In February, nearly 1,000 participants lined up for a race unlike any other: the European Sauna Marathon.
The event, held in a popular ski resort town in Southern Estonia, challenges racers to an epic battle of extremes: With only a map to guide them, participants run, hike and drive through the snow in swimsuits, underwear and bathrobes and then jump in a steamy sauna for a minimum of three minutes before moving onto the next one. According to a story by NBC News, last year's course featured 20 sauna stops over the course of a 105 mile route.
To keep things interesting, each sauna is different than the last. One stop may be a traditional hut or a spa-like getaway, or they could, as racers did in 2015's race, find themselves enjoying a stint in a fire-engine-turned sauna, or even a sauna nightclub.
Participants sign up in teams, of which there were 217 this year, including 12 international teams. An American participant, Carl Pucci, shared his "training strategy" with Reuters last year:
"The key training for this event is to just run as fast as you can through the freezing cold and into a warm space over and over again and without dying," he said. "Your goal here is just to survive — pure, brutal survival."
This year's winning team completed the course in just two hours and 55 minutes. The grand prize? A hot tub to ease those stiff, sore post-race muscles.
