Endurance racing is to motor sport what marathon running is to athletics. And strangely enough, a fair number of endurance stars trade their racing boots for running shoes from time to time…

Take Oliver Gavin, for example. The factory Corvette Racing driver took part in the last London Marathon with several other well known British drivers for charity.

Oliver covered the 42.195km in a highly respectable 2h 54m 19s, an average speed of 14.5kph which enabled him to finish 657th from 35,000 starters!

Other endurance racers to reach the finish were Strakka Racing’s Jonny Kane, who completed his first ever marathon in an impressive 2h 59m 29s, as well as Richard Westbrook (3h 37m 18s), Guy Smith and Darren Turner.

For those who want a more direct tie-in between endurance racing and marathon running, the inaugural Le Mans Marathon is scheduled to take place round the famous circuit on October 3. Competitors will use the full Le Mans 24 Hours circuit – including the infamous Hunaudières straight! – in both directions.

A certain number of Michelin technicians are talented marathon specialists, too. Didier (AF Corse) contested the gruelling 150km Diagonale des Fous on the Réunion Island (including a total altitude climb of 8,700m) and finished 520th from 1,422 starters. Patrick ‘Coco’ (Porsche Cup) qualified for the French Veterans’ Semi-Marathon Championship with a time of 1h 23m, while Jérôme (Oreca) and Franck (Strakka) are strong runners, as well…

24 Hours of Le Mans, Michelin