LONDON -- People running, pan in hand while flipping a pancake is not something you see everyday but that's what many people across Britain did to celebrate Pancake Day on Tuesday.
Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.
Traditionally it was a day when Christians cleared out all the treats from their cupboards, like butter and sugar, using them up in one final carb-loading splurge ahead of the 40 days of fasting.
But as well as the eating pancakes, we've also made a competitive and sometimes nerve-wracking sport out of them.
This expert runner/flipper who raced in an annual event in Westminster Tuesday, which featured Britain's top politicians and journalists, shows how it's done:
Nearby in east London, people dressed up for the Great Spitalfields Pancake Race, a 100-meter relay that's been taking place since 1993:
And in Surrey, they were getting in on the action, office clothes still on:
Work clothes still on for this particular Redhill #PancakeDay race runner! http://t.co/Zl0L49QuiL pic.twitter.com/Kr8iaqmeyB— Get Surrey (@getsurrey) February 17, 2015
Things were even tougher in Nottingham, where an obstacle course was thrown into the mix:
Who won the Pancake Day race @cornerhousetv in #Nottingham today? http://t.co/gU2NTq8aP1 pic.twitter.com/9SKiHAh4W3— Nottingham Post (@Nottingham_Post) February 17, 2015
Pancake flipping races have been going on in Britain for a long time, originally dating back to 1445.
This photo from 1955 shows competitors taking part in the Pancake Race of Olney, Buckinghamshire.
Contestants in the race, which was open to any woman over the age of 18, had to toss their pancakes three times during the 380 meter-long dash.