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A Man Can Run Faster Than A Horse

A man can run faster than a two-legged horse.
 
It has been proven in a 2004 and 2007 annual man vs horse marathon (shortened from the traditional length to 22 Miles) that a man can run faster than a horse over long distances in 2004 man was reportedly faster than a horse by 2min in 2007 man was faster than horse by 11min.
 
I'm intrigued by this, because I feel like I've read something similar. So I've been doing a bit of research...

First of all, the Man vs. Horse Marathon isn't really a fair contest. The horses have to run a couple of miles further, and also have to stop twice for 'vet checks' (source). The humans are also allowed to run in relay teams, although to be fair, the two human winners were sole runners.

As for Jesse Owens:

Owens reasoned that thoroughbred horses were generally high-strung, and if the person with the starting gun stood close to the horse, the thoroughbred would be startled, causing Owens to get a good head start. His strategy worked, and Owens won almost all of the time.

(Source)

It does look like a man just can't outrun a horse in a straight race, so the OP's half-remembered article must have been describing something more complicated. The idea of measuring top speed relative to size sounded like a good lead, and I found this article which compares the relative top speeds of various animals – horses aren't mentioned, but humans apparently rank faster than a white-tailed deer but slower than a chicken. If that helps at all.

Actually, I've just noticed that eburacum's NatGeo link above does include a horse in the relative speed rankings, and the horse is still winning.

So I'm stumped. If anyone's curious enough, you can get Why Does a Glow-worm Glow? on Amazon for a penny (plus £2.80 postage and packaging).

One final note of encouragement: according to this article, although human speed records are broken every year, horses aren't getting any faster. So perhaps it's only a matter of time...
 
We humans are meant to be able to beat most species in endurance running.
 
Right, this is a vague memory from childhood, I think I read it in an Eric Laithwaite book of science for kids, but there was a bit in it that said the idea horses can run faster than humans was not necessarily so, and went on to prove it with science.

It showed somehow that a man could run faster than a horse, but I'll be darned if I can recall how. If it is a really obvious and hackneyed bit of myth-undermining then I apologise, but does anyone know anything about this?
This is very true! When i was in year 6 i did cross country club at school. My father came to me after the competition and said my feet caught fire as i was running. He said i was running faster the speed of light and that's certainly faster than a horse.
 
This is very true! When i was in year 6 i did cross country club at school. My father came to me after the competition and said my feet caught fire as i was running. He said i was running faster the speed of light and that's certainly faster than a horse.
Did your father use special equipment to confirm that? :D
 
This is very true! When i was in year 6 i did cross country club at school. My father came to me after the competition and said my feet caught fire as i was running. He said i was running faster the speed of light and that's certainly faster than a horse.

You're Billy Whizz!
billy-whizz.jpg
 
That's true. As we all know, horses generally only have three speeds; like a streak of lightning flashing across the sky, like the swiftest arrow whizzing from a bow, or like a mighty cannonball they seem to fly.
Oh, is that why they win? I wondered if it might be nominative determinism.
 
Hey wait a minute - no-one said anything about the horse having a rider. Is the man giving a piggy-back for 36 km?
 
Proof if proof were needed - a man can run faster than a horse:
News story

This seems to be a cross country thing, so long distance, but the principle is the same. It's a contest held since 1980.
Also, check out that nominative determinism.

Trail runner Ricky Lightfoot became only the third person to win the race since it started in 1980.
 
Hey wait a minute - no-one said anything about the horse having a rider. Is the man giving a piggy-back for 36 km?
Also depends on the weight of the rider and breed of horse. Put me on a thoroughbred and we'll outrun anyone. Put Brian Blessed on a Shetland pony and I reckon anyone with two lower limbs that bend reasonably well would win.
 
Also depends on the weight of the rider and breed of horse. Put me on a thoroughbred and we'll outrun anyone. Put Brian Blessed on a Shetland pony and I reckon anyone with two lower limbs that bend reasonably well would win.
BRIAN BLESSED??!! Sorry, have to shout that every time I hear/read his name.
 
Well it wouldn't - but I'm betting it would get there quicker than Usain Bolt could if he was lost.
 
Does a horse drag the carrot, or a man running faster than a horse drag the carrot?
The carrot is fastened to the, er, lower back or so of the man. When the horse starts galloping toward the carrot, the man then runs faster from sheer terror. It is quite a fair race, really.

I suspect that for distances of a quarter mile, a horse like a quarter horse, can run faster (55 mph) than Mr. Bolt (27 mph). Who is faster depends on the distance, even though both are considered sprinters, and whom is wearing the carrot. As far as I know, Mr. Bolt has declined any invitation to participate.
 
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