Wife-carrying: a race you can run as a couple

If you thought the London Marathon was fun to watch, just wait until Friday, when the North American Wife-Carrying Championship is held in Maine. The concept is simple: racers carry their better halves about 250m and work around a series of obstacles. The winning couple is awarded the wife’s weight in beer and five times her weight in cash. This will be the 21st running of the North American event. 

The North American Wife-Carrying Championship was founded in 1999, and it has been held every October at the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine, ever since. Couples can qualify for this continental championship by winning sanctioned state, provincial or regional wife-carrying events. After this priority registration, any spots that remain are open to the public. 

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The course is 254m long and it features three obstacles: a log hurdle, “the widow-maker water hazard” and a sand hill. All of this must be completed while, well, carrying your spouse. Not only will the winners take home beer and money, but they will also get an entry into the World Wife-Carrying Championship in Finland, which is slated for the summer of 2021. Anyone who follows the sport of wife-carrying knows just how big a deal it is to win a slot in the WWCC, and to have the opportunity to carry one’s wife in Finland, the birthplace of wife-carrying, makes it all the more meaningful. 

If you’re not married (or even if you are and you just you think wife-carrying might not be something your wife wants to do with her spare time), don’t worry, there are options for you. The rules state that couples do not have to be legally married, nor do they have to be made up of one man and one woman. As long as both members of your couple are at least 21 years of age, you’re good to go. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to compete at this year’s North American Championship, but you can start training now so you’re ready for next year. 

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Due to COVID-19, this year’s event will look a little different. There will be a limited number of spectators permitted to watch the race, masks are required at all times (other than when athletes are in action on the course) and couples will race one at a time, rather than alongside other duos. At its core, though, the event is still what everyone’s been training for: a chance to carry their significant others 250m as quickly as possible.