Man versus Horse Marathon

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates The Man versus Horse Marathon is an annual race over Template:Convert, where runners compete against riders on horseback through a mix of road, trail and mountainous terrain. The race, which is a shorter distance than an official marathon road race, takes place in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells every June. There are other Man versus Horse races — in Scotland based at Dores, near Loch Ness,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Central North Island, New Zealand<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in the U.S. city of Prescott, Arizona.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

File:Manvhorse06.jpg

Competitors in the 2006 Man versus Horse Marathon

The event started in 1980,<ref name=telegraph2008>Template:Cite news</ref> when local landlord Gordon Green overheard a discussion between two men in his pub, the Neuadd Arms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.

The annual race, over Template:Convert, has runners competing against riders on horseback through a mix of road, trail and mountainous terrain. The race, which is a shorter distance than an official marathon road race, takes place in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells every June.<ref name=greenevents>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 a reported 22 miles, but over rougher terrain. In 1985, cyclists were allowed to compete too – and that year, U.S. ladies' champion cyclist Jacquie 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. Bicycles were allowed until 1993.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 had 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.<ref name=bbc2004>Template:Cite news</ref> The feat was repeated in 2007, when human competitors outpaced the first equine competitor by almost 11 minutes.<ref name=bbc2007>Template:Cite news</ref>

The 2009 race was marred by controversy when the organizers deducted time spent in the 'vet checks' from the horse times in addition to the 15 minutes for the delayed start of the horses. The deduction of this additional time enabled the horse to triumph by 8 minutes, instead of being defeated by 2. Whilst the organizers at the time claimed that the time spent in the vet check (which is not accurately monitored on a horse-by-horse basis) had always been deducted, this had not occurred in previous years.<ref name=transworldsport95>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> The fastest runner, Martin Cox, refused to accept the winner's trophy in protest at the decision. Following protests from other competitors, the organizers reverted to the previously followed rules of only deducting 15 minutes for the 2010 edition of the race. However, despite Haggai Chepkwony running the fastest time since Huw Lobb's record-breaking effort in 2004, a horse triumphed by 10 minutes. The 2011 event featured a number of very good riders and horses competing, and the wet track conditions favored horses over runners, but some very good times were recorded by the front runners. The winning rider was Beti Gordon riding Next in Line at Grangeway, while the top runner was Charlie Pearson from London.

The 2012 race saw the return of Huw Lobb, the first runner to have beat the horse (in 2004). Having come in third in the Cork Marathon just five days earlier, however, he ran considerably slower than his winning time eight years prior. In 2013, extensive forestry works meant the organizers had to modify the route considerably, resulting in a course of nearly 24 miles, instead of the usual route of just under 21 miles. Despite a very hot day, the longer and hillier course favoured the horses, with 2011 winner Beti Gordon comfortably beating the first man, Hugh Aggleton.

The 2013 race attracted an entry of 65 horses, with 44 completing the course, enabling it to lay claim to being "the world's largest horse race". Following a number of criticisms of the extended course in 2013 and 2014, the course for 2015 was shortened back towards 21 miles. This provided a more even match between man and equine, with Geoffrey Allen on Leo emerging victorious by just over 10 minutes from Hugh Aggleton. It was Allen's fourth outright win, and his fifth time as first horseman, having been beaten by Florian Holzinger in 2007.

Winners

Note that the times are not necessarily comparable from year to year due to changes of the rules and the course layout.

