Joshua wearing his marathon medal.

In a delightful twist at a recent half marathon in Conception Bay South, Nfld., a 68 kg (150 lb) goat named Joshua captured the hearts of participants and onlookers alike. Partway through the town’s T’Railway Trek half marathon, an eager Joshua broke free from his collar and joined the runners on the route—firmly establishing himself as the event’s clear winner, even though he didn’t clock the fastest time or run the whole distance.

Joshua managed to run nearly five kms of the 21 km course before being corralled by his owners. To commemorate his unexpected participation, he was awarded a medal.

Joshua resides at Taylor’s Pumpkin Patch, a family business co-owned by Heidi. Although she is unsure when he managed to escape his collar, she first learned of his race adventure around 9:30 a.m. when she noticed photos of him on Facebook. Taylor and her fiancé used the posts to track Joshua’s progress, bringing along a spare collar, leash, and a bag of his favorite snacks—Cheezies.

“We take Joshua for walks, he listens very well and will follow you,” Taylor said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “So when he’s seeing all the people running, he must have thought: ‘I’m going to go too.’”

Throughout the race, Joshua stayed close to the runners, skillfully navigating the course without veering onto the roads. “At one point, he was leading the race,” Taylor says.

Once she caught up with Joshua, Taylor took him to the finish line to celebrate with his newfound friends. There, race volunteer Jeanine Scott presented Joshua with his well-deserved medal.