You’ve probably heard of running with the bulls, but have you heard of running with the cheese?
It’s an age-old tradition that occurs every year at the near-vertical Coopers Hill near Gloucester, England.
Yep, you did indeed read that correctly, people run down a hill to capture an approximately 7-lb wheel of Double Gloucester cheese to be precise.
“I’m glad I’m pretty conscious, and I’ve not got many serious injuries,” contestant Matt Crolla told BBC.
Well, not everyone was able to maintain consciousness, as Delaney Irving found herself knocked out in her quest to capture the dairy delicacy on Monday.
The 19-year-old Canadian just so happened to win the female competition despite it.
Irving said right after the race, “I just remember hitting my head, and now I have the cheese.”
‘I just remember hitting my head and now I have the cheese!’
Congratulations to Delaney Irving, who won the UK cheese rolling race despite being knocked unconscious! pic.twitter.com/i6kkcu6HAI
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 30, 2023
“I remember running, then bumping my head, and then I woke up in the tent,” she recalled. “I still don’t really believe it, but it feels great.”
The 2023 Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling Race – 15 photos from a very steep hill on a farm near Gloucester, England, where, every year, racers run and tumble in pursuit of a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. https://t.co/KYMDfE8acT pic.twitter.com/m6inxbZcpM
— The Atlantic Photo (@TheAtlPhoto) May 30, 2023
Afterward, Irving told CBC she was sore and was covered in bruises.
Crolla noted what every person is thinking about this event. “I don’t think you can train for it, can you? It’s just being an idiot,” he said to BBC.
Some even travel with hopes of gaining the cheese glory. Ryoya Minami came from Japan for the event and also was victorious in a race.
And he entered the race “because I love cheese.”
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Now, for the 19-year-old that was knocked unconscious, she had a different origin story with how she wound up hurling down the hill.
“Well, I decided yesterday I would do the race,” Irving, who is currently backpacking through Europe, said after her victorious cheese run.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.