CINCINNATI -- Last year, a back injury kept me on the sidelines.
But I’ve been dreaming about this race all year, chasing my neon green tennis ball around the house to get faster.
My name is Mini. I’m a 7-year-old dachshund who has a closet full of costumes and a mom who likes to dress me up.
On Friday, watch me outrun 99 other dachshunds to win Oktoberfest Zinzinnati’s Running of the Wieners race.
See ... I'm already a star. Here I am being interviewed with my mom.
You can follow me all week on WCPO’s Facebook and Instagram accounts as my mom posts videos of me getting ready for race day. I may even reveal one of my super secret pre-race rituals.
Lets start with some basics. I weigh 13 pounds and my mom calls me a “chunker” because of my round belly. Too many hot dogs, I guess.
I’ve been racing for five years. I’ve never actually won a Cincinnati Cyclones Wiener Dog Race, but I did finish third in a race two years ago. Did I mention there were 50 wiener dogs in that race?
This is me at the Cyclones game, where I took third place in their wiener dog race.
I was supposed to run Oktoberfest Zinzinnati’s Running of the Wieners race last year. But then I got hurt.
My mom doesn't really know what happened to me. She came home one night, and I was having trouble walking and I yelped when she picked me up. She didn't know that I was doing speed work in the kitchen, running back and forth between my dog dish and the window, trying to get ready for my race.
The vet said I strained my back, and he gave me pills for the pain. Then he said I couldn't run in the race, and I was very sad.
I was sidelined from the race last year because of a back injury, so I went to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati's Running of the Wieners as a spectator.
But I still went to the race (I rode in an Oscar Mayer wiener cart) and wore my hot dog costume and my bib number.
I got over the disappointment pretty fast though, because I am a dog after all, so I’m always happy.
“You’re really just sweet and nice to everyone,” my mom tells me.
Here I am at six weeks old. I only weighed 1.2 pounds.
I’d like to meet my competition before Friday. Please send photos and videos of fellow wiener dog runners to WCPO’s Facebook page.
WCPO will be following me all week on Instagram and Facebook, with videos and posts as I get ready to win my first wiener dog race!
