Tomorrow in Wales, a race where quickness matters, along with patience, perseverance, physical skill and the ability to get along with horses.
This is the annual Man Versus Horse Marathon, and if it sounds like a challenge the Wild Kratts would come up with during one of their cartoons, well, it’s said that the idea came from a conversation in a pub.
One man insisted that, over the right distance and the right type of course, a man could outrun a horse.
Not a chance, the other man said; the horse would have to come out on top in such a race!
The pub’s landlord overheard all this and decided the only way to find out for sure was to have a real race.
And so each summer, human runners and horses with riders take part in a course that, despite the name, is actually not a full marathon, though it is more than 21 miles long.
The course is what levels the, uh, playing field; there are flat surfaces where the horses can use their higher running speeds, though there are also hills and trails and mountainous areas where humans have a leg up.
By the way, there are water stations along the course for everyone to stay hydrated, and the horses have vet checks in the middle of the race to make sure they’re faring OK.
So has the race settled the old argument?
Well, horses won the first 25 races in a row, but humans have also come in first from time to time.
And no matter who’s across the finish line ahead of the other, the margins of victory are often pretty slim.
Sometimes less than a minute separate the two.
All I can say for sure is that the winner of this year’s race will not be me: I’ll just be over here wishing everyone good luck.
Starting tomorrow in Brooten, Minnesota, it’s Redhead Creamery Curd Fest.
Live music, drinks and lots of foods to try, though obviously the stars of the show are fresh farm cheese curds.
Because why wouldn’t they be?
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Photo by (Jothelibrarian) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikicommons
