Since 1980, the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells has been the scene of a race in which dozens of horses and hundreds of runners measure their strength. Apparently the thing arose in the pub owned by Gordon Green, a local great man. Some patrons wondered if a human could beat an equine when it came to covering a great distance across the field. Green decided to check it out and organized the first test, which is held over almost 36 kilometers – 42.195 km are run in the marathon.
The first editions were dominated by quadrupeds, even after cyclists were allowed to participate, in 1985. The first victory of a solo athlete – it is possible to run in relays – took place in 2004. Huw Lobb completed the course in 2 hours , 5 minutes and 19 seconds, one minute and 17 seconds less than the first horse . In 2007, Florian Holzinger repeated the feat. He beat the best rider in 11 minutes.
