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."
Source: UNESCO
The Estonian sauna tradition dates back to at least the 13th century, but the "Saunamaraton" has only been around for 10 years.
To enter the competition, participants have to gather up a team of four people, and pay the entrance fee of 70 Euros.
The majority of the competitors are Estonian, but others hail from as far away as Mexico, New Zealand, and Japan.
Then, at the stroke of noon, it's off to the races. 185 teams visit 19 different sauna stations in the area around Otepää.
Source: Otepää Municipality
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!”
Source: Estonian World
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.
People who tuck into saunas on a regular basis tend to have better blood pressure readings and lower rates of heart disease than others.
Cold plunges can be good for the body too.
Cold exposure can help our bodies activate more brown fat, which is the "good" kind that keeps us warm.
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.
Source: Echo News
The winning team is gifted with their very own hot tub. With any luck, it'll get filled like this one did with hot kvass, a traditional rye drink.
Next year may be the first time that the sauna marathon crosses the Atlantic.
The Chicago Estonian House is considering hosting a first American Sauna Marathon in 2020.
Source: Estonian World
