Midnight, Friday 1st February, Turrock Services - Weather forecast, snow flurries!
4 MGFs line up for the first annual Arctic Circle Run.
The first thing to say is that it was flippin' freezing! I had a thick leather coat, a fleece and a T shirt on, with thick gloves and an F-Register beanie hat to complete my ensemble and yet i was perishingly cold – whose crazy idea was this anyway? Err, that’d be me then!
My fellow Artic Circle Runners (a.k.a. mad people) were Michael and his wife, Emma & Jaime and Garry, ah yes, the hardtop… Although not in the spirit of the run, it was so damn cold and only four cars were there so we turned a blind eye to it (actually mine was frozen shut!
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
- in truth I don’t think any of us there weren’t secretly jealous of them in their snug cabin!)
Around midnight we set off, the M25, cursed and blighted road of despair, beckoned us…
The idea behind the ACR was simply to try to make the M25 even a little bit enjoyable to drive – turn an appalling road into something fun. And in this regard I think we succeeded admirably – it was practically disserted the entire way round and for the first time ever on this road, driving at the speed limit was possible – a real novel experience I can tell you and after the many lost hours stuck in one jam or another on this motorway the grin appeared on my face in no time at all and remained for the entire run.
However, the cold was a real issue for me in the early stages, my extremities were really feeling it, although my core temperature was perfectly fine. As we came to the two tunnels on the Essex stretch, I realised that we had covered 20 miles or so, or a sixth of the lap completed and I decided that I could put up with the cold for the remaining 5/6ths – with this decision made it ceased to be a problem for me, a psychological effect I suppose. Once I stopped concentrating on the temperature it became less important.
South Mimms services and the M1 came and went, then the Aylesubry turn off with no sign at all of the usual jam. The ‘Peas’ viaduct was shrouded in the darkness after the street lighting ran out and then the M40 exit was passed and we were onto the Heathrow stretch and the halfway point loomed closer and closer.
This stretch of the motorway has multiple lanes and there was ample opportunity for some Top Gear style, one car in each lane all on a row formations – great fun, and surprisingly tricky to keep lined up
Into the Home Counties South and heading for Gatwick, 3 Fs headed into the starry night with slightly mad, frozen smiles on the driver’s faces – the miles clicked away and pretty soon Clackett’s Lane services were passed and we were onto the homeward leg, and it was here that we encountered our only real problem…
For some months now they have been digging the M25 up at the A2 junction and although we were never in a jam, we were sadly diverted off the M25 for a junction, ruining the goal of a complete lap, but I suppose giving a good reason to do it all again next year.
Back on track and through the Dartford tunnel making a right racket! Quality
And then it was over, 120.6 miles later we pulled into Thurrock and said our goodbyes – a crazy thing to do, but a fun one never-the-less – Emma and I headed back to the crossing and the Kent countryside – hoods still down of course!
Thanks to my fellow mad people – you are crazy, but then, no one is perfect!
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)