Weekend Roundup – 11th and 12th June

Man v Horse

The Man v Horse Marathon began in June 1980 following a chat over a pint (or three) in the back bar of Neuadd Arms Hotel. The then Landlord, Gordon Green overheard two men discussing the relative merits of men and horses running over mountainous terrain. The enterprising Gordon, never one to miss an opportunity to promote Llanwrtyd Wells and improve business at his hotel, decided to put it to the test. And so began the now internationally acclaimed event, The Man versus Horse Marathon.

The course was changed in 1982 to provide a more even match between the man and the horse resulting year on year in very close finishes – sometimes with the horse winning by only a few seconds. It took 25 years before a man finally beat a horse, Huw Lobb won in 2hrs and 5mins beating the fastest horse by 2 minutes. His feat was repeated 3 years later by Florien Holtinger, but the horse has remained unbeaten for the 8 years since.

Our illustrious Gemma Hewitt and Forest Jooligan took part in this unique race with Jools finishing in 3:19:49 and Gemma in 5:07:28.

Half Ironman and Half Ironman Relay

IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire consists of a 1.2-mile swim in Chasewater reservoir and a 56-mile bike course through the stunning countryside outside Lichfield, Burton-upon-Trent, and across Cannock Chase area of outstanding natural beauty. The 13.1-mile run starts and finishes at the historic Shugborough country estate, the former ancestral home of Lord Lichfield, a renowned royal photographer and cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

This time to Nick Wellsted, Darren Creed, Glenn Harvey, Claire Morgan and Hubert Ashleytowell, all took part carrying the Forest to the Ironman events with Nick and Darren participating individually and Glen, Clair and Hubert entering the relay competition.

Results

Nick Wellstead(1186) 6:21:42, Darren Creed (1262) 6:26:47,

Relay result to come.

Whitebrook Windup 10K

In a repeat of last year’s successful format, runners had a choice of two races – either run two laps of the course to complete a Half Marathon, or a single lap for 10K

The scenic course takes you along the banks of the river Wye and up through some of the Wye Valley’s most unspoiled woodland. But it’s not called the Wind-Up for nothing – the climb on each lap is nearly 600ft.

Forest competitors in this one in the form of Peter Short (1st MV 60) in the 10K in 1:01:21 and Ian Smith in the Half Marathon in 3rd Overall and 1st MV50 in 1:40:34

Our intrepid ladies also put their best foot forward in the 10K (names and results to follow)