Last Sunday saw the latest run of London’s Soho Waiters Race, an event that’s run most years since 1950. While there was an individual winner, organizers claim the race itself is the winner, beating a Paris race that was revived this year.
Takashi O’Rourke, the race organizer, told reporters that the race, in which racers each carry a tray with an ashtray, a napkin, a wine glass and a bottle of sparkling wine, one-handed, is “a special race to test your skill as a waiter, not just your skill as a runner.”
He told racers that “This is where the real waiters’ race is, not Paris.” In his view, the Paris race is too long at 1.2 miles and their trays just don’t hold up: “They had just a glass of water and a croissant. What is that?“
