Only The Finnish, The Wife Carrying Championships

I thought my decision to run the Warrior Dash this summer was a pretty adventurous undertaking. That was until my wife informed me of the Wife Carrying Championships held annually in Finland.

Fantastic! Pretty simple rules, the man carries a woman on his back by using whatever form best suites their team. You can even borrow a woman if you so choose. She must weigh at least 49kg. The rule being that she cannot touch the ground at any point during the race. The course is 253.5 meters long and has two dry obstacles and one water obstacle about 1 meter deep. To make it even more fantastic, the man must drink an entire beer before he can cross the finish line.

I find the Estonian carry the most hysterical. The woman puts her legs on the man’s shoulders hanging upside down, holding on to his waist. What does the winner win you ask? The winner wins his wife’s weight in beer. Awesome. Just one more reason to visit Finland.