🏅 High stakes elite athletics meets a carnival atmosphere as the Night of the 10k PBs makes its eagerly anticipated return to Hampstead Heath in 2024. Spectating is free! No advance registration is required, simply turn up on the day.
NEWSFLASH: The 2024 Night of the 10k PBs is a wrap! Results 👇
Email tickets@sportonspec.co.uk with ‘Athletics London alerts’ in the subject box to receive confirmation of the 2025 event once announced, plus breaking news of other great athletics events taking place in the capital.
And in the meantime visit our ATHLETICS section here for other events coming up in or around London. Including the Night of the 10k PBs, Watford Grand Prix and London Diamond League!
2024 RESULTS
Megan Keith and Mohamed Ismael were the stars of the Night of the 10k PBs show as they took victory in the elite women’s and men’s races respectively in front of a packed crowd at Parliament Hill.
Needing a top-two finish among the Brits in the women’s race to guarantee a place on the Team GB plane to the Paris Olympics (having already run the qualifying time), Keith left nothing to chance. The title of 10,000m British champion was secured by halfway and the Scottish star added the icing to the cake dramatically outsprinting American Fiona O’Keefe (winner of the recent US Olympic marathon trials) to win the overall race in a time of 31:03.02. O’Keefe finished in 31:03.46 with fellow American Amanda Vestri third in a PB of 31:10.53. Defending champion Jess Warner-Judd and Abbie Donnelly completed the podium places in the British championship.
The men’s race also saw a sprint finish with Mohamed Ismael of Djibouti getting the better of Britain’s Patrick Dever. Dever committed early to the sub-27 minute Olympic qualifying time and went through halfway on track in 13:30. However, the Preston Harrier couldn’t maintain the pace and was caught in the final stages by Ismael who won in a time of 27:22.38. Dever finished a close second in 27:23.88. Felix Bour of France was third while defending champion Paul Chelimo finished fourth in the overall race. In the British championship, Rory Leonard ran a PB of 27:38.39 and Charles Hicks finished in 27:46.41 to join Dever on the podium.
2024 EVENT PREVIEW
Strap yourselves in for athletics but not as you’ve known it at ‘The Glastonbury of 10K Running’ at Parliament Hill Athletics Track. Run by Highgate Harriers and established in 2013 with a goal of improving British racing standards over 10,000m, the Night of the 10k PBs has become a must-see night on the London sporting calendar.
As ever the elite races will include the British Championships. And with places on the Team GB plane to Paris 2024 also at stake, this year might be the most dramatic edition yet!
A feast of 10,000m action starts at 2.30pm. Back-to-back races throughout the afternoon and early evening get quicker and quicker. There’s also some 800m action to enjoy featuring some of the best juniors in the country. Everything builds towards the grand finale; the women’s and men’s elite races at 8.30pm and 9.25pm respectively. Both elite races feature a world-class field of international athletes and the best GB runners in search of Olympic qualification.
The annual celebration of 25-lap racing fuses music, entertainment and athletics to create a unique sporting occasion where spectators get up close and personal to the action.
The #Lane3BeerNCheer ethos includes circus entertainment and the famous ‘lactic tunnels of love’. There are bars and food stalls while the home straight pedestrian bridge is a gateway to infield spectating. And the back straight DJ ensures a great atmosphere all around the track.
👀 Read on for our review of 2023, ‘ones to watch’ in 2024, the #NOT10kPbs 2024 timetable and how you can witness the action live! 👇
Night of the 10k PBs – 2023 REVISITED
In 2023 Mizan Alem Adane (video above) and Paul Chelimo (pictured below) stormed to victory in the elite races under the lights at Parliament Hill.
Ethiopian Adane wowed the packed out crowds with a superb front-running performance to claim victory in the women’s race in a time of 29:59.03, becoming only the 12th woman in history to go sub-30 minutes for a 10k. Meanwhile Jessica Warner-Judd defended her British crown ahead of Sam Harrison and Amy-Eloise Markovc.
Chelimo was imperious in the men’s race. The Kenyan-born US runner claimed a commanding win in a course record time of 27:12.73, beating the previous record of 27:16.10 set by Italy’s Yeman Crippa in 2022. Andy Butchart was the first British man home finishing in 27:47.43. Zak Mahamed was the next Brit home in a personal best of 27:56.70.
NIGHT OF THE 10k PBs – ONES TO WATCH IN 2024
The elite men’s and elite women’s are at 8.30pm and 9.25pm respectively. Both races double up as the British 10,000m Championships and are Team GB trial races for the 2024 Olympics in Paris this August. Qualifying times for the European Athletics Championships in Rome next month can also be set.
