The 2016 Night of the 10,000m PBs

Track’s longest race used to be an event only diehard fans would watch. In London, that’s changing.

Photos, interviews and video by Emmie C & Phil G and Andy Waterman

Twenty five laps. Few people are willing to run that distance on a track, and historically, even fewer can bring themselves to sit through the (dubious) spectacle.

In London, thanks to The Night of the 10,000m PBs, that is changing. Since it inauguration in 2013 — less than a year after Mo Farah became Olympic Champion in the city — this festival of distance running has gone from strength to strength. With no admission fee for spectators, live music, good coffee and beer, the organizer Ben Pochee has attracted crowds rarely seen in the current era. Roaring the athletes home from lane four, this, you felt, was how track and field could be.

Each year the fields at The Night of the 10,000m PBs have got bigger and more competitive, with this year’s event doubling as the British Olympic Trials ensuring a stacked lineup across the board. The elite races, and particularly the women’s race, promised superb entertainment, with a selection of overseas athletes in attendance in search of fast times.

As the races began, all eyes were on European Champ Jo Pavey and European silver medallist Andy Vernon as each sought to gain automatic selection for Rio. In the end, neither succeeded, but that just made the racing more exciting.

Watch the short video below for interviews with the winners on the night.

The standout performance of the event was Jess Andrews in the women’s race who ran an 83 second PR to take the win and finish well inside the Olympic qualifying time. The time itself was remarkable only for the size of the improvement; what really impressed was the way she ran, allowing Linet Masai to lead through much of the race before reeling her in during the closing laps. We look forward to seeing her race again in future.

Results:

Women

1. 31:58 Jessica Andrews
2. 32:02 Linet Masai
3. 32:05 Beth Potter
4. 32:05 Salome Rocha
5. 32:11 Kate Avery
6. 32:32 Krisztina Papp
7. 33:05 Lauren Deadman
8. 33:11 Sophie Duarte
9. 33:12 Lily Partridge
10. 33:22 Jo Pavey

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In the men’s race, Andy Vernon was never quite in the mix. He started down the field, moved up, dropped back again, seemed to get back on terms and then dropped back again. As the only man in the field with the qualifying time he only needed to finish among the top two Brits to secure his place in Rio, but it wasn’t to be — he finished third Brit, 12secs behind Dewi Griffiths, the Welshman running a new PR in the process. Ross Millington won in a time that will barely register across east Africa, but he won in a fashion that was entirely impressive, duelling the whole way with Spaniard Juan Antonio Perez before outpacing him in the final lap.

We’ve said it before but it bears repeating: forget times, the future of track and field is racing.

Results

Men

1. 28:28 Ross Millington
2. 28:30 Juan Antonio Perez
3. 28:34 Dewi Griffiths
4. 28:48 Andy Vernon
5. 29:21 Ben Connor
6. 29:24 Mick Clohisey
7. 29:24 Andy Maud
8. 29:26 Paul Martelletti
9. 29:27 Abel Tsegay
10. 29:33 Orjan Gronnevig

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