The 9th annual UK wife-carrying championship has taken place this week… and it’s as fun as it sounds! The race took place in Surrey in the UK this week and saw dozens of couples running the course… none of which included included any couples that we know which we are rather gutted about!! (maybe next year!!)
Descended from Scandinavian tradition, the couples have to run a 380-metre course littered with hay bales to jump over, and a ‘splash zone’ where competitors get drenched in water. The winners get to take home a barrel of ale for all their efforts which sounds good to us!
This year, a new UK record was set by American Jonathan Schwochert and his French-born wife Charlotte Xiong, who ran the course in 1 minute and 40 seconds.
Get Surrey
Schwochert said:
“We do a bit of training. We do a little course that we kept running last year very quietly and out of the way where there weren’t too many people to look. This year we only ran it once but I was doing runs with a weighted backpack and it got a bit tough, chaffing up my back so I had to take a break”.
There is a minimum 50kg weight rule for the person being carried along the course. Women can also carry their husbands, and same-sex couples are welcome at the race as well.
Get Surrey
The signs of a perfect marriage are to work together well… so what better way to test out whether you are a suited match in this area. Couples about to tie the knot, we’d certainly recommend you give this a go as a pre-marriage test of team work!
The world championships take place in Finland later this year so get your tickets booked… we naturally will be there cheering on these super slapstick athletes… any couples up for it next year, … coz we’ll meet you there!!
