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The European Sauna Marathon includes 19 freezing ice baths, hot tub dips, and steamy saunas. It may support a key 'third pillar' of physical fitness.
The European Sauna Marathon includes 19 freezing ice baths, hot tub dips, and steamy saunas. It may support a key 'third pillar' of physical fitness.
Hilary BrueckFeb 8, 2019, 03:05 IST
A man takes a dip in the cold water during the sauna marathon near Otepaa, Estonia on February 2, 2019.REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
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The European Sauna Marathon takes place during one of the coldest winter afternoons every year in Estonia.
Teams of four compete for the grand prize: their own hot tub.
The "SaunaMaraton" is not so much a sporting event as it is a chance to eat, drink, and chat in the midst of the dark, cold days of winter.
There's also a growing pile of evidence that suggests the exposure to steamy hot saunas and frigid cold plunges is good for health.
Surviving cold, harsh winter temperatures is a marathon, not a sprint.
That's certainly true in Estonia, where every winter people from around the world gather for the annual European Sauna Marathon in Otepää.
The goal is to make some of the coldest days of the year a little brighter.
February is the coldest month of the year in the tiny Northern European country on the Baltic Sea. Temperatures during the competition consistently hover below freezing, at around -6 Celsius (in the 20s Fahrenheit.) This year was no exception. On February 2, thermometers in the tiny town of less than 4,000 people topped out around -1 Celsius (30 F).
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The Sauna Marathon is not a true 26.2-mile marathon; the only real running competitors do here is to and from the saunas.
Instead, it's a chance to bond with others who've braved the cold, often wearing little more than a robe.
"Many people think saunas are just hot rooms, but to Estonians they are so much more," marathon participant Adam Rang told Business Insider on Twitter.
It turns out that saunas may also provide some measurable health benefits, which, coupled with diet and exercise, could be considered a "third pillar" of physical fitness.
Here's a feel for what the race is really like, minus the chilly Estonian air.
People have been taking saunas for centuries in Estonia. In 2014, UNESCO even put the traditional Estonian smoke sauna on its list of practices of "intangible cultural heritage of humanity."
At each sauna stop, the teams must perform three tasks. They spend 3 minutes in the sauna.
They soak in a wood-fired hot tub.
And at least one team member must brave the waves of a cold water plunge at every stop.
After that, it's off to the next sauna.
But this isn't really a test of speed: teams use cars and vans to shuttle between the stops, though there is some jogging in and out of the saunas.
“I always thought people were running because it was a race,” competitor Adriano D’Ambrosio told Estonian World. “But I now realize that we have to run just because we are so very cold!”
The "winners" of the competition are also selected at random, "to ensure no one breaks the speed limit when driving" in between the sauna stops, as Rang explained.
Scientists who've studied sauna-takers notice that the practice has some health benefits attached.
Cooling down and warming up is only part of this game. "It’s about bonding with people," Rang said. "Estonians can be quite quiet most of the day, but the sauna is where we really open up, and not just through our pores."
"I already have one business meeting arranged with another competitor that I met during a sauna at the marathon," Rang added.
Food and drink are important too, and sauna "masters" will offer live music, free beer, and warm snacks to their guests.
This year, sauna marathoners voted for their favorite sauna stop on a special app.
"The real competition is between the saunas," Rang said. "The winning sauna had a great leiliruum (hot room), hot tub, and ice hole, but it was the bar serving smoked meat that helped them clinch the prize.”
“Estonians would traditionally use their saunas to smoke meat," Rang said. "But modern hygiene rules forbid you to serve meat that has been smoked in the same sauna that people bathe in!"
"Every dunk into the ice was like a shot of adrenaline, and warming up in the sauna afterwards helped keep the chill at bay," David Edwards, an English software engineer who lives in Estonia told the UK’s Echo News.
