This is the hilarious moment a cat suddenly joins a marathon and outruns the winner with an impressive advance shortly before the man makes the finish line.

Video footage shows the feline sprinting out at the last stretch of the race seemingly out of nowhere during the final moments of the 2023 Fuling Chongqing Half Marathon, held in south-western China, on October 29.

It darted out from the sidelines and onto the running track just as one of the runners was about to cross the finish line and be named winner of the 21-km-long race.

Seemingly determined to steal the win, it ran ahead, 'beating' the marathoner by several seconds.

Although contestant Wang Wanfu was declared winner, with a timing of one hour eight minutes and 36 seconds, it was the cat who ultimately stole the spotlight.