Latest news with #adrenaline
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
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
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.
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Aussie rockers Speed voice resistance with guitar licks, growls and love
True to the band's no-nonsense moniker, listening to Speed is the quickest way to get your adrenal glands firing, priming your body for fight, not flight. A five-piece from Sydney, Speed does hard-charging hardcore with old-school attitude and a locked-in focus befitting the title of its debut album, 'Only One Mode.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Race car driver Marcus Armstrong is a vegan who loves planking for hours. So will he drink milk if he wins the Indy 500?
If you were trying to get hold of racer Marcus Armstrong to check in after Saturday's crash, there's a good chance he hasn't gotten back to you. For the record, he is, fortunately, fine. But he's also "really bad on my phone" — which is something that helps him stay mentally prepared for the 2025 Indianapolis 500. The 24-year-old from New Zealand was involved in a brutal-looking crash during his final practice before the first of two days of qualifying rounds this past weekend. Armstrong was taken away on a stretcher but was back on the track on Sunday. He ended up earning the 32nd of 33 spots for the big race on May 25. Speaking to Yahoo Life's OT Diaries a few days before all this went down, Armstrong told me he was prepping for all scenarios. "You really need to be on top of your own thoughts and emotions," he shared. "So over the next week, we're just going to be cycling through every single possible scenario before race days, because it throws so many challenges at us." After a weekend full of adrenaline, Armstrong typically takes 24 hours to disconnect from technology. "I usually switch my phone off," he told me of his postrace ritual. "People close to me know that I don't often answer my phone, but on the Monday after a race, it will almost certainly be on 'do not disturb.' If you can get ahold of me, I'd be massively impressed." Physically, Armstrong is in top shape; the exercise junkie planks for several hours a day just to relax. But what's become instrumental to maintaining his cool on the track is meditation practices he's adopted over the past several years. "It's something that's not so popular here in the motorsport paddock, you know, it's quite a toxic masculinity vibe," he laughed. "But we're slowly moving towards the meditation route. I feel like it helped me to make better decisions, especially in the heat of the moment when you're driving a race car at 240 miles an hour." Here, Armstrong talks about how he plans to avoid distraction as the "emotional roller coaster" to the Indy 500 rolls on. Watching from home and watching from the track are two very different things. Nothing compares to the atmosphere with the hundreds of thousands of people that walk through the gates on race day. Everyone's there for a party. It's almost like a festival. That was my first impression. It's a family-oriented place, but there's also a lot of young people partying and just having fun. It's got everything you could ask for, this race. And then obviously to compete here, there's a lot of distraction, but it's part of the fun, isn't it? I mean, without the distraction, there is no fun. It's obviously a long couple of weeks and it's an emotional roller coaster. These cars are so finely tuned that if your car feels amazing at 10 a.m., it might feel really not good at 3 p.m. So staying calm and making the best of every situation you have is a true challenge here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I use a lot of meditation practices, actually. I do use the app Calm occasionally. I also use Brainwaves, which is kind of similar. I actually have a meditation coach here in Indianapolis. I think I might be the only one on the grid that has a meditation coach. I am training to break the world planking record. Funnily enough, that's my rest day exercise. I'll come back from a race, and typically on Monday, I will do a long planking session for an hour or two because, frankly, it's relaxing to me. I don't really need to engage my mind. I can just sort of switch my mind off, listen to a podcast, listen to music and just stay in that position. Some people would say that I'm absolutely crazy... A plank is typically not so comfortable, but if you just lock in and you get used to it, it's very relaxing. When I'm in New Zealand, occasionally I'll eat some salmon or cheese of some sort. But here in the States, I'm pretty much 100% vegan. That's honestly not intentional. I do what feels right for my body and that's just the sort of diet I've gravitated towards. So, the milk scenario, I don't know. I think I'm contractually obliged to say that I love drinking milk. So I love drinking milk! They didn't allow me to choose almond milk, I think that was a joke that was quite frowned upon when