My first 'marshaling' experience was on water, literally.
I was put on the rescue boat at the then Lancashire Hydroplane Racing Club at Carr Mill Dam near St Helens while 350cc outboard hydroplanes raced around us in an oval at nearly 100 mph.
On one occasion I helped drag a driver out of the water into the rescue boat - while the water around us was on fire (two-stroke petrol/oil mix).
(I still smile when I see cars racing in heavy rain.)
I was eleven years old. I am now 64 and it's still like yesterday.
Exciting, dangerous, incredibly thrilling and nowadays totally illegal for one so young, I am still totally hooked on that buzz.
The nearest I've been to that level of excitement was at Druids three years ago when a Jag XJS, doing a ton, smacked into the Armco a few feet from my flag point and virtually exploded. I didn't stop grinning for a week. (PS. The driver was fine.)
Base jumping - pah!
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