The Midwest Wife Carrying Championship tasks couples with crossing a 278-yard obstacle course--over hurdles, through a watery mud pit, and up an unsteady sand hill--all for the hopes of winning the wife's weight in beer.

Date: July 11th, 2026
Time: 1pm
Registration Fee: $45 or $50 after July 1st
Spectators: Free

How it Works
The course is built to international specifications at 278 yards in length, with two dry obstacles and one water obstacle. There is no minimum weight limit for the wife, and the winner is determined by a head-to-head final race rather than being determined only by the finishing time in the competitor's initial round. The course is run on uneven ground with elevation changes. Helmets are not required. 

Wife carrying is based on husband-and-wife teams racing with the husband carrying the wife through a regulation length obstacle course featuring log hurdles, sand traps, and the always popular water hazard. The fastest two teams from the qualifying round then compete head-to-head in a final heat. Competing couples neither have to be married, nor must they be comprised of a man and a woman, but both must be at least 21 years old to enter.

How the wife is carried is the competitors' choice, though most use the "Estonian carry" where the female participant holds the male around the waist and tightens her legs around his neck, thereby freeing his hands. The winning couple takes home the wife's weight in beer, and qualifies for the North American Championship, which takes place at Sunday River.