St Andrews Parkrun organisers are hoping for a bumper turnout as they celebrate their 500th event on Saturday.
Pipers and silver balloons will greet runners as they get on their marks in Craigtoun Park at 9.30am.
And there will be refreshments after the milestone 5k to mark the special occasion,
St Andrews Parkrun got under way in April 2012 as one of only 14 events in Scotland.
There are now more than 60, with the Craigtoun Park race attracting up to 250 finishers every week.
Event director Gary Ovenstone hopes more than 400 people will join in on Saturday.
250 people regularly take part in St Andrews Parkrun
He said just 76 runners took part in the first St Andrews Parkrun in 2012.
And the event gradually became more and more popular until Covid struck in 2020.
“It was started by a couple of women from Leuchars, whose husbands were in the RAF,” he said.
“We broke the 100 finishers mark on our first birthday but really only saw regular attendance of over 100 from 2014.”
Numbers have now recovered to the 250 or so seen before the 18-month shutdown during the pandemic.
In all, St Andrews Parkrun has seen more than 11,500 finishers, with an average finish time of 29 minutes.
However, the course record is 14.41 minutes, set by Andrew Douglas in June.
How to take part in 500th event
The event is run by volunteers and Gary said runners take part for a variety of reasons.
“Some treat it as a race,” he said.
“And some treat it as a training thing and try to beat their own personal best.
“Others come for social reasons and run with pals and some use it to get fit or just to get out the house.”
Anyone interested in joining the 500th St Andrews Parkrun should register first via the website.
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