I made it earlier this month. If I win, I'll be more than happy to pour milk over me. I like to be MIA for a day and not to think about anything motorsport for 24 hours. It's not exactly a conscious decision to do that. It's just something that I've become accustomed to doing. And I'm addicted to doing exercise. So that clears my mind and I'm able to focus on the next weekend. I'm going to say partying. I'm not going to get fired, right? Nobody — I never call anyone. And I typically don't answer the phone. So I bustle it up inside like an unhealthy teenager. Californication is my favorite show of all time. Besides the usual spiders, snakes, I would say getting eliminated in the first round of the qualifying at IndyCar weekend. Peanut butter. I love an acai bowl. It's like a massive calorie bomb. And Whittaker's chocolate. UFOs, or just questioning our existence. Are we in a simulation or not? That's a big one. I'm horrendous at cooking. I'm horrendous at cleaning. Even though I've been living alone for the better part of 13 years, I've never managed to successfully do my washing. I'm horrendous at rugby, which is why I started motorsport. Loads of things. I'm bad at a lot more things than I'm good at. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
This is F1
Twenty cars on the grid, ready to race. When the lights go out, they will begin the chase. Their drivers waiting, filled with adrenaline, Each ready to battle it out for the win. It's lights out and away we go. The drivers speed up ready to show, That their determination wouldn't be in waste And that they would be the one in first place. The drivers racing hard, powered by their passion. Some pilots, they perform in spectacular fashion. While others, their races are over and done, But that's what it means to be in F1.
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
No gears, no brakes, Formula Fixed out to fast-forward U.S. cycling
May 12 (Reuters) - In the fluorescent glow of a re-purposed indoor go-kart track, cyclists hurtle around hairpin corners, their fixed-gear bikes offering a stark binary choice: perfect execution or intimate acquaintance with the barriers. Welcome to the world of Formula Fixed, a new adrenaline-fuelled cycling format organisers believe can finally give the two-wheeled sport the street-cred it lacks in the United States. "There are no real professional leagues that have cohesive storytelling and that's a shame, it's frustrating. So we're setting out to fix that," James Grady, co-founder of the venture with wife Clare, told Reuters. "94 percent of people in the States know how to ride a bike, but the sport's ability to convert that familiarity into fandom is fundamentally broken." Formula Fixed, which launched its inaugural Pro Series later this year, is cycling stripped back to the raw. No gears, no brakes, just leg-pumping action that fuses messenger culture, video game aesthetics and athletic prowess. Unlike traditional formats, whether road racing or track, fans and TV audiences of Formula Fixed won't need to be cycling aficionados to follow what's going on. "We're not here to tweak the old model," James says. "We're here to tear it down and rebuild it from scratch with culture, inclusivity, and energy at the core." The Gradys have been putting on events for more than a decade, including the Mission Crit in San Francisco -- a popular Criterium race around the city streets. Formula Fixed has evolved that format for retro-fitted arenas where fans can watch 100% of the action without having to move from their seat. "Mission Crit was getting more and more riders and more and more spectators, but it was hard to monetise because there's no front door," Clare says. "Fans at city crit races see maybe 10% of the action. I wouldn't want to pay for that." James says in the crowded sports landscape, spectators demand a more immersive experience, pointing to the popularity of golf's arena-based TGL and basketball's Unrivaled. Attempts to revolutionise cycling have been made before. The National Cycling League (NCL) with city-based franchise teams and celebrity-investments was launched a few years ago but soon ran into trouble and collapsed. The Gradys feel they have found the perfect recipe though and judging by a sold-out showcase event last year in California that was backed by brands such as Red Bull and Rapha and generated 5.6 million digital impressions, they may be right. "Whether you're in-venue, watching on-screen, or on your phone, you're going to feel the speed, the energy, and the emotion of every corner and crash," Clare says. The series will predominantly attract those from America's fixed-gear bike messenger scene rather than WorldTour pros, but the door is wide open for international competitors. "The key is it will really resonate with American audiences," James says. Formula Fixed will launch with two two-day qualifying events in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and San Francisco in September with the best male and female riders competing in a 2026 Pro Series.
