Dion Leonard is an ultra-marathon runner who made a very unexpected friend in June of 2016 while participating in China’s 6-stage, 7-day, 155-mile Gobi March 4 Deserts race.

When he was about to begin stage 2 at the bottom of the Tian Shan mountain range, he noticed a scruffy puppy standing nearby on that cold morning. But his concentration was on the day ahead. Nevertheless, he remembers those kind brown eyes staring at him and smiling back at the dog.

Assuming the pup would take off after the starting shot fired and 100 runners raced off, Leonard was shocked to realize that the little terrier mix instead bolted right for him and began running alongside him.

Morning chill turned to sweltering desert conditions as the runners covered roughly a marathon’s worth of distance per day.

After running over the mountain, they ran across the Gobi desert that day. That’s how the pup got her name.

“The temperature was reaching more than 120 degrees, and we were running up to a marathon (26.21 miles) a day across sandy, dry, windswept plains. But no matter the obstacle, Gobi was determined to stay with me and didn’t let me out of her sight. It was incredible to see such a small dog tackling what for humans were inhospitable conditions,” Leonard recalled to ESPN on the eve of the publication of his 2017 memoir about meeting the sweet dog.

After running the 23-mile leg of the race, Gobi joined Leonard in his tent that night.

Other runners were enamored with the pup too, and even shared their rations with her to keep her strength up.

The next day, she ran with Leonard again, and he even picked her up so she could traverse the water barriers with him.

Gobi ran behind her new best friend for 77 out of the total 155 miles the race entailed.

At times, she even ran ahead of him as if to provide some motivation.

Gobi easily became the star of the show, running stages 2, 3, and 6 at Leonard’s feet. (She wasn’t allowed to run stages 4 and 5 because the temperature in the desert was over 120 degrees Fahrenheit and no one wanted the dog to suffer dehydration.)

According to The Chicago Tribune, in those cases, the race organizers actually drove Gobi to the finish line!

“To come in to the finish line and to see her wagging her tail . . . was just amazing,” Leonard recalled.

Leonard came in second place in the race overall and during the medal ceremony, the organizers bestowed an honorary medal on Gobi as well.

Once the race was over, Leonard simply couldn’t leave the little dog behind.

On the other hand, he lived in Edinburgh, Scotland and not only would it be costly to transport the dog around the world but there were also quarantine guidelines to abide by as well.

Luckily, Leonard’s wife was supportive of the move and the couple began crowdfunding the $6,500 it would take to bring Gobi to her new home.

They raised that and then some, with the remainder going to dog shelters in need.

Then, disaster struck.

Gobi escaped the facility she was being kept in before she could be quarantined. Leonard had briefly returned home to tie up loose ends and formally take time off from work to accommodate the little dog, and he was devastated when she went missing in a city of 3 million people.

But he didn’t give up – in fact, he went right back to China to help look for her.

And against all odds, they found her! Leonard called that day the best of his life.

“When we were finally reunited, Gobi ran across the room and straight into my arms. It was simply an unbelievable moment,” he told ESPN.

After 10 days missing she had a gash on her head, but it would heal and she could finally begin the 4-month quarantine process in Beijing.

Leonard then stayed in the city until he could bring her home.

After plenty of months, drama, and money, Gobi arrived in Edinburgh in early 2017 and everyone was thrilled to have her there – even the resident cat!

“From the moment we walked in the door, Gobi knew this was her forever home, even having a sister now too, our indoor ragdoll cat named Lara. They both love playing together and sleep next to each other every night,” Leonard said.

Gobi and Leonard still run together and now travel the world as celebrities, thanks to the bestselling memoir Finding Gobi, which will soon become a major motion picture.

The pair are in the U.S. right at this moment, spending time in Tennessee before making some more rounds on their latest speaking tour.

Be sure to watch the video below for more about their incredible story.

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Source: The Dodo via YouTube, Finding Gobi Official Website, @findinggobi via Instagram, ESPN, Chicago Tribune