Re: [QSEndurance] R&T in the UAE

["Barbara McCrary" <bigcreekranch@cruzio.com>]

I'm not a gambler, but I almost would have bet money on Tom's win.  I've
seen him on the WS trail run at 80+ miles, looking unruffled and reasonably
fresh.  It's pretty amazing what a talented and well-conditioned human can
do.  Of course, the same can be said for endurance horses.

Barbara

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Maul" <mmaul@flash.net>
To: "QSEndurance" <QSEndurance@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 6:38 PM
Subject: [QSEndurance] R&T in the UAE


> Tom had gone over with Heather, Hal Hall, and Marcia.
>
>
> Thursday February 7, 1:40 AM
>
> Man outruns horse in desert race
> By Issam Hamza
>
> ABU DHABI (Reuters) - U.S. runner Tom Johnson battled heat,
> sand and stray camels to outrun an Arabian horse in a desert
> endurance race on Wednesday, finishing just 10 seconds ahead
> of the animal at the end of an 80-km (50-mile) contest.
>
> Johnson completed the race in the United Arab Emirates in
> five hours and 45 minutes, taking advantage of the horse's
> need for a total of one hour's rest.
>
> "It was a big challenge for me and I did it," Johnson, 42,
> told Reuters, trying to catch his breath after beating
> al-Buraq which was ridden by fellow American Jennifer Nice
> in the first race of its kind in the Middle East.
>
> "In the last metres of the race, I looked behind to see the
> horse approaching so I increased my speed to the maximum and
> I won," Johnson said.
>
> Al-Buraq is named after what Muslims believe was a winged
> horse that flew the Prophet Mohammad from Mecca to Jerusalem.
>
> Al-Buraq took two rest periods of 40 minutes and 20 minutes
> and was given water and food as required by endurance racing
> rules.
>
> "I was totally surprised at Johnson's ability to run so fast
> and to remain strong," Nice said. "Next time I'll try to win."
>
> She said 12-year-old al-Buraq was owned by Sheikh Mansour
> bin Zaid, son of UAE President Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan
> al-Nahayan, who organised the event attended by 200 onlookers.
>
> Johnson said he was bothered by the desert heat, sand and
> stray camels during the race, conducted at al-Wathba race
> track near the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
>
> "Yes, I expect a financial prize for winning this race from
> Sheikh Mansour, but I honestly do not know how much," he said.
>
> He said he held a slow pace for the first 35 km, then
> stepped up the speed and only broke into a sprint the last
> few metres.
>
>
>
>
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