Kirkcaldy Wizards: Members stepping up their preparation for major marathons during busy weekend

Runners begin to embark on their training runs for the London, Manchester and Edinburgh Marathons.

Others are training for ultras, while some are just looking to give a boost to their short distance PBs.

Whatever they are training for, the Wizards support all in their quest to reach their best potential.

It proved to be another action-packed weekend of racing action for the club, with parkrun tourism and trail racing dominating the agenda.

On Sunday morning, six Wizards competitors made the short trip to Lochore Meadows for the 4.8 mile Chilly Willy trail race, a 4.8 mile two lap course on woodland paths and trails within the country park.

Ben Kinninmonth finished in first place, with a speedy time of 29:34.

Dave Clark also made it on to the podium and claimed bronze in third, with a time of 32:45.

There was also a race outing for coach Michelle Johnstone, who finished 38th with a time of 40:59.

Lindsey Robertson added another race to her collection with a time of 44:22 and 51st place ranking.

There was also a showing by Jacqueline Cairns (104th and 55:22) and evergreen Margaret Cavanagh (112th and 59:18).

Elsewhere last weekend, the home Kirkcaldy Parkrun attracted a turn out of 46 Wizards.

Kevin Wallace finished in first place with a speedy time of 17:40.

In second position was French maestro Thomas Gambino with a fast time of 18:36.

Nina Lawson achieved a PB, completing the course in a time of 36 minutes.

Moving around the Kingdom of Fife, Jennifer Hodgson (40:50) made a trip to Dunfermline and coach Derek Adamson ventured to St Andrews (44:07).

And, venturing across the Queensferry crossing, a group of 10 Wizards made the trip to Cramond for the Edinburgh Parkrun.

This author was first Wizard home, with a time of 19:06.

Ryan Campbell-Hodge achieved his fastest parkrun in months, with a time of 21:38 to kickstart his 2023 running year.

There were course PBs for Claire Doak (27:46) and Sam Forsberg (31:52).

There were also strong performances by Graham Keddie (25:27), Kieran Forsyth (27:41), Elaine Masterton (28:12), Nicky McGregor (29:49), Claire Jurecki (32:53) and Adele Cleveley (44:02).

Further north, there were trips to Montrose Parkrun for Susan Thores ( 30:44) and Iain Hawkins (31:01) and to Hazlehead Parkrun in Aberdeen for Nick Brian (25:52).

Cara Murdoch ventured to Falkirk and the surroundings of Callendar Park to take part in the Epic Trail 10k organised by Tough Runner.

The course ended up measuring at 10.7km or 6.66 miles, the devil is in the details.

Despite the obstacles presented in the form of extra distance to run and tricky steep hills, Murdoch still produced a commendable performance to complete the course in 1:02:10.