Man vs Horse
One of the most famous races on the calendar takes place on Saturday (11 June) in the glorious mid-Wales countryside nr. Llanwrtyd Wells. The legend that is Gordon Green set up this intriguing battle way back in 1982…
The Green Events team have since gone on to add such brilliant, mad-cap events as the World Bog Snorkeling Champs to their roster.
Last year’s running race was won by Kenya’s Haggai Chepkwony, but was easily outwitted by the equine skills of local rider Llinos Jones on-board Sly Dai in the overall stakes.
The Man v Horse Marathon began in June 1980 following a chat over a pint in the Neuadd Arms Hotel. The then Landlord, Gordon Green overheard two men discussing the relative merits of men and horses. The enterprising Gordon, never one to miss an opportunity to promote Llanwrtyd Wells and improve business at his hotel, decided to put it to the test. And so began Green Events and its first, longest standing and now internationally acclaimed event, The Man versus Horse Marathon.
The course was changed in 1982 to provide a more even match between the man and the horse resulting year on year in very close finishes – sometimes with the horse winning by only a few seconds. It took 25 years before a man finally beat a horse, Huw Lobb won in 2hrs and 5mins beating the fastest horse by 2 minutes.
And they're under starters orders...
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Reactions so far
Ross Jun 12, 04:18 PM
I ran the 1st leg of the relay in this yesterday. A truly exhilarating race, well worth entering. I have blogged about my suffering here>>
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