The Mongol Derby is known globally for being the world’s longest and toughest horse race. Extending 1,000km across the expansive Mongolian Steppe, it is a challenge that few could fathom.
This year, though, there was Irish representation in the gruelling endurance race, which seeks to recreate the horse messenger system developed by Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Clare man Martin McMahon made the 7,000km trip to the mountainous Asian country with the aim of raising funds for a trio of Irish charities.
Racing on behalf of the Irish Cancer Society, the MS Society of Ireland and Pieta House, Mr McMahon trained for over 18 months in advance of the race, which he described as one of the most physically challenging events in the world.
The race itself has no marked course, no overnight accommodation or prepared food. It is simply the rider and their semi-feral horses, navigating an all-encompassing environment that includes mountain passes, wooded hills, river crossings, wetlands and even sand dunes. It lasts 10 days and riders race for up to 14 hours per day and spend each night resting, should everything go to plan, in a traditional Mongolian ger tent with their nomadic hosts.
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“I just love the format of it,” said Mr McMahon. “You’re racing for over 1,000km and have to deal with so many challenges. The weather for example, it can go from being 35 degrees one day to freezing temperatures the next. Trying to navigate using semi-feral horses too was an interesting aspect to me. There were just so many layers to it.”
Speaking about how the idea of taking part in the world’s longest horse race occurred to him, Mr McMahon said, “I saw a documentary on it maybe a decade ago. It was called All The Wild Horses and it made me say to myself that if I ever got the chance to go and do it, that I’d have to take it.
“I’ve been around horses all my life. I grew up with horses and have always had a fascination with them. So, the opportunity to race on these horses, which are unusual in that they can gallop for 20 or 30km, was something that really appealed to me,” he said.
Unfortunately for Mr McMahon, however, disaster struck roughly halfway through the race, as he was bucked off his horse, which resulted in him breaking his shoulder blade and having to pull out of the race.
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“It’s one of those things, I guess, something that can’t be changed. They are semiwild horses so sometimes things go to plan and other times, like here, they don’t. I’m in a hospital but I’ll be getting out tomorrow hopefully. The shoulder blade isn’t the worst injury you could get, I’m lucky in that respect, that it’s not a serious break,” he told The Irish Times on Wednesday.
“There’s a high attrition rate for sure. There is a big risk that you won’t finish. The race started off with roughly 40 riders and by the time I had to pull out there had already been eight or nine before me who had to pack it in,” Mr McMahon added.
After all his preparation, the veteran horse rider was understandably disappointed with the outcome of his race.
“It was a disaster really. The first thing that comes into your head is ‘why did this happen?’, but at the end of the day what can you do. You come into the race knowing that it’s a possibility that you don’t finish, and if you don’t acknowledge that you’re foolhardy,” he said.
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Despite the disappointing ending, he remained in good spirits when speaking from his hospital bed in rural Mongolia. “It was definitely a great experience, absolutely brilliant. I’d go back and do it again tomorrow if I could. It was fabulous and the views were spectacular,” he said.
Signing off with a word of warning for any adventurous souls contemplating their own attempts at conquering the Mongol Derby, he said, “It was very, very tough, just so physically demanding. If people are thinking of giving it a go and just coming out for a holiday, they’ve got completely the wrong idea. You should be aware of how tough it is on the body. You would need another holiday after it.”