On the run

Tonight Kinghorn's Black Rock '5' Race was run with over 1000 competitors starting the race and hopefully finishing it too. Apart from 1991, the race has been staged every year since 1987 and the number of entrants has increased significantly – as has the quality of runners at the top end of the field – so I'm told.

The race is about 5 miles  in length and loops around the Black Rocks, over a mile from the shore off Burntisland and largely under water except at low tide. The race is held on a suitable Friday in May or June and – fortunately for the competitors – when the tide is out. Over the past 28 years it has changed from a simple race, into a full-blown social night on Kinghorn's calendar. This year's winner completed the race in 22 minutes and 43 seconds which is almost the exact amount of time it took Mrs Rex and me to walk down to the beach from the starting point. Hey, we can't all be in peak condition.

I've added a couple of extra images to give a wee taste of what it involved. I like the one with competitor 1206 carrying her inhaler with her – just in case she gets short of breath presumably...?