Lac La Biche County not only has the distinction of being the site of the only sanctioned wife-carrying contest Canada, but it is also home to the winning couple.
Cora Cummings and Reece Kingdon, who live in Hylo, were among more than a dozen couples who competed in the much-anticipated competition during the recent Lakeland Country Fair hosted by the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society.
The couple finished a 278-yard outdoor obstacle course in the fastest time, winning medals, five times Cummings’ weight in cash, plus her weight in beer. Translated, the Hylo couple walked away with $510 in cash and 11 cases of beer.
Being crowned the victors was the furthest thing from minds when they first entered the competition.
“We’re always looking to try new and exciting things, so why not wife carrying? We thought, even if we don’t win, we’ll have lots of fun memories,” Cummings told Lakeland This Week.
Running through a race course that is exactly 278 yards — a distance mandated through the governing body that sanctions the North American Wife Carrying Championships in the US state of Maine each year —jumping over hay bales, scampering through heavy tires, and navigating a water pit is challenging enough, but doing it while carrying your significant other over your back is — well, to sum it up in one word, said Kingdon… “exhausting”.
“The first part of the race was relatively easy. The last 100 feet towards the finish line was punishing, but I pushed us forward,” he explained, recalling the fun afternoon.
For Cummings’ role in the race, admitting that it’s nowhere nearly as physically demanding, to hang upside-down while your better half sprints to victory in front of hundreds of cheering fans ... it is still a bit scary.
“Thankfully, Reece did all the work, and I only had to hang on tight for the ride,” Cummings said. “It was certainly nerve–racking at times.”
After the first six heats had taken place, the couple was a bit surprised to learn that they’d advanced to the finals, where they faced off against Nolan Debusschere and Kamaron Peterberidge.
“At first, after seeing the competition, I wasn’t sure if we even had a chance,” Kingdon said. “But after our first race, we felt confident that perhaps winning was a possibility.
Carrying the team
The couple say they owe some of their victory to the carrying method they used. Moving away from the classic “Estonian Carry” where the woman’s chest and stomach is bent over the man’s back, Kingdon used a King-Kong-stye carry, or a single-arm lift to hoist Cummings as she held on tightly.
“I believe the carrying method we used – a single arm fireman’s carry – is what propelled us to victory,” he said.
While Cummings used her hubby-gripping fingers to hold the cash after they won, Kingdon used those same arm muscles to lift the 11 sacks of beer into his pickup truck. In hindsight, he said, bringing the truck to the race may have been done subconsciously because he knew they’d need some beer space.
“I figured that on the off chance we won, we’d have to take all that beer home ourselves,” Kingdon said with a laugh. “That’s why I brought my pickup truck.”
Victory party … later
So how did the reigning Canadian Wife Carry Champions celebrate the inaugural win?
Quietly, they say.
“We were too tired to celebrate,” Kingdon said. “We’re saving the beer for a special occasion, like a house party later.”
The experience — and especially the win — is something that has the couple already thinking about defending their title at next year’s event.
“Would we do it again? In a heartbeat,” Kingdon grinned as he stood next to his partner, the medals the couple had just been awarded hanging proudly around their necks, ready for pictures.
North American championships
But before next year’s defence of the Canadian title, they may get a shot at this year’s North American championship. Kingdon and Cummings have their sights set on representing Lac La Biche (and Canada) at the North American Wife Carrying Championship, which is set to take place on October 7 at the Sunday River Resort in Maine. The prizes are again beer and cash, with a chance to go further and represent North America at the World Wife Carrying Races in Finland next year.
As the couple works around a few logistical hurdles prior to the North American registration, and work to find local sponsors to carry some of the costs, they are continuing to train. Not all of it, admittedly, is with giant tires, mud pits and water hazards. Some of it right now is a little closer to home — and more fun.
“Although Reece and I hit the gym regularly, in order to ensure we were totally prepared for the competition, I got him to carry me up the stairs back and forth several times,” Cummings said lightheartedly. “Which was so much fun.”
Race organizers with the Lac La Biche Agricultural Society were pleased with the response from participants and spectators for their first attempt at the competition.
Aurel Langevin with the local ag society hopes to see even more people out for the event at next year’s Lakeland Country Fair.
Along with local and regional media coverage, the event was also highlighted by CBC to a provincial and national audience.
