Dogs are fast. Like, really, really fast, as any dog parent will tell you. Even humans who fancy themselves to be really fast runners don’t stand a chance when it comes to outrunning their canine companions.

This is even true when the dog parent is a professional runner. Just look at this video of professional German track athlete, Marsha Dunkel, challenging her Border Collie to a race.

Now, this was certainly a “race” in the sense that both dog and human were running, but it was certainly not a competition. As fast as Ms. Dunkel may be compared to her fellow humans, she is no match for her Border Collie!

At the start of this race, Ms. Dunkel actually had the advantage over her fur baby. Her furry friend was preoccupied with retrieving a tennis ball at the start of the race, so Ms. Dunkel actually got a head start. At first, she was winning, but that didn’t last very long, LOL.

In just a few seconds, her Border Collie caught up with her like it was nothing. Of course, she was a good sport about it, with a big smile spread across her face as her beloved canine companion passed her.

It is worth noting that this Border Collie didn’t want to outdistance their human mom too much, and gradually decelerated while looking at her as if to ask, “So you’re gonna throw this tennis ball for me next time, right?”

Related: Border Collie Bringing His Deaf Canine Sister Back Home Is Pure Wholesome Sweetness

Social media users had a pretty good sense of humor about this one, with many of them joking about how unevenly matched this race was.

Instagram user leokokladis jokingly compared this Border Collie to a car when they wrote, “More aerodynamics, better intake system, plus a ‘4-wheel’ driving gear with almost 100 percent of power distribution at the rear axle. LOL!”

While Instagram user valiakriston had a similarly comedic take on this video when they wrote, “Both are having fun. The collie downshifted when he caught up so as not to demoralize the hooman too much.”

This Border Collie Almost ‘Lost’ One Race, LOL

As this other video shows, there was one time that this Border Collie almost lost a race to their human mama. Although we should note that this race involved the dog playing with the much bigger ball, which clearly slowed them down.

But then again, did this speedy canine actually lose this race? A comment on this video mentioned this being a “slow-mo video,” and the footage ends before the race had actually concluded.

Had the video kept going, and this footage not been in slow motion, we think this Border Collie would have easily overtaken their human mama to win this race, LOL.

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This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Jan 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.