This weekend, 20 runners including myself, will test our mettle in a race against horses and their riders, in the 23-mile Runner vs Rider race along the Souris River in Manitoba.
We will join the historic debate – can humans beat horses in the footrace?
The now iconic Western States Endurance Race famously has its origins in the 1974 feat of Gordy Ainsleigh, who decided to run the 100-mile horse race on foot when his horse came up lame.
Today, while there are other human vs horse races in England and the US, the Manitoba edition is the only of its kind in Canada.
By my math, as seen above, the crux of the race will be the river crossings, of which there will be six on our course (knee-to-waist high, we’re told). To be successful, we may need to channel the prowess of David Poach and his relentless river crossing training (parody).
Can the crafty humans conquer the strength of and skill of their horse/rider counterparts? We shall see…