Annual Ponton Plod event extends longest route

The annual Ponton Plod running and walking event took place as usual on Sunday.

The main change for this year was a change of the longer route to 26.4 miles, about 65 per cent of which was new. The two other routes remained the same at 17.1 and 11.7 miles.

This is the 14th year the event has been held and the fifth year that it has been run by Notfast Running Club from Newark.

The organisers had received 191 online entries up to last Thursday night, with a further 22 signing up on Sunday morning, bringing the total number of entries to 213.

This was about 18 per cent up on 2021 when people were still hesitant about Covid, but there were no signs of hesitancy this year.

The event continued with the ’start when you want’ system (as against the usual mass start) which was implemented last year due to Covid to avoid lots of people in close proximity.

There were a lot more non-starters this year than the usual figure of about 10 per cent. This year it was 18 per cent, possibly due to do with respecting the loss of The Queen. Several entrants said they were pleased it was on and thought The Queen would have wanted such events to go ahead.

Yet again the weather was kind to the Plod, with no rain and occasional sunny spells.

The longer route in the past has gone south of Stoke Rochford as far as Buckmister, but this year a change saw all three distances taking a common route from Great Ponton through Stoke Rochford Park, then passing close to Buckminster Gliding Club and along the Viking Way.

After seven miles, the 12-mile route went straight to Wyville whilst the 17- and the new 26-mile route dropped down to Denton and across to Harlaxton. The 26-mile then returned to Denton via Denton Reservoir and then on to the disused railway track to join the canal, looping up to Casthorpe before rejoining the canal to continue back to Harlaxton.

From there, both 17- and 26- mile entrants shared a common route back up the hill to Hungerton and on to Wyville. The route for all three distances then went along the concessionary footpath towards Stoke Rochford Park and back to the finish at Great Ponton.

Entrants as usual came from far afield, such as Suffolk, Norfolk, Worcestershire, Durham and Yorkshire, with a lot from the Nottingham and Derby areas.

There was a good turnout as usual from Grantham Running Club and Newark Striders with around a dozen members each. The LDWA (Long Distance Walkers Association) also fielded an entry of about 30.

The organisers had a couple who had travelled from County Waterford in Ireland but the furthest travelled was a couple from Palmerston North in New Zealand.

As usual, food and drinks were served at the checkpoints positioned at about six-mile intervals and, as is customary, entrants tucked into homemade soups and a variety of pies at the finish, all of which were made or donated by Notfast Running Club members.

Subhashis Basu, a regular entrant from Sheffield, said it was his 200th marathon. He completed the 26.4-mile course in 3hr 53min and still found time to play the piano at the Harlaxton Village Hall checkpoint whilst he had a drink – perhaps the reason he was beaten by Nicholas Genever to the fastest time by just one minute.

The proceeds from the event, which are expected to be in the region of more than £2,000, will be donated to Besso Children's Home in Hosur, India, and CASY (counselling for young people) based in Newark.

The organisers' thanks go to all those who helped on the day, which for many was a 12-hour non-stop shift, especially those serving the food in the kitchen.

Full results can be found at thepontonplod.co.uk or notfastrunningclub.co.uk