500 Adrenaline Adventures (Frommer's) - Lois Friedland [172]
Man and horse bound through a stream in the Man versus Horse Marathon.
It all began with a bet. Pub landlord Gordon Green overheard two customers discussing the merits of running as opposed to galloping while enjoying a drink in his quaint country pub at the Neuadd Arms Hotel in the tiny Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells, 165km (65 miles) north of Cardiff. Green agreed with one bookie that a man can beat a horse in the right conditions and went about proving it. The first race took place in 1980 and since then numerous runners and riders have braved wind, rain, and scorching heat to settle the matter. Every June they all gather in the town square of this old Victorian spa town (pop. 600) with its handsome white gables and multi-colored streets.
Llanwrtyd Wells sits amongst rolling green hills, its low grey slate roofs huddled along the river Irton with an old stone bridge crossing the lively stream. This part of mid-Wales attracts its fair share of nature lovers as it has excellent hiking trails and valley walks. The sweeping Brecon Beacons mountain range is nearby and farther north you’ll find a lovely collection of 12th-century castles such as the handsome red gritstone Powys Castle on the English border and the desolate and eerie Aberystwyth Castle overlooking the Irish sea.
Runners get a 15-minute head start on the horses to avoid getting trampled. The time difference is adjusted at the end so any naysayers cannot accuse the race of being fixed. Within 8 minutes, the horses catch up with the humans and for the next 2 to 3 hours a cat-and-mouse game ensues as man and horse cross paths, get stuck in mud holes, gingerly descend steep hills, and wade through waist-deep streams. Water stations are set up at intervals where men and women drink hungrily from cups and the horses from buckets. The event attracts thousands of spectators who cheer on the contestants at different vantage points throughout the course. The final sprint and gallop takes place back at the village and normally the hooves win hands down by an average margin of 5 minutes. That was until 2004, when a young Welsh soldier called Huw Lobb became the first man in history to officially beat a horse. He ran the course in 2 hours and 5 minutes, beating his nearest equine foe by 2 minutes. The winner walked away with prize money of $40,000 and bookmakers had to make handsome payouts as they had calculated that a man beating a horse was simply a daft proposal. —CO’M
www.green-events.co.uk.
When to go: June 2010.
Cardiff.
$$$ The Lake Country House Hotel & Spa, Llangammarch Wells, Powys, LD4 4BS ( 44/1591/620202;www.lakecountryhouse.co.uk). $$ The Neuadd Arms Hotel, The Square, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys LD5 4RB ( 44/1591/610236;www.neuaddarmshotel.co.uk).
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Race the Train
Do the Locomotive
Tywyn, Wales
Here your competitor is not like any other—a 14-ton steam train with a red hot boiler, driving wheels, and darting cylinders. It chases over 2,000 runners on a 23km (14-mile) circuit through pine forests, crop fields, and deep ravines, and very few people manage to beat it. The Talyllyn Railway steam engine does have certain advantages over mere mortals. It does not need to stop every few miles for a drink of water, for example; nor does it have to negotiate uneven ground and nettle pastures. Yet it must be said that none of the athletes who race against it have to haul four wooden carriages behind with jeering spectators.
Only 5% of runners manage to beat the Victorian coal sprinter that does the rounds of the beautiful countryside and coast near the town of Tywyn in northern Wales. Originally the railway was built to carry slate from a quarry farther up in the hills that border beautiful Snowdonia National Park (www.eryri-npa.gov.uk). Now it takes tourists around this picturesque corner of Wales with the sweeping