Brits are proud of the oddest things.
Stiff upper lips. David Bowie. Hurtling themselves down steep hills in the pursuit of cheese wheels.
It?s not even real cheese they?re chasing.�
On Monday, a local bank holiday, approximately 3,000 people flocked to Gloucestershire for England?s annual unofficial cheese rolling competition, ?Cheese Rolling and Wake."
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Regarded as one of the oldest customs in Great Britain, with roots in a springtime heathen festival, the cheese rolling race originally involved an eight-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese sent careening down Cooper?s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucester, with daredevil contestants in hot pursuit.
This year?s race saw the cheese being replaced with a lighter, safer foam copy.
As lame as that sounds, bad spills, twisted ankles and broken bones on the steep 200-meter slope are still so common, police have warned organizers about legal repercussions.
But the tradition continues.
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In a spate of upsets, an American in a stars-and-stripes bodysuit won the first men's race of this year's competition, while an Australian won the second and a Japanese traveler dressed as a ninja won the fourth.
The women?s race and the third men?s race were claimed by contestants from the region.
And yes, the winners take home their respective cheeses.�
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