Rolling thunder: Contestants chase cheese wheel down a hill in

By A Mystery Man Writer

Dozens of reckless racers have chased a 7-pound (3 kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the near-vertical Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester in southwestern England. The cheese-rolling race has been held at Cooper’s Hill, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, since at least 1826. The rough-and-tumble event often comes with safety concerns. Few competitors manage to stay on their feet all the way down the hill, and this year several had to be helped, limping, from the course. Canadian contestant Delaney Irving won the women’s race despite being briefly knocked unconscious. Matt Crolla was one of the men's winners, and said the secret to taking part was "just being an idiot.”