It's all for the love of the cheese.
More than 10,000 people descended on Whistler's Blackcomb Mountain Saturday, racing down the grassy climbs in search of an unusual prize: an 11-pound wheel of B.C.'s Cracked Pepper Verdelait cheese.
Spectators flanked the grassy hill while 200 cheese racers battled it out to be the first one down the slope to chase the cheese and cross the finish line.
In Pictures: A cheesy race
The two grand champions didn't just leave with just bragging rights and a delicious wheel of cheese: each took home a Whistler season's ski pass for two.
Seattle resident Aaron Heinzen won the men's race in an impressive time of eight seconds. Female winner Janine Pharo of New Zealand wasn't far behind, crossing the finish line two seconds later.
Thirty-one-year-old Heinzen said he takes a methodical approach to the race.
"I start fast, ease through the middle, and pick ‘er up at the bottom," he said.
Pharo, however, said she's just doing her best to get through the race.
"I just try to stay on my feet," she said.
While Pharo says she'll likely have friends over to enjoy her cheese with some wine, Heinzen has other ideas for how he'll enjoy his spoils.
"I'm going to use it to train for next year. Either that, or eat a ton of cheeseburgers."
Solange Heiss of the Dairy Farmers of Canada said Sunday's festival attracts the most bold and adventurous of Canuck cheese lovers.
"The number of people participating in the races, attending the festival and sampling some of Canada's great cheeses was beyond our wildest expectations," Heiss said.
The cheese rolling tradition started in Gloucestershire, England hundreds of years ago, but the 2010 race was cancelled over safety concerns.
The 2009 event drew more than 15,000 people, more than three times the site's capacity.
