Black Rock '5' Race 2024: Race director John McKay reveals 1200 running places sold out in 25 minutes!

After the coronavirus sabbatical which saw the race cancelled in 2020 and 2021, this year marks the third year back for a main race first held in 1987 which is timed to coincide with a sufficiently low tide to enable runners to pass behind the Black Rock which is about 1km offshore from Burntisland.

Although it is supposed to be run over 5km, the quotation marks around the ‘5’ reference the fact that the two race founders’ original ‘guesstimate’ was actually a kilometre short and the actual distance is around 7km!

And race director John McKay, 65, can’t wait for the big event – which will again feature defending Black Rock ‘5’ champion Jamie Crowe of Central AC who broke the race record last year - with the veteran organiser telling the Fife Free Press: “Last year we sold out in two-and-a-half hours but to sell out in 25 minutes was pretty extraordinary, the quickest ever.

"I always look forward to the races. I actually cried when we came back after Covid when I was briefing the race marshals.

"I got very, very emotional on that one, just watching the enthusiasm of everybody taking part in the race.

"There is a huge community effort to get this event on.

"There will be about 30 marshals out on the length of the race at potential road junctions.

"They operate what you call a temporary traffic restriction order which closes the roads and keeps us safe.

"We have great co-operation from Police Scotland in that regard. They have been particularly race friendly.”

At 7.15pm tomorrow, the fun run will start in Park Place and finish at the bottom of Harbour Road.

The Black Rock ‘5’ Race then starts at 8pm from the railway arches in Harbour Road, finishing uphill in South Overgate.

As ever, McKay’s plans for the event have been very thorough.

"I am by nature a control freak,” he said. “I am a retired manager in the Blood Transfusion Service so I’m used to working in a very planned and controlled environment.”