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(Wo)man Against Horse

41 minutes ago
2 min read

Five stars. (★★★★★)


For my first (possibly last) race, I chose the one where humans share the course with horses.

Wait, what..?

I learned about this crazy race on a Radiolab podcast and it's been stuck in my brain. According to the Man Against Horse website, the race started as a bar bet in 1983. There's one in Wales too, which purportedly also started as a bar bet.


Rarely, humans win. How?


  • Humans have better temperature regulation, especially in warmer weather.

  • Humans are more agile on steep and unstable terrain.

  • Human endurance becomes competitive at marathon distances.


Before

Full transparency: I only ran the half-marathon, so my group wasn't really competing with horses. These race photos are from the start of the 25-miler. The real race - the 50-miler - started before we arrived.



During

I lived many experiences in that 13-mile, 2:25 run.


  • Mile 1: Terrible altitude headache! What am I doing here?

  • Mile 2: People are passing me. That's fine, it's just a trail run. Headache has subsided.

  • Miles 3: I've got this! Now I'm passing the runners who passed me earlier.

  • Miles 4-6: This view is gorgeous! I'm in a steady groove, passing more people.

  • Miles 7-12: WHAT. THE. HELL. Running directly into a cold, full-force wind. I can't go in a straight line. Every step is hard. I'm starting to stumble. My ears ache. I have to walk for a few minutes for water and an energy gel. Seriously, what am I doing here?

  • Mile 13: The loop connects back to a section I remember from the start of the race... Then I crest a hill and see the staging area. I push through to the finish line, dazed and confused. Leah cheers me in with a fabulous sign, she is the best.



After


I was too shattered and stunned to hang around the chilly, windswept grounds to see the 25-milers come in, and the 50-milers still had hours to go. We drove back to the cabin so I could take a hot shower, then into Prescott for lunch at Raven Cafe and a little walkabout.

I probably won't learn how I performed relative to the 15-20 other half-marathoners; Man Against Horse is a pretty informal operation and I think they only post results for the "real" races. My guess is top-middle. It really doesn't matter. I conquered the most grueling run of my life and the toughest physical challenge in memory. Five stars!

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