Flippin pancakes

Nicole Schowengerdt winning in Liberal

The pancake race tradition dates back to 1445, when legend has it a stressed-out housewife, from the village of Olney in Buckinghamshire, heard the Shrove Tuesday church bells and stormed through the streets, still cooking her pancakes, arriving just in time for the service. I thought it was only modern day life that has meant women are constantly needing to multi-task and rush around like headless chickens. Perhaps we started evolving that way back then! The pancake races now take place in many villages around the country but Olney still seems to be the hub of pancake activity. Yesterday Deirdre Bethune who has a runbritain handicap of 29.6, from her London Marathon run last year, took part in the race and said, "it's nerve-wracking. This is worse than running the London Marathon because this is a sprint." The race is 379 metres. It was won by Nicky Sallis who ran round the loop in a spritely 72 seconds but she was out-done by her American counter-part. Nicole Schowengerdt who covered the 415-yard pancake race in 63 seconds in the town of Liberal, Kansas. The women of Liberal ran their race after crews used blowtorches to clear their ice-covered streets. This has become an annual Shrove Tuesday trans-Atlantic pancake race since 1950 when Liberal challenged Olney after seeing photos of the race in a magazine.

Lords and MPs at Westminster also took to their marks, frying pan in hand. They race every Shrove Tuesday and flip their pancakes around Victoria Gardens. The contest is held to raise awareness for the charity Rehab, which supports people with disabilities, others with brain and spinal injuries and mental health difficulties.

Elsewhere runners weren't quite so lucky. The race was called of in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, because of health and safety. Apparently a “dangerous” traffic bollard terrified the safety chiefs in case the electronic pole, raised to keep cars out, failed and allowed traffic onto the course.

So now with all the fun and antics behind us it's down to the serious business of Lent. Have you decided to give up any illicit treats? I think I might need to give biscuits the chop this year. As I said, I was at a couple of meetings yesterday and a coaching course and ate more than my fair share so that was my equivalent of eating pancakes. The biscuits are now banned until, at least, Easter Sunday but hopefully for longer!