Man versus Horse Marathon
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The Man versus Horse Marathon is an annual marathon, with human and (mounted) equine contestants, which takes place in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells.
The event started in 1980, when local landlord Gordon Green overheard a discussion between two men in his pub, the Neuadd Arms. One man suggested that over a significant distance across country, man was equal to any horse. Green decided that the challenge should be tested in full public view, and organised the first event.
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[edit] History of the race
The first woman to run the race was Ann King in 1981. In 1982, the route of the course was amended slightly to give a more even match between the competitors. The course is slightly shorter than a traditional marathon at 22 miles, but over rougher terrain. In 1985, cyclists were allowed to compete too - and that year, U.S. ladies' champion cyclist Jacqui Phelan narrowly lost to the first horse. In 1989, British cyclist Tim Gould beat the first horse by three minutes - the first time that a horse was beaten by a human in the race.
In 2004, the 25th race was won by Huw Lobb in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 19 seconds. It was the first time that a man racing on foot has won the race, thereby winning the prize fund of £25,000 (which had been growing by £1,000 each year from the race's inception until claimed by a winning runner). The year's race also saw the highest ever number of competitors; 500 runners and 40 horses.
The feat was repeated in 2007, when human competitors outpaced the first equine competitor by up to 11 minutes.[1]
[edit] Winners of the race
| Year | Type | Winner | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Human | Florian Holzinger (2:20:30) | Geoffrey Allen on Lucy (2:31:26)[2] |
| 2006 | Horse | Denise Meldrum on Tarran Bay (2:10:29) | Haggai Chepkwony (2:19:06) |
| 2005 | Horse | Lise Cooke on Gifted Lady (02:19:11) | Martin Shaw (02:26:03) |
| 2004 | Human | Huw Lobb (2:05:19) | Zoe White on Kay Bee Jay (2:07:36) |
| 2003 | Horse | Robyn Petrie-Ritchie on Druimguiga Shemal (2:02) | Mark Croasdale (2:17) |
| 2002 | Horse | Robyn Petrie-Ritchie on Druimguiga Shemal (2:02) | James McQueen (2:19) |
| 2001 | Horse | Heather Evans on Royal Mikado (2:08:06) | Martin Cox (2:17:17) |
| 2000 | Horse | Heather Evans on Royal Mikado (2:08) | Mark Croasdale (2:10) |
