Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire: Glory for Few and Pain for All

If you could envision Braveheart combined with Thunder Dome, you’d have a sliver of an idea of the sort of pandemonium that takes place each year at the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling contest in England.  There is glory for few and pain for all…Gloucestershire style.

The concept is simple:  Sprint down the steepest hill imaginable chasing after a rolling block of cheese, dodge flying bodies and avoid the perpetually uneven ground.  All in a days work, right?  Wrong.

We think the USA government should implement this into their torture repertoire.  Water boarding is for sissies.  (watch the video at the bottom and you’ll actually yell out loud when you watch.  seriously)

Each year maniacs from all over the local area gather for this tradition that has been around for over 200 years.  The meet at the top of Cooper’s Hill.  This hill is the thing nightmares are made of.

There are 5 different race divisions, including a kids division.  Don’t worry, parents, the kids have to race uphill.  For the adults, their challenge is to chase the 8lb Double Gloucester cheese supplied by Smart’s Farm.  Here’s the catch:  The cheese can never be caught.  Twisted!  The first one to cross the finish line is the winner.

The harsh reality is that many competitors don’t make it to the bottom.  Each year the list of the injured grows.  The local St. John ambulance team works non-stop transporting people to the hospital.  To date, 1997 takes the cake for the highest number of injured people at 33.  Then in 2005 the festivities were delayed because a fresh batch of battered racers had to wait for the ambulances to return from their previous delivery of hurt competitors.

Two men enter, one man leave!

(Our favorite part is at 35 seconds when the guy in black does the face-plant and slides for 30 feet)