The Origins of the Pancake Race

It is thought that the first pancake race happened in the year 1445 when in the village of Olney, Buckinghamshire, on Shrove Tuesday, a woman was busy in her kitchen cooking pancakes when, all of a sudden, she heard the ringing of the church bells signalling the start of confession. In a panic, she fled out of the house wearing her apron, running headlong to the church, not realising she still held her frying pan with part-cooked pancake lying limply within.

Today, the tradition of the pancake race in Olney continues and it is no wonder that it is the most famous pancake race worldwide. The race can only be run by women who have been residents in the village for at least six months. Competitors don a traditional apron and cap and must of course hold a frying pan with a real pancake inside. The course is run over 415 yards and the women must toss their pancake at both the start and finish of the race, or suffer the consequences of disqualification.

For the past 60 years, Olney village has competed with the American town of Liberal in Kansas, to see which town has the fastest competitor. Both towns fill their respective churches after the races have been run, to partake in Shriving Service. Competitors of the pancake race are permitted to place their frying pans around the font and await the presentation of the prizes.

Food for thought: according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s biggest pancake was made in Manchester, UK, on August 13th, 1994. The Pancake was an astonishing 15 metres in diameter, 2.5 centimetres deep and weighed a whopping three tonnes. Get the lemon juice ready!