The Carnival of Running #63 – Pancake Edition

Welcome to the 63rd edition of The Carnival of Running!

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday – these are all names for the day prior to Ash Wednesday, which begins the Christian tradition of Lent. Lent is the 40-day period before Easter during which Christians display penitence and self-denial. So Shrove Tuesday is a last hurrah.

It is only natural that the food item signifying decadent indulgence throughout the centuries is the pancake. And what better way to celebrate those pillows of fluffy goodness than with a foot race. This story tells the tale of how the tradition began. There are so many Pancake Day races it was difficult to sift through the videos and choose just one – but this one was the only video to feature the Pan Cam! Enjoy.

A couple of pancake races departed from the norm this year. One story hit the world news wires. The city officials of St. Albans declared the wet weather unsafe for running and disqualified three teams for running instead of walking. The city has been universally ridiculed.

In Olney, the BBC wanted one of its children’s TV hosts to run in the pancake race, and the organizers relented. Residents were outraged because the host is male, and only women have been allowed to run the race for 565 years. Despite the controversy, participants seemed to have a good time.

There is also a friendly competition between the Olney race and the race in Liberal, Kansas. The Liberal winner has beaten the Olney winner 35 out of 60 races.

Other British towns didn’t have quite so much drama. The Portland event featured a match race between ministers and mariners. In Burton, the Supa Dupa Uba Boys successfully defended their title. Scarborough takes its pancake race seriously, altering the rules this year because too many runners would quickly flip their flapjack three times then sprint to the finish. “We think we had a fairer race which was more about skill than speed,” said the town manager.

The Dursley race returned after a hiatus caused by the previous organizers, the local Chamber of Trade, going out of business. The Northallerton race returned after a 20-year absence. The newspaper story about the Sherborne race was about the 100th to notice how everyone had a “flipping good time.” The story about the Hitchin race was headlined, “Runners Flip Out.” The winning team in the Swindon race was awarded a golden frying pan.

The Trowbridge race had a 102-year-old participant. Pirates won the Windsor & Eton race and rugby league mascots (below) headlined the Glasshoughton race.

There were dozens more, but all this typing is making me hungry for some flapjacks. And I don’t mean this guy.

This week’s linky love goes out to Books and Quilts, which, as you might guess, is about more than running. Like blueberry pancakes, for example.

That’s all for this week, friends. Happy Dragobete! Submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Until next time, run away!