THEY’RE a young couple committed to their health and fitness, and now Adrian and Amanda Betts are ready to take on the world’s best in wife carrying when they travel to Finland next year.
The Bellingen couple took out the Oak Australian Wife Carrying Title, a feature event of the Singleton Show, on the weekend.
It was only their second time in the competition after qualifying at the Bellingen Show earlier this year.
“We just thought we’d enter for a bit of fun at the local show, but once we got through to Singleton, we thought we’d like to win it and bring it home for Bello,” Mr Betts said.
They were among 14 couples vying for the Australian title, in what has become one of the biggest spectator events for the local agricultural show.
Organiser Kath Farthing said the competition had been run for 11 years.
“Until last year it was open for the general public, but now we’re getting entrants to qualify at their local shows,” she said.
Mr Betts’ background is in adventure racing. The fitness instructor and his wife train together, along with their 18-month-old daughter.
“We did a lot of strength work with the kettlebell and had a practice run around the back yard, but we’ve been training for a lot time,” he said.
“I do off-road triathlons, 24-hour challenges and 100-kilometre runs.
“The longest race I’ve done was 12 days without stopping.”
To prepare for Finland, he’ll work on his strength and power.
“From what we’ve been told, the course is a bit faster, so I’ll do a lot of long sprints while carrying Amanda,” he said.
A key part of their success is the weight difference between the husband and wife, as well as Mrs Betts’ ability to hang on.
“We do the Romanian-style legs over the head which makes it much easier to run.
“Amanda hangs on really tight as well which is great, so I can just focus on running. I didn’t really think about her being on my back.”
