Portsmouth's Coastal Waterfront Marathon made virtual in bid to raise cash for John Jenkins Stadium

With the Portsmouth Coastal Waterfront Marathon cancelled due to coronavirus, chief executive of Pompey in the Community, Clare Martin, and director of Believe and Achieve events, Rob Piggott, decided to organise a marathon walk from Spinnaker Tower to Hayling and back to Fratton Park to raise money for the John Jenkins Stadium, named in tribute to the Portsmouth 100-year-old D-Day veteran who died in December last year.

The 1,180-seat facility, developed by Pompey in the Community, will be built in the heart of a £3.5m new sports complex on the site of the former Moneyfields Sports and Social Club in Moneyfield Avenue, Copnor.

Rob said: ‘With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the sad news that this year’s marathon had to be cancelled on December 20 we wanted to keep the spirit of the event going and came up with the virtual option for only 200 runners or walkers who can complete the required distance of 26.2 miles in their own time and on their favourite route to comply with social distancing requirements.

‘We are determined to help raise some valuable funds towards the new John Jenkins Stadium – a community project that will be even more important when we finally get back to some kind of normal to enable health and fitness for many generations.’

There is a virtual leader board so walkers can add their miles to keep track of their progress and medals will be given through a click and collect system at the end.

Clare said: ‘My first marathon was the waterfront marathon in 2015 for my 50th and I’ve loved doing it so it will be great to do it again even in different circumstances.

‘Like most things, the main event on December 20 has been cancelled but Rob said he wanted to keep spirits up and do it anyway and raise money for PitC and the John Jenkins stadium.’

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth's new 24/7 gym will open on first day after lockdown lifts

Work on the stadium, which includes two all-weather pitches, boxing gym, dance studio and social club, has been put back a year due to the pandemic.

To sign up for the event visit fitprorob.biz/event/portsmouth-coastal-waterside-marathon/

To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/portsmouthwaterfront-26-2

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