This year's Black Rock '5' Race will take place in Kinghorn, Fife on Friday 25th May at 19:15.
RACE NUMBER
Your Race Number with embedded timing chip must be collected on the evening of the race between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM from Kinghorn Community Centre sports hall. Please note the sports hall is not in use as a changing facility or bag drop and entrants should make their way to their designated changing areas (see below), which will be secure while the race is in progress.
Kinghorn Community Centre is about two minutes walk from the railway station and just along from the Memorial bus-stop in the centre of the village.
The e-mail confirmation of entry from Entrycentral.com will be used to identify you in the entry system so please print it and bring it with you.
CHANGING FACILITIES
Male changing facilities are available at Kinghorn Primary School (enter from rear of the building) and the large Church Hall. Female changing facilities are available at the small Church Hall. Both the Church Hall changing areas are accessed by the side door of the halls on the main road. Changing areas at the Church Hall and Primary School will be locked while the race is in progress, however the organisers accept no responsibility for loss of belongings.
Organisers regret that only very limited showering facilities are available and only at the Community Centre.
TOILET FACILITIES
Female toilet facilities are available at the Church Hall. Male toilet facilities are available at the Primary School. Public toilets are available on Quarrel Brae - a path situated halfway down Harbour Road. Additional toilets on race night are situated in the Community Centre car park.
CAR PARKING
Limited car parking is available at the Community Centre, the Primary School and on Pettycur Road. There are few parking restrictions in the village. On street parking is widely available but we request that participants and spectators use public or shared transportation where possible.
RACE START AND FINISH
The race starts at the junction of Harbour Road and South Overgate in Kinghorn.
Please join the start by going eastwards along the High Street then go down the hill at the chip shop to the railway viaduct.
The race finish is up the steep hill in South Overgate.
For the exact location of everything mentioned above, open the section below.
REFRESHMENTS
All over 18s who complete the race will receive a bottle of beer, redeemable using your competitor number. All finishers will also receive a bottle of water and a banana.
RACE PRIZES AND PRIZEGIVING
The race prizes are as follows:
Organiser’s discretion will be used should any cash prize be uncollected on race night.
We will also present a minimum of 20 spot prizes to finishers which will only be redeemable immediately post-race.
The prize giving ceremony will be held at The Harbour View, at around 21:00.
REFUNDS AND EXCHANGES
There will be no refunds. Exchanges will be processed entirely at the discretion of the race organisers.
The Black Rock '5' Race is held in the sleepy coastal village of Kinghorn, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, and across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh. Kinghorn lies 3 miles to the west of Kirkcaldy (the birthplace of Adam Smith and home to Raith Rovers and Fife Flyers), and east of Burntisland on the Fife coastal path.
Please see Getting There for travel details.
Locate using Google Earth or Google Maps
The race starts at the bottom of Harbour Road under the railway viaduct and climbs uphill, turning left onto Pettycur road before following the route to the beach. Down a small ramp and onto the sand, runners head out to the rock. Having made their way around the Black Rock competitors retrace their steps back to the beach, up the hill and then down to the start line. However, the finish line is on South Overgate near the junction with the A921 - meaning a left turn and a final uphill dash complete the race.
The inaugural Black Rock '5', held in 1987, was won by Gifford Kerr - ahead of 66 other finishers - extremely low by today's standards.
The race has been staged every year since - apart from 1991. Thus 29 races have been held so far and numbers have increased significantly over the years, as has the quality of the top end of the field, with winners including Bobby Quinn and Terry Mitchell.
The new millennium has witnessed domination by H.B.T. with both Phil Mowbray and Don Naylor having taken the spoils.
The race is pre-entry only with the field limited to approximately 1000 on the night. The race has sold out each year since 2011.
The course record belongs to Ian Harkness, also of the infamous Hunters Bog Trotters, in a time of 22:03.
