Olney: The town where a pancake race is a global event

The marketplace municipality of Olney successful Buckinghamshire claims to clasp the oldest yearly pancake contention successful the world, dating backmost to 1445. Open to the "ladies of Olney only", the contention has endured a affable rivalry with a tiny metropolis successful Kansas, USA. So what makes this pancake contention truthful special?

The radical of Olney instrumentality their yearly Shrove Tuesday pancake contention precise earnestly indeed.

Dubbed the oldest recorded successful the world, the tally dates backmost to 1445 and the War of the Roses, and has taken spot each twelvemonth since it was revived successful 1948.

Even successful the throes of coronavirus lockdown, a solitary pan-bearer dressed up and ran the 415-yard people successful 2021 truthful the contented wouldn't beryllium broken.

But it has to beryllium done right. There are rules.

"It's women lone - and you person to person lived oregon worked successful Olney for astatine slightest 3 months," says Ruth Martin, of the Olney pancake contention committee.

"You person to deterioration a skirt, and you are provided with an apron and headscarf and a pancake pan, but you request to bring your ain pancake.

"You flip it astatine the commencement - and you person to beryllium capable to flip it astatine the end."

The people is 415 yards - oregon astir 380 metres - truthful it's not a speedy dash.

"You request to gait yourself oregon you tally retired of steam," Ms Martin adds.

With the sounding of the religion Shriving Bell, runners commencement from the pedestrian crossing by Olney marketplace and marque their mode to the religion doorway of St Peter and St Paul's - a way that involves the closure of the main A509 done the town.

And you can't participate the contention if you've already won it 3 times - similar the 2022 winner, Katie Godof.

Shrove Tuesday is traditionally the time erstwhile Christians usage up saccharine oregon fatty foods successful mentation for the play of Lent fasting earlier Easter, with pancakes a speedy and elemental solution.

Folklore says the Olney contented started successful the 15th Century erstwhile a harassed housewife, rushing to be religion connected Shrove Tuesday, ran to the work with a frying cookware inactive successful her hand.

It's not the lone crushed Olney is famous.

This twelvemonth marks the 250th day of the hymn Amazing Grace, which was written successful the municipality by its curate, Rev John Newton, for his sermon astatine St Peter and St Paul's connected 1 January 1773.

More than 70 years ago, paper reports of the Olney pancake contention besides piqued the involvement of officials successful the metropolis of Liberal, Kansas, who presented the Buckinghamshire municipality with a challenge.

Liberal is the location of Dorothy's House - a depository replica of the Kansas location featured successful the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz.

Since 1950, the 2 places person competed successful their ain transatlantic pancake race, signaling their times and holding an planetary video telephone to contiguous prizes.

Liberal runners person truthful acold won 39 races, with Olney playing catch-up with 31.

In 2022, the victor from Liberal was Whitney Hay successful a clip of 67 seconds. Olney's victor Katie Godof managed 70 seconds.

"We nexus up connected the evening of the pancake contention and comparison times. It's fiercely contested each year," Ms Martin adds.

"An ambassador for Liberal is coming implicit for the contention this year, truthful we person a bully crushed to effort and bushed them this time."

The American organisers picture the pancake contention rivalry arsenic a "friendly small competition" betwixt Liberal and Olney, and "still the lone contention of its benignant connected the planet".

"It's not conscionable a race," Ms Martin says.

"There's thing truthful quintessentially Olney astir it. Everyone volition conscionable intermission successful the mediate of the day, virtually stopping the traffic.

"We person a ace assemblage here. Everyone conscionable comes unneurotic for that moment."