Whether you are a participant or a spectator, marathons can be grueling and sometimes boring events.
But there are a growing number of wild, weird and downright entertaining races all over the world. In Gloucestershire, England, there’s the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling race. Participants literally chase a wheel of double Gloucester cheese down a hill. The winner is the first person to catch it or cross the finish line right after the cheese does. And what’s the prize? It’s the cheese of course.
The Great Wheelbarrow race in Australia is a little tougher. Participants must push an empty wheelbarrow about 100 miles.
In Finland, it may not be politically correct but there’s something called the Wife Carrying Championship. It’s where male participants have to carry their wives through an obstacle course. And there are rules. The wives can’t weigh less than 108 pounds. And the prize is beer in the equivalent of the winning wife’s weight.
And yes, we have a weird race in the U.S. as well. It’s the Pack Burro race in Leadville, Colorado. And you’d better be patient. Why? You have to coax the donkey you’re paired with along a 22-mile long mountain route. And riding the donkey is strictly prohibited.
For more on races, check out:
Voluntourism Spotlight: Race for the Cure
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