24 Cross Country
Man vs Horse, Llanwrtyd Wells
Enjoyment - 40%
Success - 50%
Will try again - No, never
First timer’s recommendation – You need to do some serious hill training beforehand and be running marathon distances to have any chance of completing this in a decent time. Maybe try the relay first.
For almost six months now I have been trying new and old sports that I haven’t necessarily trained for, but this all changed for cross country running. The annual man vs horse marathon has taken place since 1980, following an overheard discussion in the Neuadd Arms in Llanwrtyd Wells. The town claims to be the smallest in Britain, and lies between the Irfon and Tywi Valleys, which provide the terrain for the challenging course. Living in Basingstoke, the opportunity to train on hills anything like those on the Man vs Horse route were limited, and even practice sessions on Box Hill, Butser Hill and Slieve Gullion whilst on holiday in Ireland ended up not being sufficient on the day.
I drove up to Wales on the Friday evening and camped in a nearby town, and although I didn’t get the best nights sleep, I felt as prepared as I could be for the race the next day. I parked up near the finish line, as I rightly predicted that I wouldn’t be up to much walking after the race, and I got changed into my running gear, complete with running belt which contained gels, a GoPro and my inhaler, which turned out to be a lifesaver. The 800 or so runners converged in the town centre, where the mayor, race organiser, and professional runner Liz Yelling introduced and started the race. The horses then started 15 minutes afterwards to allow the runners to naturally spread out.
The first seven miles were actually quite enjoyable – I managed to run up hills that others were walking on, I was comfortable on the downhills and my breathing and pacing were spot on. I got to the first checkpoint, approximately a third of the way through the race, in 59 minutes, so was well place I thought for a 3:30 time. Then the second third it got really tough, especially between miles 10-12 where you could see a hill in front of you that seemed to go on for ever. This was the first time I stopped to walk, and wouldn’t be the last. I eventually got to the second checkpoint in about 2:25, so had lost 25 minutes, so now the target was 3:45 if possible. The last section though, started with some of the steepest climbs of the race, and by this point walking was the only option.
The last four miles seemed to take forever, with every small incline adding more pain to my already beaten limbs, with cramp becoming an issue in muscles I didn’t know I had. The chaffing on the inside of my legs afterwards had to be seen to be believed, but I was thankful that my ankles and shins held out after the kicking they took last week. My recovery will be pretty tough so I am going to do a more gentle sport this week as a reward. Definitely the hardest event I have ever taken part in, and not one I would do again in a hurry, although the relay option is tempting.
In the end I limped home in 4 hours 2 minutes, with at least two minutes spent crossing a waist-deep river at the end whilst trying not to lose the car keys. The winning horse took 2 hours 17 minutes, with the best runner 20 minutes behind them which is a phenomenal effort. It was great to see the horses on the course, as they went past at full speed, but then seeing the techincal side as the riders negotiated the steep ups and downs and also the narrow tracks with sheer drops to the side. All in a all a fantastic event which would only happen in Britain (CNN were covering the event for the USA), but not one to be taken lightly.