THE rescheduled 36th Alloa Half Marathon took place at the weekend and saw hundreds of runners pounding the roads of Clackmannanshire.

With the Beast from the East postponing the annual event back in March, organisers Alloa Round Table were able to organise a new race date for Sunday, June 3.

Still, around 1,700 people lined up on the starting line at the Leisure Bowl with the course taking in most of Clackmannanshire, through Sauchie, Fishcross, Tillicoultry, Alva, Menstrie, Tullibody and back to Alloa.

Race director John O’Malley expanded the offering after last year with a fun fair and a range of stalls at Greenfield Park for accompanying families and spectators, while Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface’s one-mile fun run made sure everyone can get involved.

It was a sweltering day, with some amazing running from the front of the pack coming close to the race record.

John told the Advertiser: “It was fantastic, everything from the volunteers to the fun run – it was all just brilliant.

“Some of the times were absolutely amazing in that heat, the winner was only a few minutes off the best time ever.

“It was pretty hot so it was pretty impressive!”

With the heat cranked up, the organisers made sure there was plenty of water, alongside bananas to keep everyone fuelled.

More than 1,000 bottles were left over, these have been donated to local Scouts who are looking forwards to a fun day next week and were given a nod of thanks by John for their help on the day.

At the park, the fun fair saw inflatable slides while race sponsors and local businesses hosted stalls with information.

Linking in with Armed Forces Day, held in Alloa just the Friday before the race, army careers were also there with a stall and a member of the force ran the whole race in full combat gear and with a 60kg load on the back.

A sale of surplus T-shirts helped generate some extra money with proceeds being put back into the local community by the Round Table and John reckons this year’s race generated some £35,000.

There has already been some great feedback from participants and the organisers are looking to get around the table and start planning again after the summer.

John is looking to put the race on for the original March date as the local event always acted as a springboard at the start of the season for many athletes.

The race director wanted to thank all volunteers and sponsors Sterling Mills, Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, Jump-N-Joy from Tullibody, Stirling Audi and all local businesses who support Alloa Round Table.