, the average time of participants.

"People were amused. It was a very friendly dog, and prior to the half-marathon, he was going around saying hello to a lot of people and when the race started, he took off with them," race organizer Grant Wholey said on Tuesday.