UK Traditions - The Olney Pancake Race - a 500-year-old Spectacle

"Housewives" in Skirts and Aprons run a 400-meter-dash

Essentials

• What: A traditional Shrove Tuesday pancake race that's been run for more than 500 years in this small town.
• Where: Olney, Buckinghamshire, Market Place to Parish Church
• When: Shrove Tuesday, the Tuesday before Lent
• Contact: The Olney Town Council, +44 (0)1234 711679
• Visit their website

Pancake Races take place all over Britain on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. The Olney Pancake Race is one of the most unusual, with a history going back more than 500 years.

Unlike some other races, where sports figures, celebrities and even MPs participate, the Olney Race is limited to "housewives and young ladies of the town". They must have lived in Olney for at least three months and be at least 18 years old.

Participants, who run a distance of 415 yards, from the Olney Market Place to the Parish Church must be costumed as "traditional housewives". That includes wearing a skirt, an apron and a head covering. They must carry a frying pan with a pancake in it and most flip the pancake as they cross the finish.

Prizes are awarded during a "Shriving" service in the Parish Church immediately after the race. In 2008, the winner did the distance in 69 seconds.