Sydney Marathon 2025: Everything you need to know Night of the 10,000m PB's is a truly unique offering in the running calendar. Promising a night of world-class athletics combined with show-stopping entertainment, this year the event will host both the 10,000m UKA Championships and the Paris Olympic Trials, so it's not to be missed.
It's also part of the On Track Night Series, which starts at this event before heading to Vienna, Paris, Tokyo and the grand finale in Melbourne later this year.
Where is the Night of the 10,000m PB's?
The race is held at Parliament Hill Athletics Track (home to Highgate Harriers Athletics Club) on Hampstead Heath in London, and the event is free for all spectators to attend.
When is the Night of the 10,000m PB's?
The event takes place on Saturday 18 May 2024 from 2pm onwards.
What is the Night of the 10,000m PB's?
At the heart of the event is the celebration of the 10,000m distance race. This year's edition features seventeen track races, offering athletes the chance to pursue their personal bests, earn crucial points for major championships and provide spectators with unparalleled access to the excitement of these races right by the trackside.
While traditional athletics meets keep firm barriers between fans and the action, at the Night of the 10,000m PB's spectators are positively encouraged to get into lane three, beers in hand, to cheer on the runners. It makes for an electric atmosphere.
Alongside the trackside cheering, spectators can enjoy all kinds of in-field activities and entertainment including captivating pop-up circus displays, a giant kids climbing wall, race sign making, a pop-up tattoo shop, movement workshops and hair braiding.
Speaking to RW ahead of last year's event, race founder Ben Pochee said the inspiration for the carnival-like atmosphere came not from running events, but fromcycling ones. 'I’d been injured and had got into bike racing quite seriously for a couple of years,' he explains. 'I’d raced over in Belgium, where bike racing is in their lifeblood. In the summer, each town and village has a really high-quality Kermesse race, what we call Crit races over here. That’s multiple loops, so they might do 60 or 70 miles, which would be 10 to 15 laps through the town.
'And the whole town comes together,' Pochee continues. 'It’s quite a boozy affair, but there are real serious cyclists at the front end. And lots of the guys who are watching the races used to be racers themselves. Now, they are just drinking beer and having a great time. And I think all those people exist in running.'
Tapping into former athletes and track fans, the event slowly and steadily grew in its first few years. But, it really started to escalate in 2016 when it became the official UK Athletics race for the Olympic Trials.
'Suddenly, our talented UK runners were being really pushed,' recalls Pochee. 'And that’s exactly what we wanted. Previously, if someone like Alex Yee wanted to run a 27-minute 10K, he’d have to go to America and run at Stanford. Then suddenly there he is, having the race of his life, beating Andy Vernon and Chris Thompson. They all run 27-something but finish 5th, 6th and 7th in the race because they are up against some of the best runners in Europe.
'And that’s what I really wanted all along. The event aims were always twofold – what can we do to celebrate our sport and celebrate 10,000m running, and what can we do to help athletes run quicker?' On both counts, the event has been an undeniable triumph.
So, on Saturday 18 May, bring your friends and family to Parliament Hill Athletics Track whether they like running or not – because even if 25 laps sounds dry, the drama and stories that emerge within each of those races will suck you in. And with circus performers, climbing walls and more, there’s something for everyone.
