Intro:

The 52nd edition of the annual World Coal Carrying Championship took place in the English county of Yorkshire on Monday.

Script:

Limbering up, no doubt with dreams of being named king of the coal by the end of the day. This is Ossett in Yorkshire, where two men challenged each other to a race between two pubs while carrying a sack of coal in 1963.

Since then it's become something of an event, with people coming from far and wide for the simple race with simple rules.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Duncan Smith, Event Organiser:

"It is to carry 50kg of coal, that's eight stone of coal for seven-tenths of a mile (1,126 metres) between the Royal Oak pub and the Maypole Green. That's basically it really."
Scotland's Graham Crane managed to do it in four and a half minutes. Which unfortunately for the chaps we saw a little earlier means he is this years king of the coal...

SOUNDBITE: (English) Graham Crane, Men's winner:

"It's amazing. It is a bit surreal to be honest. We are down on holiday so we just.... having done the Scottish coal carrying race, one of my friends pointed out that we are quite close to this event, so we just wanted to come a long and give it a go. We ended up winning. That's amazing, that's brilliant. Yeah, really happy."

I could think of better holidays but there is a place for all the family, children race with 10 kilo sacks and the women have to carry 20 kilos. Penny Ditchfield retained her title in that.
Some title it is too, the World Coal Carrying Champion.