What’s the best way to test one’s fitness and manliness? Run with a sack of coal, of course!
Britons gathered in Gawthorpe, near Wakefield, England, for the World Coal Carrying Championship on April 17.
In this quirky British contest, men run 0.7 miles (1.1 kilometers) uphill while carrying 110 pounds (50 kg) of coal.
The championship originated in 1963 in a pub when one man challenged another to the race to prove his strength.
Andrew Corrigan, first-time competitor and this year’s champion, carries on the original spirit of the contest.
“A few months ago, I was in the pub and a couple of the guys that I was with were talking about manly challenge events, and they said they’ve heard of this coal carrying race, south of Leeds. So I said, that sounds fantastic, I’d love to get involved in something like that and then they all turned to me and said: ‘No, it’s not for the likes of you, it’s for like big, strong rugby-playing type guys’, so I thought, right, I’m entering, I’m going to prove them wrong, so this is for all the skinny guys out there!” said Corrigan, who completed the race in 4 minutes, 31 seconds.
But the sport is not just for men anymore. There’s a version for women, with a lighter, 44-pound (20kg) sack of coal. Jenny Mostram took first place, finishing at 4 minutes, 30 seconds.
