Try and stay on your feet, if you fall do an army roll... Cheese-rolling winner reveals tips for success in Britain's most adrenaline-inducing race

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A former Cheese-rolling champion has shared his tips for success at Britain's wackiest and most adrenaline-inducing race.
Chris Anderson, 37, is something of a legend in Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, having earned a place in the Guinness World Records for his cheese-chasing triumphs.
Having stepped back from competing, he now offers advice to competitors on how to stay safe.
It comes after a competitor in last week's annual competition was airlifted to hospital, and another was carried away on a stretcher.
A video from the event captured the terrifying moment one competitor, dressed as a wizard, came flying down the huge hill before slamming into the ground.
Reflecting on the race, Anderson told The Guardian: 'It's risky, there is no doubt about it. You've just got to be able to try and stay on your feet as long as possible and lean backwards so you can stay in control of yourself.'
He said that it is better for competitors to stay in control rather than going flat out for speed.
If you fall, the best bet is to do an army roll and then get back on your feet as quickly as possible, the former military man said.
The event challenges people to pursue a 3kg Double Gloucester cheese rolling down the steep 200 yard hill, though has also prompted safety warnings in recent years.
Hundreds of people have been gathering at Cooper's Hill to watch the occasion that is thought to have its roots in a pagan festival celebrating the return of spring.
Competitors chase the cheese down the 180m-high hill, with many tripping and tumbling on their way - only to pick themselves up and resume the pursuit.
The first runners to catch the cheese, which can reach speeds of up to 70mph, are declared victors in various races across the event that dates back to the 1800s.
Anderson believes mid-20s is the ideal age for competitors, blending fitness with a bit of experience. But being an adrenaline junkie is also crucial.
The 23-time winner of the event suggested that anyone taking part should visit the site before the event itself.
He said that many willing competitors turn up on the day to run the race and pull out after viewing the hill for the first time.
Now a ground worker for the event, Anderson had his preferred route down the hill, avoiding a tricky hollow.
He grew up in Brockworth where the event is held each year and witnessed the race every year since he was young.
He admitted that in his teenage years he and his friends used to go up the hill and 'push each other down'.
In 2004, Anderson finished second place aged just 16 and vowed he would return to win the race in the future.
Wasting no time, he won the event the following year, but broke his ankle when he fell in a hole while celebrating.
Anderson returned to win the event another 22 times, becoming a local legend of the event.
In 2022 he retired after breaking the record for the most wins.
It is not known when the race was first run, but it is thought to date back for hundreds of years.
The event is now a global phenomenon which attracts visitors and viewers from all over the world.
Rebel cheese rollers have been staging their own unofficial event after health and safety fears caused the official competition to be cancelled in 2010.
This year's event prompted a safety warning from the local ambulance, police and fire services, who warned they could be overwhelmed if there was a 'mass casualty incident'.
But it went ahead as planned, with Tom Kopke, a 23-year-old YouTuber from Munich, retaining the title he won last year.
Luke Briggs won one of the men's contests dressed in a Superman costume - while first-time racer Ava Sender Logan, 20, from London, was triumphant in the first women's event before admitting she did not even like cheese.
She told of not remembering most of her downhill tumble, but said of the occasion: 'It's such a cool tradition.'
Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson from Gloucestershire Police has previously described the event as a 'unique tradition', adding that the force had 'no desire to stop it'.
But officers said they had a duty to tell the public the local Tewkesbury Borough Safety Advisory Group had declared it unsafe, raising concerns about the potential strain on emergency services.
The advisory group is made up of multiple agencies, including emergency services, who work to promote safety and welfare at events.
Members have told of concerns about how officials could respond if there were a major incident, after ambulances struggled to access the site in 2023.
The winner of that year's women's race was knocked unconscious at the finish line and only discovered had won after waking up in a medical tent.
The tradition could be given an official honour by being added to a UK heritage list.
The Government is asking the public to nominate their favourite traditions that best reflect Britain, to be recorded in a new Inventory of Living Heritage in the UK.
Other traditions in the same county such as surfing the Severn Bore and Woolsack Races in Tetbury have also been touted as potential contenders for the list, with heritage minister Baroness Twycross saying last month: 'The UK is rich with wonderful traditions.'
The history of Cooper Hill's Cheese-Rolling event
The ceremony originally took place on Whit Monday, but was later moved to the Spring bank holiday.
The first evidence of cheese rolling is found in a message written by the town crier in 1826.
But even then, the writing suggested it was an old tradition, believed to be about 600-years-old.
Two possible origins have been proposed for the event.
Some believe it may have evolved from a requirement for maintaining grazing rights on the common, while others believe it has pagan origins from the custom of rolling objects down a hill.
It is understood that bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year after winter.
It is also believed to have links to a traditional fertility rite where buns, biscuits and sweets are scattered from the top of the hill by the Master of Ceremonies (the official host).
This in turn encourages the fruits of the harvest.