The world record-holder for fastest 50-kilometer run on a treadmill who has completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, twice, American distance runner Michael Wardian is somewhat of a legend in certain running circles.
Michael Wardian is in Wales this week preparing to race 60 horses
The 45-year-old is hoping to add a new line to his resume this weekend in Wales by winning the annual Man Versus Horse Marathon on Saturday.
Started (of course) based on a pub conversation about the “merits of men and horses running over mountainous terrain,” the annual long-distance race takes place over 22 miles in a town called d Llanwrtyd Wells.
A veteran of 18 Boston Marathon finishes, Wardian will be competing against a field that includes about 650 other human runners and around five dozen horse competitors.
And Wardian does have a chance at winning the race and taking home more than $3,800 in prize money as the race has been won by a human twice, once in 2004 and once in 2007. In fact, when Huw Lobb won in ’04, he beat the fastest horse by two minutes, an eternity in running.
“The chances are probably not good that I’m going to beat the horse. But it’s possible,” Wardian said, according to The Washington Post. “I think the horses move a little slower at times, and the people have an advantage because they can just bomb down the hills. I think on the uphill climbs, it’ll probably be a wash and the horses will have a good advantage when it’s a flat trail.”
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