How to watch Cheese Rolling and what to look for

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Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling — Media & Strategy Guide

Video & Media

YouTube

“World’s Stupidest Competition” — The most-watched clip of the event with 24 million views. Search directly on YouTube.
National Geographic Overview — A punchy 3-minute breakdown of the event. Search “National Geographic cheese rolling” on YouTube.
2025 Race Highlights — Bleacher Report recap with embedded video:
2025 Results, Best Videos & Reaction — Bleacher Report

Netflix

We Are the Champions (2020) — Documentary covering six bizarre competitions worldwide, opening with Cheese Rolling at Cooper’s Hill. Follows four-time women’s winner Flo Early in her 2019 preparations.

BBC

The Great Cheese Chase (2018) — BBC One programme devoted entirely to the contest.

Short Film

Let’s Roll (2019) — Directed by Chris Thomas. A feel-good short about a teenage girl following in her brother’s cheese-rolling footsteps. Highly recommended pre-event watch.

CNN Articles

Strategy — What Winners Actually Do

There are two dominant schools of thought:

The Roll Strategy (dominant)

Two-time American champion Abby Lampe (North Carolina) described her approach plainly:

“My strategy is to basically run from the gate and then start rolling.”

Rather than trying to stay upright, she builds momentum by committing to the tumble — saving time by never attempting to get back on her feet.

The Local Knowledge Advantage

All-time record holder Chris Anderson (23 wins) grew up near the hill and knows every bump and groove. One contemporary described him as descending faster than Usain Bolt ran the 100m. Familiarity with the terrain is a massive edge that outside competitors simply can’t replicate.

The Zen Approach

2025 back-to-back men’s champion Tom Kopke (Munich) kept it simple:

“I shut off my brain and went for it.”

The Hard Reality

Video of any race depicts utter chaos — some try to control their descent by sliding on their bottoms, others careen down in various states of distress, bodies airborne sideways with limbs everywhere. The consensus across all winners: commit fully, don’t hesitate, and accept that you will tumble. Trying to stay upright is a losing strategy.

All-Time Records

Rank	Competitor	Wins
1	Chris Anderson	23
2	Stephen Gyde	21
3	Steven Brain	18

Women’s record: Flo Early — 4 wins (2008, 2016, 2018, 2019)

Next event: Monday, May 25, 2026 — Cooper’s Hill, Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England

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Are Cheese Rolling Contestants Training Hard?

It depends heavily on the competitor — there’s a wide spectrum from meticulous preparation to complete spontaneity.

️ The Serious Competitors Do Put In Real Work

Two-time American champion Abby Lampe is the best-documented example of structured prep:

Studied YouTube videos in advance to analyze how contestants attacked the hill
Practiced rolling down hills at a local park near her university campus in the weeks beforehand
Visited Cooper’s Hill two days before the race for an actual practice run — which convinced her to buy gloves to protect her hands
For general fitness: “I love to be active and do strength training and running — just the normal things to get healthy enough to compete well”

In-Race Intelligence Gathering

She also ran pre-race scouting during the event itself, watching and recording the first two men’s races intently before her own heat. She noticed both winners started from the left side of the hill — so she made sure to secure that exact spot when it was her turn. Her intuition paid off — the woman she’d identified as her main rival finished second.

🧠 The Mental Game Matters Too

Lampe strategized with friends by watching hours of cheese rolling footage, focusing specifically on the previous two years’ races to refine her overall game plan. She even watched the Netflix documentary We Are the Champions the night before the race to get a better feel for the hill’s conditions.

️ But Training Has a Hard Ceiling

Here’s the brutal reality: no practice hill can truly prepare you for Cooper’s Hill.

Lampe tried to find the steepest hills near her home in North Carolina and initially planned to go headfirst — but hadn’t accounted for just how uneven and steep the real thing would be. As she put it:

“Videos and photos do not do it any justice. It’s a very steep hill. There’s a very large initial drop and then it’s very bumpy with a lot of uneven surfaces.”

Most Participants Don’t Train At All

Some competitors take it seriously enough to practice running down the hill beforehand — risking injury before the event even starts. But plenty of others simply show up on the day. One spectator recounted a guy standing next to them who decided to enter on a whim at the last minute. He ended up covered in bruises with a sprained back. His wife was not happy.

The Bottom Line

Competitor Type	Approach
International contenders	Video study, hill practice, fitness training, pre-race scouting
Local legends	Lifetime of hill knowledge — grew up on it
Everyone else	Show up, throw yourself off the edge, hope for the best

As 23-time champion Chris Anderson put it:

“Running down Cooper’s Hill is the best 15 seconds of your life you are ever going to experience.”

Next event: Monday, May 25, 2026 — Cooper’s Hill, Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England

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The event lasts 15 seconds?

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Lol. This was a good choice @nuleafjhawk

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Watching We Are The Champions on Netflix. These people are flying!