After 30 years, Fife town reveals plans to relaunch half marathon race

It is 30 years since the town last staged such an event – and the anniversary is set to be marked with runners coming under starter’s orders once again.

Kirkcaldy Parks Half Marathon takes place on August 25, taking in Ravenscraig and Beveridge Parks.

It is the first long distance race in the Lang Toun in three decades.

The first ever half marathon was staged in 1988, running for two years.

Now the event aims to bring people back into town as part of the area’s tourist strategy.

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Councillor Alistair Cameron was part of the team which got it back up and running.

He said: “I spoke with Dave Morton, a well know local runner and owner of Morton Running Store in Kirkcaldy.

“We are trying to bring more events into the town as part of our tourism aspirations, and with large number of runners and groups, this seemed the ideal time to bring back this event.

“The organisation committee have put together an amazing and unique route which takes in the three beautiful parks, Dysart and the Waterfront and finishing back at Beveridge Park.

“I am sure it will be a huge attraction to the running community far and wide.”

The organisers have asked Fife Paralympian, Derek Rae, to check out the route – he has given it his backing, and will be the event’s ambassador.

Added Cllr Cameron: “We still have to have final approval from both police and transportation before we can officially launch the race, but we are hopeful we can reach agreement with them.

“Hopefully we can launch at the of this month, and will be yet another excellent example of another big event coming to Kirkcaldy based on the community and council working together for the betterment of the town.”

A spokesman for the organisers said that they hoped the route would showcase the Lang Toun.

They added: “The race came about after a friend came over from France and expressed surprise that there was nothing like that in Fife – there’s a 10k in Glenrothes and that’s all we’ve really got.

“It’s a community-led council initiative – it’s not coming from the council or a running club.

“And we want it to be as inclusive as possible. People who aren’t running, and little kids, we want to get them at the roadside handing things out. We want to take the community with us, especially people who aren’t runners and think ‘they just get in the way’ – we want to try and get rid of that perception.”

The finer details of the event are still being confirmed and the group are hopeful that a full announcement can be made next month.