No matter how strong or fast you are, if you went up against the rest of the animal
kingdom in most physical challenges, you wouldn't do that well.
Take Usain Bolt - the fastest guy we've got. In his record setting 100 meter dash, he was
moving almost 28 mph. But that's nothing compared to the top speed
of a cheetah or a horse,
or an ostrich, or even a lot of house cats.
Take almost any contest, and humanity wouldn't have a chance
But. There is one event where homo sapiens might possibly beat everybody else -
running marathons
We have the endurance to run really far ... ten, 20, 30 miles. Ultra-marathoners run 100 miles in a go.
We just might be the best endurance runners on the planet.
And I love this idea - partly because before I became a scrawny, out of shape adult,
I was a scrawny, in-shape kid. I was really short and I wasn't that fast,
but I could run for a loooong time
So when I heard about an event in Wales where humans actually race against horses
I had to go to see it.
So I packed my lunch
And I gave my boss the slip
Wrote myself this theme song
Going on a field trip, yeah
Lan-wur-tid Wells?
How do you say the name of this town
Llanwrtyd Wells
Woah
Llanwrtyd Wells
Llanwisthid Chlanwrtyd It’s Llanwrtyd you @#$%&
Llanwrtyd Wells is the smallest town in britain with just 600 people
and lots of sheep But today its population is about to double
because for the 36th year in a row, The town is hosting a human vs. horse marathon
And it all started at this hotel.
I was in the bar one night with a local huntsman
And I said that a runner would be much faster than a horse over a long distance
We decided we'd put it to the test and that's how it all started"
Now, over the past 35 years, a horse has usually been the champion.
Any advice for the newcomers?
SNORT
That's great advice.
But every so often, a HUMAN wins. The first person to do it was actually a man
named Huw.
How did Hugh manage it? It turns out our bodies our actually built
for long distance running. We've got structures in our inner ears to
keep us balanced with all that jostling Springier tendons than our primate cousins,
so we bounce as we run, and use less energy A narrow waste and huge bottom muscles that
keep our trunks stabilized.
So as the competitors gather, there's a question in the air
Who will win this year?
Humans?
Or the animals they've bred for centuries to be fast and strong?
To avoid getting trampled, the humans start first.
Then, fifteen minutes later, the clock starts for the horses
It's 22 miles of mud, mountains and river crossings.
In addition to their springy tendons and big bottoms -- these humans have a few more things
going for them. They don't have to carry a person
They're nimble on turns and steep inclines. And if it was a hot day, they'd be better
at keeping cool.
This last ability is a really big part of what made our ancestors such great good long distance runners
Take your great great great - hundreds of thousands of times great grandpa.
He's descended from trees, lost his fur, and is moving around on two legs.
and all that evolving has made him hungry He doesn't have spears or arrows yet - and
he can't run faster than this antelope. But he can sweat.
And the antelope can't. It needs to stop and pant to cool down.
So on a hot day, if your ancestor just keeps chasing that antelope
It can't stop. It can't cool down. And eventually it will collapse from heat exhaustion
And your ancient ancestor will get to have dinner
Today's a bit different - these humans aren't chasing a meal.
And horses -- unlike antelopes -- actually can sweat
They just don't cool themselves as efficiently as humans do.
But, that won't matter today, because a cooling rain is falling
So it's anyone's guess who's going to win.
Could be a human
Could be a horse
The first finisher, coming in at 2:30, is a human. In fact, its another man named Hugh
But, remember, he had a fifteen minute head start
And just a few minutes later ... The first horse comes in. It's time? 2:20
A horse is this year's champion.
But the humans held their own.
And Hugh did beat 46 of the 50 horses
I might make that a sort of tagline
Put it on a bumper sticker I think
Yeah, faster than 46 out of 50 horses
That means if he had lived a million years ago, he would have been able to have meat for dinner
And that's what makes the human ability to run long distances such a big deal.
The theory goes that running got us meat and meat fueled our evolution.
All that fat and protein helped build bigger brains
It gave us time to invent tools, domesticate animals, create language, culture, science, music
In short -- running made us who we are.
[music plays]