LONDON (AP) — To have and to hold took on a new meaning for about two dozen couples who put their relationships to the test on a grassy hill in southern England.

Wives and girlfriends clung on for dear life as their partners carried them up and down a hillside for the U.K. Wife Carrying Race, one of the country’s quirkiest annual sports events.

On Sunday, Teemu Touvinen and Jatta Leinonen from Finland were crowned the winners at 1 minute and 45 seconds. Their prize? A barrel of local ale.

The awkward footrace in Dorking, Surrey is said to be inspired by a 19th-century Finnish legend about a gang that pillages villages and steals the women.

These days the emphasis is on lighthearted fun.