More than 200 snails slugged it out in the annual World Snail Racing Championship in Norfolk, UK on Saturday…

….yes, really.

It’s an event that has been running – or crawling – since the 1960’s.

The gastropod games are held on top of a table, which has a special damp cloth spread out on it. The cloth has three circles marked on it. The snails are placed in the middle and the first one to reach the outer circle wins.

The rules for the World Championships are simple: the first to slime its way to the outer red ring is crowned the winner.

The races are started by a shout of “ready, steady, slow” and the snail ‘trainers’ shout words of encouragement to their ‘sn-athletes’.

Anyone, young or old, can take part in the World Snail Racing Championships. Competitors may even bring their own snails from their gardens if they wish.

The championship heats are held throughout the afternoon, with a grand final at the end with all the heat winners. The winner receives a silver tankard, which is stuffed with lettuce leaves as a reward for the triumphant snail.

The Guinness World Record was set back in 1995, when a snail called “Archie” completed the 13-inch (33-centimetre) course in a far from sluggish time of two minutes and 20 seconds.

Weather conditions for the 2016 edition were cloudy and humid, which made for slow going.

Last year’s winner, George, was due to return to race this year to defend his title, but sadly died the day before the race.

This year’s winner was Herbie II, owned and trained by Colin Voss from Cambridgeshire, a first-time entrant to the event.

Herbie had the infamous red, white and blue racing stripes along his shell, in memory of the famous VW Beetle namesake.

Other competitors had names such as Uslime Bolt, Queen Thistle, Turbo, Speedy, and Me-Shell.