DAVIS, California (KTXL) Little legs can cover long distances. A California man and his Chihuahua are trying to make it into the record books for long-distance running in 2025. 

Jellybean, six years old and weighing nine pounds, was adopted by Andrew Owens in 2020. Owens said Jellybean stood up on her back legs when she saw him and the duo have been inseparable ever since. 

Owens had run with his other dogs in the past, and one day, he tried to see if Jellybean was interested. At first, she wasn’t, but as soon as Owens started to run away she reacted. 

“As I started to run away, she started crying and screaming at me like, ‘Where are you going?’ And so we just did a little bit because I didn’t want to hurt her. We did a half mile and then she started running around at home, and I thought, OK, I can take her on longer distances,” Owens said. 

He said that from that point on, the duo started running together and gradually increased distance over time while running with a local run group. Jellybean and Owens also trained together using 2-1 interval training.

“You run at a conversational pace for two minutes and then you walk for one,” Owens said.

Some runs are faster than others, but Owens said Jellybean usually matches the pace when they run together or with a group – all while monitoring Jellybean on all of their runs.

“We would run at maybe a 10-minute-per-mile pace but we need to be able to talk. Obviously, I don’t talk to Jellybean, but I’m monitoring her body language, does she have her mouth open? None of that happened, but you’re building a very solid base,” Owens said.

Owens is an avid runner and over the last five years, he and Jellybean have competed in several races together including six marathons and three ultra marathons. 

“She is my motivation and she motivates others as well,” Owens said. The training duo also like to share their training and adventures on Instagram at @Jellybean26.2.

Just as consistency and cross-training are important for anyone running a marathon, the same goes for Jellybean. Owens said Jellybean also likes to go on hikes with him. 

“Have I met dogs faster than her? Absolutely. But the difference in what makes her special is how many people have consistently trained every weekend 20 to 30 miles,” Owens said.

Each finish line crossed is a testament to their strength, endurance, and hard work, something more and more people across the community have started to notice.

“I’ll have people come up to me and say, ‘You know, we never plan on doing a marathon but she inspires us, she inspires us to meet our own goals,'” Owens said.

The New Year also brings with it new goals for Jellybean and Owens: setting a world record for time/distance running together.

“The goal is to try and make it in the record books. Not only for a marathon but also a half marathon,” Owens said.

Marathon training continues for Jellybean and Owens, with their next race likely to be either the Los Angeles Marathon or the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati.

“We’re eternal optimists. I believe if you put the work in anything you can make it happen,” Owens said.