Sunday River added two new categories at this year’s Wife Carrying Championships. In addition to first-, second-, and third-place prizes, there were prizes for the fastest couple with a combined weight of over 350 pounds and the fastest couple with a combined age of over 80.

Jeff and Stephanie Scogland, of Marblehead, Mass., won in the weight category with a time of 1:36.8, finishing 5th overall.

The winners for the age category were John Whitman, of South Portland and Janet Leary of Peak’s Island. The two finished 8th, with a time of 1:48.2. They were “pretty satisfied” with their time this year, Whitman said, “but next year we’re going for first place. Enough of this combined age stuff.”

Neither of the two had done any training for the event. In fact, Whitman’s greatest physical achievement to date had been climbing into a VW Hatchback through the roof after locking himself out.

For next year, the almost 60-year-old Whitman plans to do a lot of running and climbing stairs with weights on his back. Leary, 40, said that she plans to use the Estonian carry next year, in which the woman rides upside down with her legs over the man’s shoulders and her arms around his waist. “Estonian carry with a belt (to hold onto) is the way to go.”

Whitman feels that the two make a good team.

“She was cheering the whole way. I had this little voice coming from down behind me.”

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