Croft Motor Circuit Half Marathon – 10th March 2024
by the Stig
Road races, hill races, athletics track and trail races, we’ve all tackled them and enjoyed/endured them, but there’s always something about a quirky running event and that’s precisely what last Sunday’s Croft Motor Circuit Run was.
Similar to Saturn Running events where competitors can run whatever distance they wish on the day, however, on this occasion individuals had to commit on entry, 5k? 10k? Half Marathon? 20 mile? Or Full Marathon?
I originally had committed to the classic distance but due to family commitments later in the day (Mother’s Day) I had to change to 13.1 miles. The course as the name suggests was the motor racing track of Croft Circuit on the outskirts of Darlington so it’s fair to say it was to be a fast, flat, tarmac surface including chicanes, hairpin bends and straights, right up my street and obviously appealed to other Crook AC members, ideal for marathon training members, Simon, Jason, Dean, Jon, Anthony, Matthew, Kris and Elizabeth albeit the latter two were there in a supporting capacity.
Oh and there was also a television celebrity running under the Crook AC banner, no not Michael McIntyre but none other than the star of Top Gear the one and only The Stig …. yeah of course I was going to run my 6.5 motor racing track laps in the unique white racing driver overalls and helmet with black visor. The weather conditions were abysmal wet wet wet, cold, wet and breezy, did I mention ….it was wet? So a decision on ‘slicks’ was a wise one as the track was pitted with puddles and at 8:45am on the starting grid there was no stalling and I was off with the rest of the half marathoners which also included my son Joseph, yeah it was going to be a case of father and son bragging rights.
Heavy rain turned to drizzle which made visibility difficult, the tinted visor was bleary and blurred and corners became blind corners, vision was impeded furthermore by the spray kicked up by the fast Ferrari team of Allison, Stockdale and Rose as the sped by and continued to lap The Stig on their 20 mile mission.
Quick wipe of the visor with white gloves only for Anthony Sayers to take me up the back straight with 10k PB his goal or was he just desperately still in pursuit of his red & gold club vest as he was donning a black vest. As I was negotiating a chicane runners were passing me, whilst I was still trying to get into top gear it felt as if I was in reverse especially when the well ‘lubed’ Simon Pickering flew by full throttle, where my engine was overheating, hardly surprising wearing all of that clobber including Under Armour compression tights and compression shorts on account of the lower abdominal and groin pain that has plagued me for months now, it felt as if my big end had gone, but still I put my foot down and ground through the gears ticking off the laps, high fiving spectators track side in front of the pits, no time to stop, not even at the drinks station, I required more than water, a pint of diesel perhaps.
I was cheered on and supported by fellow competitors after initially being seen as a joke, it’s happened before, but little do they know inside The Stig costume or any costume for that matter is a wily old fox, a fox on the run and with each lap I gained their respect, some couldn’t believe that I was actually running the half marathon distance.
At registration when I was implementing Stig persona, the young volunteer asked my name, the response was silence, are you the mascot? Shake of the head, are you running? Head nod… eventually I conceded, leaned over and whispered “I’m The Stig, half marathon” After she’d consulted the entrant list she asked ‘Is that spelt S.T.I.G?” Bless her, in her defence she was very young.
I digress, back to the job in hand, the race tactics of remaining sub 10 minute pace slightly hit the skids in the final 3 miles, not by a great lot but it was enough to miss the sub 2:10 target and with accelerating on the home straight I crossed the line and took the chequered flag at 2 hours 11 minutes 31 seconds and just missed out on an age category podium place coming in 4th position so no champagne cork popping sadly …. until later in the day for those Mother’s Day celebrations which in fact was a saviour from running the full marathon option. I doubt I could have completed 13 laps = 26.2 miles simply a Grand Prick too far on the account of my helmet problems. The Stig shall be returning to Croft Circuit later in the year for either 5k or 10k action in what I believe is a Club Grand Prix event!
Paul