Popular event at Parliament Hill took a break in 2025 and will not happen this year either before hopefully returning in 2027.
Organisers of the Night of the 10,000m PBs say their event will not take place again this summer but they are keen to return next year.
“Night of the 10,000m PBs aims to bloom again,” the organisers said on Wednesday (Feb 11), “and when it does, we fully intend for it to be just as loud, just as ridiculous and just as brilliant as ever.”
The festival of 10,000m races at Parliament Hill in north London first took place in 2014 and grew to a hugely popular event but it did not take place in 2020-21 due to Covid pandemic – with Birmingham instead acting as an Olympic trial during that period – and then took a further break in 2025 in order to give their volunteer army of officials a break.
Despite the promise of a return in 2026, Ben Pochee and his team at Highgate Harriers say the event will now not be staged this season but they will look forward to coming back in 2027.
After humble beginnings during a period when 10,000m races on the track were seen as fairly unglamorous, the Night of the 10,000m PBs eventually grew to attract thousands of spectators, many of whom would sit on the grass bank overlooking the track or stand trackside roaring the runners from close range. With alcohol, music and circus performers, it became a hugely enjoyable event and the athletes enjoyed the rich atmosphere.
The 10,000m races aside, it grew to incorporate young athletes’ races over shorter distances and even the prestigious Emsley Carr Mile.
However more recently there have been rumours of disharmony relating to sponsorship and concerns that the event had become “too big” with fans sometimes complaining of being unable to see the races due to the large number of tents and infrastructure on the in-field.
In typically quirky style, the organisers said in a statement: “In nature there is a plant known as the Resurrection Lily. It doesn’t bloom every year. Some seasons it simply sits underground minding its own business, storing up energy, refusing to be rushed, and probably ignoring online motivational quotes. Then, when the moment is right, it bursts back into life as if nothing happened.
“We’ve decided to take a leaf out of the Resurrection Lily’s book and made the decision that Night of
the 10,000m PBs will not take place in 2026.
“This event has always been a slightly improbable miracle: elite athletes running around very fast
while thousands of people scream encouragement with an Afro Beat backing track, cowbells ringing
hard, and vociferous debate whether it’s acceptable to eat curried goat on the bridge over the home
straight. For over a decade it has grown from a bold idea into a community celebration of our sport.
“Delivering Night of the 10,000m PBs at the standard everyone expects requires a small army of
people, a heroic number of volunteers, and organisational energy normally associated with
launching a space mission. Rather than put on a version that is anything less than the full, noisy,
chaotic, glorious experience, we feel it is better to pause again to regroup.
“So 2026 will be another year of sensible shoes, early nights, and administrative recovery. To be clear:
this is not the end, it is not a goodbye and hopefully 2027 will see it flower once more.
“Like the Resurrection Lily, Night of the 10,000m PBs aims to bloom again. And when it does, we fully
intend for it to be just as loud, just as ridiculous, and just as brilliant as ever. Thank you for your
understanding, your support, and for keeping the cowbells safely stored until further notice.”