Year	Winner	Fastest horse	Fastest horse time	Fastest runner	Fastest runner time	Time difference, horse vs. runner	Weather conditions	Going
1980	Horse	Glyn Jones on Solomon	1:27	Dic Evans	2:10	43:00	Unknown	Unknown
1981	Horse	Clive Powell on Sultan	2:02		2:24	22:00
1982	Horse	Sue Thomas on Simon	2:06	Paul Brownson	2:10	4:00
1983	Horse	Ann Thomas on Nutmeg	1:26	Dic Evans	2:02	36:00
1984	Horse	William Jones on Solitaire	1:20	David Woodhead	2:05	45:00
1985	Horse	Nia Tudno-Jones on Jenny	1:40		2:08	28:00
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		Horse	1:44	Fuselier Hughes	2:08			24:00
1987<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Ray Jenkins on The Doid and Bill George on Mando	1:32	Paul Wheeler	1:57	25:00
1988<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	John Davies on Mavies	1:47	Mark Croasdale	2:08	21:00
1989<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Ray Jenkins on The Doid	1:54		2:10	16:00
1990<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Ray Jenkins on The Doid and Chris Powell on Elkie	1:36	Glyn Williams	2:07	31:00
1991<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Zoe Jennings on Hussar	1:30	Mark Croasdale	2:05	35:00
1992<ref name="results1999" />	Horse		1:38	Derek Green	2:09	31:00
1993<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	John Hudson on unknown	1:47	Robin Bergstrand	2:03	16:00
1994<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Celia Tymons on Eskalabar	1:52	Mark Croasdale	2:09	17:00
1995<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Ken Mapp on Ahmaar	1:57	Paul Cadwallader	2:06	9:00
1996<ref name="results1999" />	Horse		1:57	Mark Palmer	2:12	15:00
1997<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Megan Lewis on Silver Sea Gem	1:52	Paul Cadwallader	2:09	17:00
1998<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Jackie Gilmour on Ruama	1:46	Stuart Major	2:16	30:00
1999<ref name="results1999" />	Horse	Jackie Gilmour on Ruama	1:58	Mark Palmer	2:16	18:00
2000	Horse	Heather Evans on Royal Mikado	2:08	Mark Croasdale	2:10	2:00
2001	Horse		2:08:06	Martin Cox	2:17:17	9:11
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Robyn Petrie-Ritchie on Druimguiga Shemal	2:02:23	James McQueen	2:18:52			16:29
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Robyn Petrie-Ritchie on Druimguiga Shemal	2:02:01	Mark Croasdale	2:19:02			17:01
citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref>	Human	Zoe White on Kay Bee Jay	2:07:36	Huw Lobb	2:05:19	−2:17		Hot
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Lise Cooke on Gifted Lady	2:19:11	Stephen Goulding	2:33:22	14:11		Unknown
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		Denise Meldrum on Tarran Bay	2:10:29	Haggai Chepkwony	2:19:06	8:37	Warm	Soft
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Human	Geoffrey Allen on Lucy	2:31:26	Florian Holzinger	2:20:30	−10:56	Hot	Good to firm
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Geoffrey Allen on Dukes Touch of Fun	2:18:13	John Macfarlane	2:18:43	0:30		Good to soft
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse		2:11:43	Martin Cox	2:20:02	8:19		Heavy
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Llinos Mair Jones on Sly Dai	2:07:04	Haggai Chepkwony	2:17:27	10:23		Good to soft
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Beti Gordon on Next in line at Grangeway	2:08:37	Charlie Pearson	2:25:45	17:08	Rain/sun/windy	Heavy
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Iola Evans on Rheidol Star	2:00:51	Huw Lobb	2:25:57	25:06	Cloudy	Very heavy
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Beti Gordon on Next in line at Grangeway	2:18:03	Hugh Aggleton	2:46:25	28:22	Hot	Good
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Geoffrey Allen on Leo	2:22:53	Jonathan Albon	2:42:49	19:56	Warm to hot	Good to soft
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse		2:20:46	Hugh Aggleton	2:30:35	9:49	Rain/warm
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Lindsey Walters on Deliva Crianza	2:17:58	Ross MacDonald	2:37:51	19:53	Cloudy and humid	Good, good to soft in places
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Iola Evans on Rheidol Petra	2:23:03	Owen Beilby	2:50:21	27:18	Rainy	Heavy
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Peter Davies on Ronnie	2:34:49	Joe Dale	2:35:12	0:23	Rain/sun	Soft
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Mark Adams on Woottonheath Herbie	2:18:51	Jack Wood	2:23:48	4:57	Cool	Soft to heavy
2020	Event not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Human	Kim Alman on Invictus	2:24:24	Ricky Lightfoot	2:22:33	−1:51	Warm	Good
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Human	Kate Atkinson on Dns Ronaldo	2:34:22	Daniel Connolly	2:24:38	−9:44	Sweltering
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Horse	Georgina Silk on Merlon	2:37:45	Peter Taylor-Bray	2:48:22	10:37
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Human	Gabi Morley on Gweni	2:35:45	Dewi Griffiths	2:23:54	−11:51

External links

• Official Site