Man Versus Horse
Picked up from the BBC Website, is the story of this wonderful race in Llanwrtyd Wells, in Powys, Wales.
The race is over 22 miles of cross country terrain. A man beat all the horses for the first time ever three years ago. This year two men actually beat the horses. It has been going for 28 years, and only 3 people have beaten all the horses in that time.
I guess that as the race becomes known, it attracts a more competitive runner, and eventually Paula Radcliffe will be racing them for $100,000.
There was similar story in the US, except over a shorter distance, where Chad Johnson, the Cincinnati Bengals all-pro wide receiver raced a horse at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio on Belmont Stakes Day, June 9, as a fund-raiser for Feed the Children.
Johnson was given a 100 yard head start and beat Restore the Roar easily, who had to run/gallop approximately 200 yards (one-eighth-mile).Man versus Mountain
A more humbling story this time. In Japan, Buddhist monk, Genshin Fujinami, run up a holy moutain for more than seven years.
For 1,000 days, rising well before dawn, Fujinami embarked alone, rain or shine, on his journey, running or briskly walking each day, wearing white robes, a pair of straw sandals, a long straw hat, candles, a shovel, a length of rope and a short sword.
The rope and sword weren’t for survival - if for some reason he could not complete his daily trek, he was to use them to kill himself.
Since 1885, only 48 "marathon monks" of Buddhism’s Tendai sect have accomplished the ritual. Those who do earn the title of "dai-ajari," or living saint. At least one of the monks to attempt the trial is known to have killed himself in modern times, Fujinami said.
The quest dates to the eighth century and is believed to be a path to enlightenment. Monks carry a little book of prayers and incantations, which they offer at about 300 temples and sacred spots along the way. Other than that, they don’t stop for breaks.
"You don’t go on the trails to train, you go to offer prayers," he said. "Athletes do it for awards. We do it to grow spiritually."
A strict regimen dictates that in each of the journey’s first three years, the pilgrim must rise at midnight for 100 consecutive days to pray and run along an 29-kilometre trail around Mount Hiei, on the outskirts of the ancient capital of Kyoto. Fujinami left his temple at 1 in the morning, and returned about nine hours later to spend the rest of the day praying, cleaning or doing other chores.
He slept three or four hours a night.
In the next two years, he had to extend his runs to 200 days. In the winter, the pilgrim runner gets to take a break.
Fujinami said the time spent on the trails is spread out over seven years not because of the rigours, but to allow for time to reflect.
"You learn how to see your real self," he said. "You learn to understand what is important and what isn’t."
Fujinami said his most difficult trial came during the fifth year, when he had to sit in the lotus position before a raging fire and chant mantras for nine days without food, water or sleep in an esoteric ritual called "doiri," or "entering the temple."
In the sixth year, Fujinami covered 60 kilometres every day for 100 days. And in the seventh year, he went 52½ miles for 100 days and then 29 kilometres for another 100 days.
This latter story has been published in a lot of magazines around the world. Yet I still think it may be a hoax. It seems just a tad too fanciful.
I could quite believe it if there was a little bit of Monkey Magic !Let's Go TNT !!!
Coach David.
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