{"id":1691,"date":"2022-06-06T13:20:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T17:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.alumni.ncsu.edu\/?p=1691"},"modified":"2022-06-06T13:20:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T17:20:19","slug":"chasing-the-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/2022\/chasing-the-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing the Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are few sporting contests around the world that can match the oddity and utter brutality of the Cooper\u2019s Hill Cheese Rolling<\/a>, an annual event near the English town of Gloucester. Contestants are warned that they enter at their own risk, and broken bones are a common occurrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet every year for generations, dozens of people have shown up for the chance to chase a disk of Double Gloucester cheese<\/a> down a 200-yard hill that is so steep contestants inevitably end up rolling and bouncing most of the way down. In recent years, the event has become a cult favorite on YouTube and was featured in a 2020 Netflix documentary series<\/a> on extreme and quirky competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of its most ardent fans is Abby Lampe \u201922, who graduated from NC State in May with a degree in industrial systems engineering. She has seen the Netflix series and watched countless hours of videos of the race, all with the dream of one day entering it herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abby Lampe ’22 with Chris Anderson, taken before the race. He won for the 23rd time on Sunday, a record.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Abby Lampe ’22 with Flo Early, taken after the race. Early is a local who has won the women’s event four times.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, Lampe\u2019s dream was fulfilled. Not only did she compete, Lampe won the women\u2019s event. And she did so without suffering any major injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a few bruises on my left leg and some scratches, and possibly some burst blood vessels on my hand,\u201d Lampe, 21, said in an interview from Gloucester just hours after her win, believed to be the first by an American female. \u201cThey’re very minor injuries, so I can still walk and talk. It was very muddy, so I had mud in my teeth, actually. I also think I chipped a little bit of a tooth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what did Lampe win for her efforts? “I won the cheese,\u201d she says. \u201cNo money. Just bragging rights and an 8-pound block of Double Gloucester cheese.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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