The hills were alive with the sound of hoofbeats, both horse and human, on Saturday, June 12th, as the 31st annual Man V Horse Marathon erupted with more than 650 runners.
Six hundred donned athletic shoes for the rough-terrain endurance race, while the rest wore horseshoes or bare hooves.
Twenty-four miles later, Welsh primary school teacher Llinos Jones (24) and her horse Sly Dai reigned triumphant, having completed the mountainous race course in two hours, seven minutes and four seconds to win.
Kenyan runner Haggai Chep, the nearest finisher on foot (rather than hoof) came in about ten minutes later.
The Man V Horse Marathon, an annual tradition in Central Wales, actually began as a notion hatched in the Neuadd Arms Hotel and Brewery Pub in Llanwrtyd Wells, known as “the smallest town in Britain.”
Gordon Green, then the landlord and proprietor of the Neuadd Arms, heard two pub patrons arguing about whether a man might beat a horse in a long-distance race. The Man V Horse Marathon concept was born.
The first Man V Horse Marathon was held in June 1980.
Although equines usually beat humans in the traditional race, runners have beat horses twice in the Man V Horse Marathon in Llanwrtyd Wells. In 2007, runner Florian Holzinger won the race, and in 2004, runner Huw Lobb came in first.
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