Half marathon revival in Kirkcaldy moves step closer

Kirkcaldy Half Marathon - 2019 race event unveils its bnanner in Beveridge Park

Paralympian Derek Rae, who has come on board as the race ambassador, was at Beveridge Park to help launch the event this week.

The Kirkcaldy Parks Half Marathon on August 25 will mark the first time a race of that length has been held in the town in over 30 years.

The race is supported by both Fife Council and town centre BID company, Kirkcaldy4All.

The organising team is now waiting on a licence from Scottish Athletics so entries can be opened up.

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

He said: “We are trying to bring more events into the town alongside our tourism aspirations for the town and the heartlands of Fife.

“With a large number of runners and groups, this seemed the ideal time to bring back this event.

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

“The Kirkcaldy Three Parks Half Marathon will, I am sure, be a huge attraction to the running community far and wide.”

Rebecca Reader, a local runner and part of the event team, believes it is a great opportunity for a new generation of runners to tackle a half marathon.

She said: “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 I think 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.

“ 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.”

More details are expected to be released in the coming weeks.