British endurance runner wins 22-mile race against horse

By Sana Noor Haq, CNN

Updated 1326 GMT (2126 HKT) June 13, 2022

Ricky Lightfoot crosses the finish line to win first place at the Whole Earth Man V Horse Race in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales.

(CNN)It's one of the ultimate tests of man against beast and over the weekend a Briton got the better or his four-legged rival to cross the finish line first and win the Whole Earth Man V Horse race in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales on Saturday.

Ricky Lightfoot, who is a 37-year-old firefighter from the village of Dearham in Cumbria, in north west England became only the third person to claim victory in the history of the race, in which runners are pitted against horses to see who can outrun the other.Completing the 22-mile trail with a time of 2:22:23, Lightfoot is also the first runner to have won the competition in 15 years after Florien Holtinger triumphed in 2007, according to a statement from the event's organizers.Runners compete against horses and their riders at the race on Saturday, which was staged after a two-year absence due to the coronavirus pandemic.The competition was established in the 1980s, after two people at the local Neaudd Arms pub bet on whether a man could defeat a horse in a long-distance race. In 2004, Huw Lobb became the first runner to win the event when he beat the fastest horse in 2:05:00, according to the official event website.Read MoreA group of 1,200 runners competed against 60 horses and riders at the event on June 11, which took place along the cragged hills and muddy terrain of the Welsh countryside. Lane House Boy came second after Lightfoot with rider Kim Alman, finishing with a time of 2:24:24. Ricky Lightfoot stands with his medal after claiming victory.Lightfoot's stunning performance was even more