Its 2nd place as Harriers take on the Horses
Britains smallest town, Llanwrtyd Wells (pop. 601), is usually renowned for its Red Kites, but it was a group of Harriers who descended on the town with a plan to take on runners of the equine variety in the annual 22mile Man v Horse Marathon. Members of the Harriers taking part in the race were Gareth Coates, Sarah Maynard, John Terry and Ally Watson in the full event, and the welcome return of Simon Ward, forming part of a three man relay team with colleagues from Beaumont and Brisbane, Australia! A weekend of merriment was ensured, by having booked accommodation in the main pub in the village, which laid on a welcome 'pasta party' for participants, the night before the event. Despite the daunting nature of running 22 miles, it didn't stop the Harriers from enjoying themselves over a few drinks (carbo-loading was one justification mentioned, for drinking real ale!)
The day of the race itself was hot and sunny, with a slight breeze as 400 runners, 65 relay teams and 45 horses stood ready to compete. The course itself is TOUGH, the steepest climb of them all comes after just 2km and had all of the Harriers bar Alastair Watson walking within just a few minutes of the start line. The course continues to undulate steeply before a very sharp descent to a river crossing at about 10k, leading onto a relatively flat tarmac road before beginning the longest climb of the day, as the heat of the midday sun blazed down, the runners began a 900ft climb across open moorland. It was here where some of the horses began to catch up with all bar the very front runners. Fortunately a bit of an advantage was gained at the half way point, as the horses have to enter a vet check, whereas the runners are permitted to carry on with no such concerns about their health! The second half of the race begins with a level/ slight uphill section, before a series of very sharp descents, through narrow forest trails lead back to a tarmac road and the second relay changeover point. The final section of the race begins with a long steady climb, for approximately 2 miles, as the runners ascend the third 'mountain'. This climb gets progressively steeper as you approach the summit and the descent on the other side is again sharp, to say the least! This brings you out by a Woolen Mill, just north of Llanwrtyd Wells, but the course has a final sting in the tail, as instead of allowing you to return via the relatively comfort of the main road, you are turned right to go up and over a final big hill. This bring you out on the other side of the town and you head down to the finish at the Victoria Wells Motel. There is a final 15 metre wide river to cross over, before the uphill finish line and much welcome free refreshment awaits the participants.
First Harrier home was JT, who finished 17th overall in a time of 2.46. Despite struggling with a lot of the hills in the second half, he managed to pace his run well, and caught up with Ally Watson on the final big hill with about 2k to go. Ally finished in a time of 2.48 having run out of steam, as a lack of endurance training cost him. Ally was in 5th place at one point, and finished a very creditable 20th in his first major hill race. Phil Chritchlow, from Beaumont, joined our two runners to form the Leicester Lads, and thanks to Phil's brilliant 2nd place in the race, helped them to obtain the 2nd team prize - a trophy that will soon be on display in the Harriers trophy cabinet! The boys narrowly failing to defeat Kenilworth Runners, who had Michael Johnson (the former Leicester Marathon champion) and Pat Noonan (3rd place in the Man v. Horse last year) in their ranks! How did our other runners fare? Gareth Coates, had an absolutely brilliant run too - crossing the line in 3.25, to knock nearly an hour off his time from last year! Sarah Maynard in her debut at the event, clocked a great 4.05 to beat several horses to the line. In the relay, Simon Ward completed the first leg in 65 minutes, with Tony from Brisbane, taking over to clock 92 minutes, an outstanding effort considering he had only ever run at most for 10 minutes on a treadmill before. The team were anchored home to a final time of 3.37 by a great final leg from Trevor from Beaumont RC.
The first man across the line was John McFarlane who finished in a time of 2.19.43, agonisingly missing out on a 1,000 pound jackpot by 30 seconds as Dukes Touch of Fun ridden by Geoff Allen finished first in 2.19.13. It was a second disappointment for McFarlane, who in 2004 beat every horse but missed out on the 25,000 pound jackpot, as Huw Lobb beat him by just over a minute.
The evening's entertainment in the town featured live music from 'Dangerous Dave' as the party carried on into the early hours - our guys were of course the last to leave the bar, at nearly 2.30 in the morning! What a weekend - let's make a concerted effort to get a real harrier turnout next year. With prizes for relays, as well as the full race, we could clean up next year!