Boy, 9, takes wrong turn on 5km race, wins 10km race instead

Photo / NZ Herald

It took 9-year-old Kade Lovell longer than expected to finish his 5km race in Minnesota, but only because he was busy accidentally winning a separate 10km race.

Lovell's mother became worried when he didn't cross the finish line of the Francis Franny Flyer 5km in Sartell on September 21. The St. Cloud Times reports she drove along the 5km route looking for him and was "bawling" when no one else saw him, either.

"I had everyone looking for him, even a fireman," Heather Lovell said. "I was like, 'You need to go find my son.'"

Then, a spectator called Heather Lovell's brother-in-law, who was in the 10km race, to let him know there was a "little kid who was running really well" in the 10km race.

Kade said a woman told him to keep going when he approached the 5km turn so he did, despite his confusion.

"A lady told me to keep going straight. So I kept going straight," he said.

Race organisers told Kade's mother he finished in first place and she thought they meant in his age group. But he was first-place overall. His finished in just over 48 minutes — a minute faster than the 40-year-old second-place contestant.

"He actually probably did better than he normally does because he was trying to finish and in panic mode," Heather Lovell said.

Even though he's only 9 years old, Kade is already an experienced runner. He started running with a cross country club when he was 6.

- AP