Elite Women – 10,000m Women’s UK Athletics Championships & Olympic Trials @ 8.30PM
The Olympic Qualifying time is 30: 40. Rising star Megan Keith is the only British runner to have the 10,000m W qualifying time for Paris 2024 after she ran a superb 30:36.84 in March in California at her debut over the distance. That put Keith 4th on the all-time UK women’s rankings and the Scottish runner will favourite to be the first Brit home. But she’ll face fierce competition from Jessica Warner-Judd who is defending her title and looking to become British champion for the third year in a row.
Expect Swansea’s Verity Ockenden to be in the mix as she looks to make up for missing out on selection for the Tokyo Olympics and Abbie Donnelly will be keen to transfer her excellent performances in cross country this season to the track. Commonwealth Games finalist Jenny Nesbitt is another British athlete who could feature.
Favourite to win the overall race is Joy Cheptoyek. The Ugandan ran a lightning-fast 30:03 on the roads in Valencia earlier this year. If she is in that sort of form Cheptoyek could threaten the course record of 29:59.03 set last year on the Parliament Hill track by Mizan Alem Adane.
Elite Men – 10,000m Men’s UK Athletics Championships & Olympic Trials @ 9.25pm
Patrick Dever leads the way for the Brits after his breakout 10,000m run earlier this year at The Ten in California. Dever ran 27:08.81 to go No.2 on the all-time UK men’s rankings. The Olympic Qualifying time is 27 minutes flat and Dever has stated his intention to attack the mark. Another Brit based in the USA, Charlie Hicks, makes his debut at Highgate. Hicks will be looking to take a chunk out of his 10,000m PB of 27:33.58.
Rory Leonard, fresh from setting a 5k PB at the recent Comeback 5000 event in Battersea, should also be in the mix. Leonard is joined by his teammates from the Hoka training group, Ellis Cross and Scott Beattie, who could both feature. Zak Mahamed and Charles Wheeler make up a strong British contingent. Dever is favourite to win the British Championships but you can make a case for all the other runners to feature on the podium, which makes for an intriguing race among the Brits.
The favourite overall for the men’s race is defending champion Paul Chelimo. The Kenyan-born US athlete was a bronze medallist in the 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. He also claimed an Olympic silver medal over the distance in Rio in 2016. In a commanding performance at Hampstead Heath in 2023, Chelimo set a new course record time of 27:12.73.
Who will take the Night of the 10k PBs honours in 2024? All will be revealed under the fireworks at Parliament Hill tonight!
TICKETS & TIMETABLE
🎟️ Spectating is free. No tickets are required!
🕒 Night of the 10k PBs 2024 timetable.
1pm: On Track Nights Community Activation – check press for details
2.25pm: Back Straight DJ kicks off the tunes under our 60m Lactic Tunnel of Love
2.30pm: Race #1 | 10,000m – Men’s Race
3pm: Family Friendly Circus Workshop starts on grass infield. Open until 8pm.
3.10pm: Race #2 | 10,000m – Men’s Race
3.50pm: Race #3 | 10,000m – Women’s Race
4.25pm: Drumworks performers creates our percussive 25 lap racing rhythm
4.35pm: Race #4 | 10,000m – Men’s Race
5.15pm: Race #5 | 10,000m – Men’s Race
5.50pm to 6.10pm: Junior 800m Races. #6 U13 Boys ~ #7 U13 Girls ~ #8 U15 Boys ~ #9 U15 Girls
6.10pm to 6.40pm: The Stunt Runner performs on track home straight ~ DVSN & FNSHLINE youth dance crews perform on back straight
6.40pm: Race #10 | 10,000m – Women’s Race
7.20pm: Race #11 | 10,000m – Men’s Race
8pm to 8.20pm: Junior 800m Races. #12 U17 Men ~ #13 U17 Women ~ #14 U20 Men ~ #15 U20 Women
8.20pm: DVSN & FNSHLINE youth dance crews perform on home straight
8.30pm: Race #16 |Women’s 10,000m Paris Olympic Trials & UKA Championships
9.05pm: The Stunt Runner + LED circus display show on track
9.25pm: Race #17 | Men’s 10,000m Paris Olympic Trials & UKA Championships
10pm: LED & Circus performers
10.05pm: Prize money & UK Championships medal presentations
TRAVEL
🚊🚗 Travel tips: Public transport is recommended. Parking available on surrounding roads is limited and subject to local restrictions. The nearest railway station to the Parliament Hill track is Gospel Oak (just a few minutes walk) on the London Overground. Buses 24 and 168 stop nearby. If travelling by tube Kentish Town and Belsize Park are both a 10-15 minute walk away. Plan your journey at the Transport for London website.
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