Annals Of Inanity–Marathon Man Vs. Horse: England has some great annual traditions. Recently TWC brought you cheeserolling. Today, we present the annual “Man Vs. Horse” race that has been staged for the past 25 years in the deep recesses of Wales. The proposition is simple: 22-mile course, first one (four-legged or two-legged) home, wins. The prize increases by $1500 every year a man does not win. No man has ever won, so this year’s prize was close to $40,000. That was enough to put 500 runners on the line against more than 40 horses and riders, with bookies offering 16 to 1 odds against the two-leggers. After a dedication to “Screaming Lord Sutch,” a huge supporter of the contest who died in 1999, it’s showdown time. Enter the oddly named Huw Lobb, a 27-year old marathoner from London. Off he goes, scrambling around the course, and crosses the finish in 2 hours and 5 minutes. Amazingly, the fastest horse, Kay Bee Jay, manages a time of only 2 hours and 7 minutes. Advantage: hominid. After the race last month in which a pub-crawling greyhound dusted a race horse, this is bad news for the equine species. Perhaps a race against a pig might be in order to boost equine confidence. Lobb could help fund it, except he probably didn’t get home with his full winnings. “Everybody was cheering and shaking my hand and telling me I’d have to buy them a drink with my prize money,” he said after his victory. Great Britain (can’t say England or I’ll get firebombed by Welsh nationalists). Gotta love it…



Another Blow To Horsedom: “Damn. How can that pasty geek be outpacing me? Next year I’m going to carry a lance…”