QUESTION: What are the strangest and most extreme marathon events in the world?
In the odd category, we have the Welsh Men vs. Horses Marathon. This began after Gordon Green, owner of the Neuadd Arms hotel in Llanwrtyd Wells, overheard an argument between two men in his pub. One suggested that the man was equal to any horse for a significant distance across the country.
In 1980, he put this to the test with the introduction of the marathon, which pits runners against horses on a rugged 22-mile course combining road, trails and mountainous terrain. Horses usually win, but not always. In 2004, Huw Lobb became the first runner to beat horses and win prize money of £25,000.
In the Big Five Marathon in Entabeni Game Reserve, South Africa, first held in 2005, runners cross the savanna among the “big five” animals: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalo. Presumably you don’t want to be the last.
There’s the Beer Lovers Marathon in Liege, Belgium, a 42-kilometre ‘pub crawl’ in which participants stop at beer stations offering local beers, which are famously strong.
At the Médoc Marathon in Bordeaux, France, costumed runners navigate the vineyards, making frequent stops at wine-tasting stations along the way and sampling gourmet foods like oysters.
Competitors cross the Znaigui erg during the second stage of the 26th edition of the ‘Marathon des Sables’, on April 4, 2011, about 300 kilometers south of Ouarzazate, in Morocco.
Athletes run alongside the Médoc vineyards near Pauillac during the 30th Médoc Marathon, a 42.2 kilometer (26 mile) circuit in the Médoc wine region near Bordeaux in southwestern France.
The toughest has to be the Marathon des Sables, a grueling multi-stage ultramarathon held annually in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Participants run a consecutive series of marathons totaling 155 miles over six days in extreme heat, with temperatures reaching 50 °C (122 °F). Runners carry their own supplies, including food, clothing, and sleeping gear.
In the Antarctic Ice Marathon, runners battle extreme cold and strong winds in a desolate, frozen landscape.
Greg Beaumont, Ipswich, Suffolk
QUESTION: What was the first telethon that was broadcast on television?
The first telethon was a 16-hour event broadcast on NBC in the United States and hosted by entertainer Milton Berle in 1949. It raised $1.1 million for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
The show set the tone for telethons: a big-name host, phone operators collecting pledges, celebrity performances, and passionate pleas for donations. It was Jerry Lewis’ annual Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association that popularized the telethon. He presented it from 1966 to 2010.
It took Britain a while to realize this. The first was the Thames Telethon on 2 October 1980. It lasted ten hours and was presented by Jimmy Young, Joan Shenton and Rolf Harris. Shortly afterwards, on 21 November 1980, the BBC held the first national telethon for Children In Need. It was presented by Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen.
Ruth Worthington, Clacton-On-Sea, Essex
QUESTION: What happened to Hans Hotter, Adolf Hitler’s favorite singer?
Hans Hotter (1909-2003) was a celebrated German opera bass-baritone known for his masterful interpretations of Wagnerian roles. Hotter was associated with roles such as Wotan in The Ring Cycle, the Dutchman in The Flying Dutchman and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.
Hotter’s career intersected with the Third Reich, during which time he enjoyed official favor. Hitler’s adoration of Wagner extended to performers of Wagner’s works
Hotter’s career intersected with the Third Reich, during which time he enjoyed official favor. Hitler’s adoration of Wagner extended to performers of Wagner’s works, and Hotter was among those considered exemplars of the idealized Germanic artistic tradition.
Hitler revered Wagner’s operas for their themes of heroism, mythology, and nationalism, and valued Hotter’s ability to embody the grandeur and intensity of these roles. However, Hotter himself was not a member of the Nazi Party and is said to have ridiculed the German leader in private. He refused to appear at the 1940 Bayreuth festival, directed by Hitler’s devoted admirer Winifred Wagner. He had considered emigrating to the United States, but stayed to protect his family.
While Hotter’s career benefited from the regime’s cultural policies, his legacy remains defined by his art rather than his association with the era.
After the Second World War, Hotter sang at Covent Garden in 1948 and, from 1952, began a 12-year association with the Bayreuth Festival under the direction of Wieland Wagner, Winifred’s son.
Hotter enjoyed a 50-year relationship with the Vienna State Opera, where she continued to sing throughout the 1980s and performed in Paris, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam and countless other cities.
Neil Parks, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire