Every year, a small market town in mid-Wales hosts two of the most bizarre sporting events in the world.

In June, the Man V Horse events took over the town of Llanwrtyd Wells, with more than 800 contestants competing to see if they could beat a horse over a cross-country marathon distance.

The event has been going for 45 years, with four runners holding the honour of beating a horse.

On August 25th, Man V Horse’s slightly younger and more niche cousin: the World Bog Snorkelling Championships.

A competition to decide the fastest to swim 120 yards worth of bog, it has been around since 1986, with 192 contestants travelling to Llanwrtyd Wells.

People from as far away as South Africa and USA, Norway and Zimbabwe have given the challenge a go over the years.

Organiser of the events, Bob Greenough, thinks his niche sporting challenges are so popular because of just that: people love a challenge.

“I don’t think people necessarily realise when they first give it a go what a challenging bog snorkelling is,” Greenough says.

“It seems quite simple: a trench which is 60 yards long and you do two laps. But you’ve got to breathe through a tube and the mud factor.

“The mud can slow you down and also makes the water very murky.”

The current champion is Aberavon’s Siân Clement, who completed the 120-yard swim in a time of one minute, and 29 seconds.

The world record for the World Bog Snorkelling Championships is held by Neil Rutter, who broke his 2018 record last year by nearly 6.5 seconds! His new record of one minute, 12.34 seconds is the time to beat for any bog snorkelling hopefuls.

Many, though, travel to Llanwrtyd Wells, not to win the race, but instead to experience the event and show off their fancy dress costumes. Recent years have seen a Barbie and Ken duo, mermaids, lobsters, and a turtle. Similar to marathon culture, many are there to raise money and revel in the community.

“Everyone goes wild with imagination for it,” Greenough says.

“We’ve had every superhero you can think of, plus a few more. Sometimes I wonder how they’d be able to breathe with all their gear on!”

While a lot of bog snorkelling is competed in the spirit of fun, the event has some exceedingly specific rules that those entering must follow.

For one, the only stroke allowed is doggy paddle, with both arms kept below the surface of the water at all times. Flippers and fins are allowed, but not mono fins, while face must be in the water, using the snorkel to breathe, with occasional ‘looks’ allowed in order to correct direction.

Even Greenough, who has been organising the event, cannot say why some rules are the way they are, but only that they have stayed the same since 1986.

“We put the posts 60 yards apart,” Greenough explains.

“Now, why is it 60 yards, nobody knows. I think they were digging the first trench and decided they didn’t fancy going any further after 60.”

“The only thing that seems to have changed over the years is that people wear different masks. Nowadays people prefer a full-face mask, rather than the more traditional one.

“I don’t mind that, partly because I feel that the full-face mask slows them down!”

Green Events, the organisation behind Bog Snorkelling and Man V Horse, was born out of the need to bring tourism to Llanwrtyd Wells, following a rich history of attraction to the area.

“We had started off as a spa town back in the 1700s and that was a big attraction for the rich folk at the time,” Greenough says.

“By the 1850s, it became accessible for all, and thousands of people would travel to the town. So many people came up on trains specifically because of the spa town.

“Tourism has grown in the rest of the town, with a number of guest houses, pubs, and hotels still around today.

“By the 1950s and the advent of the NHS, a lot of that had gone. With the National Health Service, people didn’t need to come to the spa for the water, they would just go and get a pill and go to Spain instead!

“The business of the town came to a grinding halt. The townsfolk started doing pony trekking and a few other ventures, but it wasn’t until 1980 that the idea of more niche events took hold.

“It’s remarkable what the influence of beer can have! Man V Horse started as a drunken pub conservation, and a few years later, so did bog snorkelling.”

After almost 50 years of successful events, the town now has a renewed purpose, centred around weird and wonderful sporting events.

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