Long way 'round the horn for that one, but I'll give you a +0.5, submitter.

The first race took place in June 1980 and has been a regular fixture in the Welsh village, which also known for its annual Bog Snorkelling Championships.

Add this to the list competitions I didn't know existed. The first time I visited London in the 90's, I spent an afternoon mesmerized by a boat-reversal competition. That is to say, the motor boats were mounted on a trailer, and the trailer was hitched to a vehicle. My memory escapes me now, but I remember a timer and a series of angled parking slots the competitor would slide the trailer into.

Dukes 'Touch of Fun' sounds kinda kinky.

Is that general Ackbar on the horse in the background?!

22 miles isn't a marathon, Mr. article writer.

FTA: The first race took place in June 1980 and has been a regular fixture in the Welsh village, which also known for its annual Bog Snorkelling Championships.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Weird people...

I don't understand. A horse can run three times faster than a man. How can this even be close? What am I missing here?

JonnyBGoode: I don't understand. A horse can run three times faster than a man. How can this even be close? What am I missing here?

agreed. This must be a very technical course or something.

JonnyBGoode: What am I missing here?

Horses aren't like dogs. They have pretty crappy endurance.

Actually a horse can only run at a top speed of around 45 mph. An Olympic sprinter, can do about 30. Over a distance however a horses endurance isn't as good as a trained human runner.

I know that during the Indian wars when the US Army was at war with the Apache, that some of the Apache runners were clocked running under 5 minute miles. This gave the Army a lot of difficulty, as those runners could hold that pace longer than horses could in the desert heat.

Dommo: Actually a horse can only run at a top speed of around 45 mph. An Olympic sprinter, can do about 30. Over a distance however a horses endurance isn't as good as a trained human runner.

I know that during the Indian wars when the US Army was at war with the Apache, that some of the Apache runners were clocked running under 5 minute miles. This gave the Army a lot of difficulty, as those runners could hold that pace longer than horses could in the desert heat.

All of the comments about horses' endurance as compared to that of humans are correct. Horses can be faster and can pull a heavier load but lack the endurance. Workhorses, even in condition, can work about 8 hours a day max, they need a long hour in the middle of the day for rest and food. Humans can train to exceed those limits.

During the settling of the West, humans would often catch mustangs by simply walking them down until the horse was too tired to escape. Might take a long day but the human would just keep walking after them, stalking them and making sure they didn't have time to eat or drink. Catch the exhausted horse and you're now the proud owner of an animal that would like to stomp you into the ground until you can gentle and train him.

Might take a long day but the human would just keep walking after them, stalking them and making sure they didn't have time to eat or drink. Catch the exhausted horse and you're now the proud owner of an animal that would like to stomp you into the ground until you can gentle and train him.

Sounds just like marriage!

/rimshot
//thanks, i'll be here all day

JonnyBGoode: I don't understand. A horse can run three times faster than a man. How can this even be close? What am I missing here?

Well, let's face it...from a dead start, humans have the advantage, at least for a little bit. Humans only have two legs to sort out, as opposed to four. So humans CAN be faster than horses...for a very short distance.

/paraphrased
//Terry Pratchett, I think.

"Foul! -- Father Paul!"
"I didn't see it!"

a new fark meme! I thought of it first! (I think...)



best I could think of off hand.

what is pothole horse watching?

raidi0head: Might take a long day but the human would just keep walking after them, stalking them and making sure they didn't have time to eat or drink. Catch the exhausted horse and you're now the proud owner of an animal that would like to stomp you into the ground until you can gentle and train him.

Sounds just like marriage!

/rimshot
//thanks, i'll be here all day


Dude, honestly, don't steal my jokes ok.

In other news, Big Brown brings up the rear again.

spill_thrill
Floorse?

I wonder if Sarah Jessica Parker woukld have won?

i just came to see a picture of the resident "oats girl" picture


/disappointed

Also, the kalahari bushmen run down antelope. They just keep chasing until the antelope overheats and collapses.

Besides, it's a relay race for the human participants.

Over a distance of twenty feet, a human sprinter can beat a horse. Over a mile, the horse wins, easily. Over 22 miles, it really could go either way.

You'd think with a human rider he could pace the horse and it wouldn't be a problem... guess not?

Chariset: Besides, it's a relay race for the human participants.

No, it's a relay for some of the human participants.

FTFA: "The 300 individual runners joined 60 relay teams of three runners each and the horses for the race in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys."

There are runners doing it as individuals and runners doing it in relay teams.

Dihnekis: You'd think with a human rider he could pace the horse and it wouldn't be a problem... guess not?

I just had a thought - the horse has to carry a rider. Obviously unfair. Maybe the runners should carry a horse to make it fair. I mean, there are minis, wouldn't have to be a Clydesdale.

Look up persistence hunting. It's the earliest form of human hunting styles, and is still practiced by natives around the world.

Basically the idea, is to literally run a prey animal into the ground. We humans, when conditioned properly, have better stamina than just about any other large mammal. This is because our running stride, is optimized for efficiency as opposed to speed, and because we have the ability to radiate waste heat very efficiently(sweating/hairlessness).

A trained human hunter that is in good shape, will often pursue an animal over a distance of 20km or so, during the hottest time of the day, relentlessly so that the prey animal can't rest. We might not have the flashy speed of a cheetah, but our bodies are just as supremely adapted to the savanna environment as any other living thing.

The Jews were getting run 40 miles a day. Proof that humans are built for endurance running.

Dommo: Look up persistence hunting.

I was going to make a "You know who else persistently hunted, then made bald and sweat?" joke, but I won't, cause I'm better than that.

JonnyBGoode: I don't understand. A horse can run three times faster than a man. How can this even be close? What am I missing here?

In addition to everyone else's already excellent answers, I'd like to add that because we walk around on 2 legs, we get rid of extra heat a lot easier than 4 legged animals. Only the top of our heads are exposed to the sun, especially during the hottest parts of the day. The entire back of a four legged animal is facing towards the sun. Again, the whole speed versus endurance thing.

Next year my pony & I are gonna take this race.