Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A Minnesota 9-year-old took a wrong turn during a 5k race and ended up winning a 10k, coming out ahead of a field that was otherwise all adults.

Kade Lovell of St. Cloud was expecting to run the 3.1-mile version of the St. Francis Franny Flyer in Sartell but he missed his turn and ended up finishing first in the 6.2-mile version of the race, beating a field of competitors where the next youngest person was in their 20s.


The average age of runners in the race was 38, and the second place finisher, a 40-year-old man, finished a full minute behind Lovell.

Lovell said it was too late to turn back by the time he realized he had followed the wrong route.

"At the end where you had to turn around there's a 10k sign, I was like, 'This is not a 5k.' Once I turned around I was like, my mom is going to yell at me," he told WCCO-TV.

The boy's time was just over 48 minutes.

Lovell said he trains three times a week and is planning to compete in the Junior Olympics in the winter.