Arizona’s wildest race: Man against horse

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    Prescott Valley, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) — It’s one of the most grueling races imaginable: up a mountain, the length of nearly two marathons. Yet few people know about it. Maybe because many of the competitors can’t talk.

It’s the annual Man Against Horse Race.

“It’s pretty crazy,” said race organizer Ron Barrett. “It’s just the idea of a runner and a horse on a trail.”

It’s a 50 mile course starting at 5,000 feet on a farm near Prescott Valley with an elevation gain of around 2,600 feet, climbing to the top of Mingus Mountain.

“This race actually got started by this man right here, Gerald Brownlow who was a county supervisor for Prescott for over 20 years,” said Barrett, pointing to a poster board with news articles taped to it. “And he had a bar bet with Steve Rafters right here which was an old cowboy, down on Whiskey Row.”

It’s test of strength between man and horse where every year man lost, that is, until last year.

“The only guy that’s done it in 36 years,” Barrett said.

His name is Nick Coury, a tech worker who lives in Scottsdale. “He was incredible,” said rider Victoria Olsen. “I remember him passing me, limbs flailing, and it was just like, oh, I just got beat by a human.”

Coury has been running the race for about a decade now. “It is such an old school race,” Coury said. “There’s this spray-painted sign that says ‘man/horse.’ And the official race clock is this old wall clock.”

And when the clock strikes 6:30 AM, it’s off to the races. “I’d say the first half of the race is just real methodical, controlled, analytical,” Coury said.

Runners and riders jockey for position on the trail.”You do want to beat the person,” Olsen said. “At the end of the day there’s a reason the west was won by horse.”

Horses stop at designated medical checks, and the stoppage time gets taken out of their overall time.

“We’re checking their hydration status, their gut sounds, their overall body condition,” said veterinarian Dr. Ken Skinner. “The human runners? We don’t care about them.”

There’s the option for horses and runners to compete in a 12 and 25 mile. But the main focus is the 50-miler.

“You want to get competitive, and you do get competitive, but it’s like a fun cooperative competitiveness,” Coury said.

Runners, riders, and horses brave the steep terrain.

“They describe it as a knee to chin climb,” Olsen said.

It’s a battle back and forth going right over the top of Mingus Mountain.

“And you get up there, and you’re like this is exactly why this is worth it,” Coury said. “You’re almost in a meditation. You’re almost just letting yourself just experience what’s out there and you’re not too caught up in any one thing.”

And with a time of six hours, 17 minutes, and nine seconds, no horse caught up with Coury either this year — a time three minutes slower than his initial horse-defeating finish.

“I can go way further than I’d expect, way longer than I’d expect,” Coury said.

Meaning maybe the most remarkable thing about this race between horse and man, is that the only competition for Coury is against himself.

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