Runner felled by stray dog

A competitor in one of Japan's most famous footraces has been forced to cross the line with cuts and bruises after being upended by a stray dog.

The runner was competing in the New Year Ekiden, which is a 100km relay featuring the countries top professionals.

He was nestled amongst a bunch of eight runners when he suddenly went down, but just managed to stop himself from a painful face-plant.

While the cause of his fall was initially a mystery, television replays showed a small black dog wandered onto the track and directly into his path.

It's just more proof that you can never work with children or animals.