Leith Hill Trail Runners
Unusual event in the UK. This time it was a couple from Finland who won. And what is the prize? A barrel of local beer.
Welcome to UK Wife Carrying Race. The unusual race takes place in the UK, as you can see, and as you can also see, it’s a wife-carrying race (and beyond).
It’s not something new. On the contrary: this Sunday the 17th edition of this unusual race took place, which originated in Finland 30 years ago, but now stands out in Dorking, Surrey.
The proof is just this: the competitors take their wives. In the Finnish version they only went women on the back. But here competitors can also bring their husbands, family members, partners or other friends – although most of them even take their wives.
And they take it as they please – although the majority stay upside down on the runner’s back, with legs crossed in front of the face of the hallway.
As long as the person carried weighs at least 50 kilos. Anyone who is underweight can use a backpack full of cans of flour, water or something similar to reach the minimum requirement, describes .
“The first time we started training, there in Woking, the people who were in the park said we were crazy”, reports Stuart Johnson, who won in 2025.
There they go, up or down the hill, with someone else on their back. They have to deviate from obstacles, like bales of hay, over 380 meters. They are still wet with water pistols and buckets, thrown by spectators.
In this edition, dozens of participants repeated the tradition, on a cloudy day (what a novelty in the United Kingdom).
The winners came from Finland. The Finns called Teemu and Jatta.
And what is the prize for the winning couple? One beer barrel local.
