The 34th staging of the popular event was blessed by pleasant early evening sunshine which brought great support onto the streets from the local community and
visitors to the beautiful Fife location.
A fresh Easterly breeze aided the runners on the outward leg to the rock but made the return leg more challenging on tired legs.
Tidal conditions were described as perfect with many competitors expressing the view that this was driest circumnavigation of the Rock that they had experienced, but some runners were disappointed that they didn’t get their feet wet.
Crowe, who had last won the event in 2019, was already 20m clear of the field at the turn onto Pettycur Road in the first quarter mile.
His dominant performance was not only rewarded by winning the Bill Tulloch Award for first to the Rock, but he also broke the long-standing race record set in 1995, taking 12 seconds off the record to set a new mark of 21.51.
The runner-up was another previous race winner, from 2017, Cameron Milne, also of Central AC. Third place went to James Dunn of Corstorphine AAC.
The men’s team prize also went to Central AC, with a clear 16-point victory over second club Hunters Bog Trotters.
In the ladies’ race there was a clear winning performance from HBT’s Katy Williams in a time of 28.17, with Edinburgh AC’s Rose Penfold in second with Kimberly Timmins of Central AC in third.
Hunters Bog Trotters were victorious in the ladies’ team category.
The Brian Hughes Awards for the first juniors over the finish line were awarded to Angus Wright of Team East Lothian who finished in a highly creditable sixth place in the race and Jaden Lenny, currently unattached, who finished 12th overall in the ladies’ race.
Kinghorn residents and visitors were out in force on the streets and participants were grateful for their vocal support throughout the whole event.
Indeed one of the loudest cheers of the night was for the last-placed runner who was escorted over the finish line by the local 6th Fife Scout Group who had been in attendance helping distribute water and bananas to the finishers.
The prizegiving took place at the Harbour View, with prizes presented by long-serving race director John McKay who was completing his 30th year in the role.
McKay thanked Shona Mutch and her team at the venue for their hard work on the evening, and also thanked all the sponsors of the race, the police and first aiders who were in attendance.
He extended his heartfelt thanks to the community of Kinghorn for their support for all the runners taking part and to the huge team of volunteer marshals and event staff who gave their time, without whom the event wouldn’t be possible.
Full race results are available at blackrock5.org or https://perfecttimingscotland.co.uk/results/
2. One girl holds a sign to help her Dad on
One girl holds a sign to help her dad on Photo: David Wardle
