RUNNERS from the endurance section within Pitreavie AAC and beyond turned out in force to welcome back one of West Fife’s most popular races.

Not since 2019 had the iconic Forth Road Bridge 10K taken place, but that changed this year as it made a triumphant return to the athletics calendar.

The host club had 18 of their members running in the event and they were in the mix to achieve some excellent placings in a race that produced a number of fine results.

David Henderson was rewarded for hard work on the track with an eighth-place finish overall, and a third place in his V40 age category, thanks to a fine run of 37 minutes and seven seconds, while Gemma Chalmers crossed the line as the third FV40 runner, posting a time of 44:49.

In addition, and despite injury, Pam Pattison continued her good form by racing to first place in the FV70 age group, clocking a time of 54:28.

Elsewhere in the field, senior runner Iain Whittaker, of Edinburgh AC, crossed home first in a fast time of 33:25, with second and third places taken by John Redding (V40, Linlithgow AC, 34:27), and David Scott (V40, Kinross Road Runners, 35:42) respectively.

Unattached senior runner Laura Mooney was the first female home in 42:15, with Corstorphine AC’s Leah Davie (42:43) and Linlithgow AC’s Kathryn Holme (V40, 43:44) taking second and third place.

The club were able to offer a special keepsake ‘grab bag’ to all participants, thanks to sponsorship from Campion Homes, while they were also thankful to Sainsbury’s, who provided food on the day; Khushi’s in Dunfermline, who sponsored reusable water containers; Perfect Timing Scotland, for recording race results; the volunteer marshals; and Police Scotland, Forth Ports Authority and Lanark Medics.

Meanwhile, Pitreavie AAC Endurance runners have also been competing at a number of other events, including the recently-held Loch Leven Half Marathon.

Hosted by Kinross Road Runners, the race route of 13 miles took the competitors anti-clockwise around the Loch, and blustery conditions ensured that already challenging hilly sections of the course became more demanding.

That, however, did not prevent David Henderson from finishing in 11th place, with a time of 1:21.31, and Ben Fraser finishing not far behind in 1:28.21.

Next in for Pitreavie was Neil McLachlan, who posted a time of 1:36.22, with Des Fitzgerald only a few seconds behind him in 1:36.32, while Gemma Chalmers and Jennifer Barclay were the club’s first female runners to cross the finish line.

Gemma came through with a time of 1:44.48, with Jennifer following shortly afterwards in 1:50.13.