Thousands of runners turned out at Aberdeen beach yesterday to take part in one of the highlights of the city’s sporting calendar.
The Baker Hughes 10k Running Festival also attracted hundreds of spectators who were on hand to cheer their loved ones across the finish line.
The annual event, organised by Sport Aberdeen, is the largest race of its kind in the region.
This year, it was the 30th annual race and more than 4,500 runners of all abilities took part.
The runners set off from Beach Boulevard and followed a course through Footdee, along Beach Esplanade and back along King Street, Golf Road and Urquhart Road to finish near the Beach Ballroom.
Will Mackay was delighted to hold onto the men’s title during the gruelling race and Nicola Guald won victory in the women’s race for the third time in five years.
There was also a 2k school race, a wheelchair race and the Banks o Dee fun run.
This year, spectators also enjoyed a skating ramp, inflatable pitches, science demonstrations and a vegan cafe.
Representatives of the ten official partner charities – Aberdeen Cyrenians, Alzheimer Scotland, Befriend a Child, Cash for Kids, Children 1st, CLAN Cancer Support, CLIC Sargent, Inspire, Macmillan Cancer Support and Friends of ANCHOR – also had stalls at the race village.
A Sport Aberdeen spokesman said it had been a “great day out for all the family”.
He added: “It’s always good to see the whole city rally behind this event.”
The first 10k fun run took place in the city in 1987 to complement the Aberdeen Milk Marathon.
In 1991, the 26-mile event fully gave way to a marafun gathering in 1991, which was branded a high-quality 10k road race.
Charity fundraisers were also encouraged to take part in the 10k fun run for good causes, which remains the case today.
