Get ‘Em While They’re Hot!
by Teresa Schrant

It didn’t matter that the spatulas were engraved with the wrong date.  It didn’t matter that the pancakes were nothing but leftovers from a cafeteria lunch with the Pancake Man. And it didn’t matter that several contestants had no aprons or frying pans.  It was a very Un-Shrove Tuesday after all.  Holy Family Elementary in Hays was a whole week behind on the calendar because of blizzard warnings the week before.   The 22nd annual pre-Lent Pancake Race was shifted an entire week.  The “New Tuesday” turned out sunny and warm, and the runners competed without the interference of coats and jackets.

Official rules call for women to compete in dresses, headscarves, and aprons, but rules are broken and bent to allow for the 4th grade boys and their dads to race as well.  Teflon surfaces seemed to be especially troublesome as pancakes went slipping and sliding from the pans.  Headscarves were lost mid-race, and final flipping proved to be the downfall for many.  The crowds cheered as racers rounded the far cone and headed back for the fence and final flip. 

Eliza Rice won the girls’ heat with her fleet feet.  It was Jacob Maska for the boys’ contest burning up the asphalt.  The Ladies’ Race was won by Jennifer Johnson, mother of 4th-grader Jack, and a repeat winner from last year’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race.  Dylan and Julia Werth’s dad, Darin, won the award for the Gents.  A.J. Simon, one of three favorite custodians at the school, grabbed a trophy spatula for Faculty and Staff. But it was Scott Manhart, with the San Francisco Marathon under his belt and the Boston Marathon approaching, who was a shoe-in for the Pancake Race Pacemaker!