The Red Hose 5 Mile Race is a cross country race that is held annually in

Carnwath Carnwath (Gaelic: ''A' Chathair Nuadh''; English: "New Fort") is a moorland village on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is bounded by the Nort ...

, South Lanarkshire in Scotland. Held annually since 1508, the Red Hose is considered the oldest

foot race Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

in the world. The race has been held every year except during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, the

Foot and Mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...

outbreaks in 1952 2001 and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The requirement to hold the Red Hose is stipulated in a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

. If the local laird wishes to cancel it, he must get the permission of the

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

. The first prize is a pair of red hose, provided by the laird.{{cite web , title=World's oldest race celebrates 500 years , url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jun/23/scotland , website=The Guardian , access-date=18 December 2018

Reference List

Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom 1508 establishments