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

Kade Lovell, 9, smiles with his medal for winning the St. Francis Xavier Franny Flyer 10k on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019 in Sartell, Minnesota. Lovell accidentally won the 10k last weekend after only planning on completing the 5k. Image: Zach Dwyer/The St. Cloud Times via AP

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

Lovell’s mother became worried when he did not cross the finish line of the Francis Franny Flyer 5 kilometers in Sartell on Sept. 21. The St. Cloud Times reports she drove along the 5-kilometer (3.11-mile) 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 10-kilometer race, to let him know there was a “little kid who was running really well” in the 10-kilometer (6.21-mile) race.

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

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

Race organizers 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. JB

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