What were you doing in last weekend’s glorious sunshine?

A spot of gardening? Picnic in your local park? Not Natalie O’Rourke, who was running in the infamous Man v Horse marathon in the mountains of Wales. And she wasn’t on horseback.

This annual 22 mile mountainous course in Llanwrtyd Wells was launched in 1980 as a result of a conversation in a pub about whether a horse or a human would win a tough cross country challenge when pitted against each other. Since then a human has won on three occasions. Already gruelling by nature, this year all competitors had soaring temperatures to contend with.

Natalie was running to raise funds for the upkeep of the stables. With farrier bills of around £1,000 every eight weeks, and hay bills at £1,300 a fortnight, we are constantly aware of the need to bring in sufficient funds to cover our costs. That way, we can make the prices we charge for sessions affordable for more people.

And did she complete the course? This is Natalie, remember, who said afterwards that she was: “Currently walking like a dalek but ten feet tall with pride.”

Natalie’s fundraising target was £5,000 and so far she’s raised £3,242. Can you help her reach her goal?

And just in case you’re wondering who won this year, here’s the news item on the BBC News website.