Bringing its usual quota of tough climbs, rural roads, scenic views and fresh, open air, the Puddletown Plod Half Marathon was back for its annual airing. With the race not being included in the Dorset Road League schedule this time round, it had a slightly more friendly feel than usual but of course, there were still plenty in it who were looking to contend for high placings or at least record a good time.

When its not a league race, the hilly nature often puts off members of the Bournemouth AC fraternity. So much so that this time out there was only one athlete there in the fabled yellow and blue vest and that was Tom Ralph.

Not realising it wasn’t a league race, Tom was expecting other BAC members to be there and was quite surprised when he realised he was the only one. Regular Dorset race photography extraordinaire Ken Hewitt was there taking club team photos before the race started and since Tom was the only one from Bournemouth AC, rather amusingly, that one was just of him.

There was still some top talent in the starting line up including 2021 runner up Matt Papa who possesses some serious speed. Under 20 star Corey Stone was also featuring along with Egdon Heath Harriers woman Nat Lawrence. Poole Runners lady Molly Rasch was also in the mix and looking to compete for top placings.

Even though they help organise the event, Egdon Heath Harriers still had a plenty of athletes competing and looked likely to have plenty of names in the upper end of the field.

The first mile contains a bit of a hill but after that its mostly downhill for the next two-and-a-half miles. Then there’s another downhill stretch leading up to the five mile point. From about 5.7 miles onwards its fairly undulating and there are plenty of testing slopes to negotiate.

Running well for the first eight miles, Tom was mostly around 7:30 to 7:45 pace for each mile. On the ninth mile he posted a 7:58 before following it up with an 8:12 for his tenth mile. The next two miles are the toughest of the race, with some meaty climbs to negotiate.

Powering up them well, Tom recorded an 8:19 for his eleventh mile and an 8:40 for his twelfth which contained 228ft of elevation. The last mile provided a welcome bit of respite in the shape of a descent before the final small climb.

Reaching the finish line in a time of 1:43:16, Tom came in in 36th place out of 129 finishers. That was not a bad result for Tom and he’d really enjoyed the course. The rolling profile, quiet country lanes and picturesque villages were all to his liking and all he could hear the whole way round was birds singing.

At the front of the field, it was Matt Papa who reigned supreme, whipping round in 1:15:59. That put him a stagging 5 minutes and 47 seconds ahead of his nearest rival Corey Stone. Corey went over the line in 1:21:46.

Finishing 3rd overall, Nat Lawrence claimed 1st female position in an excellent time of 1:23:05. Molly Rasch was the next person over the line but was quite a way behind, registering a time of 1:24:52. She was running with Jon Churchill of Egdon Heath Harriers who crossed the line at the same time.

Julian Thacker was 6th and 1st M50 with his time of 1:25:05 and it was sheer domination from the Egdon Heath Harriers squad. They had seven of the top nine runners, as well as Bruce Campbell who came 13th in 1:30:31.

Wracking up 2,000ft of elevation during the course of the run, Tom’s pace had average out at 7:48 which made it a pretty good performance from him on such a challenging route.

Tom is one of those types of runners who always remains positive no matter how tough a race has been and he doesn’t tend to beat himself up about not getting a specific time. At the end of the day, running is supposed to be fun and there are so many aspects of it make it an enjoyable activity to partake in. That’s something Tom really knows how to appreciate and its refreshing to see.

Thanks to Ken Hewitt Photography for the exquisite snapshots