New Zealand: Four legs versus two in horse versus human marathon

Stuff.co.nz - Full Article

KAROLINE TUCKEY
Last updated 15:44, March 28 2017

Can a human beat a horse? That's the question being tested in an extreme race pitting runners against endurance riders, through steep hill country.

The annual Human v Horse extreme race in Pukeokahu, east of Taihape, is being held for the third time on April 8.

Horses reach higher speeds, but the odds change over a long distance, where humans can have some physiological advantages, race founder Lizzie Maundrell said.

The race is modelled on an eccentric Welsh event founded in 1980, where it took 25 years for a human to beat the horses.

The Kiwi version is harder, Maundrell said. For starters it is longer - a 42 kilometre marathon - then an 1800-metre elevation gain over the entire course. So far a horse and rider have won both years.

"I think people are really interested in doing something different," Maundrell said...

Read more here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/90910471/Four-legs-versus-two-in-horse-versus-human-marathon