Over the past few years, the Highgate Harriers’ Night of the 10,000m PBs has been solidly etched into my bucket list of global meets to attend. That’s no small feat, considering it highlights what’s often considered one of the sport’s most… uh, how do I put this?… challenging to appreciate races. The fact that fans turn out in droves to hoot and holler at multiple fields worth of 25-lap warriors is a testament to how cool this whole production is, and it goes to show that there are no boring races, just boring venues!

This year marks the 10th anniversary and there are plenty of fun elements to rile up the raucous crowds and festival vibes. There will be a beer garden or biergarten. There will be circus performers. There will be a lights show. Most importantly, there will be fast races since it is a World Athletics Silver Event and doubles as the British Athletics 10,000m Championship.

Here’s what we will be watching out for…

1. Paul Chelimo Returns To The 10K – But the odds are not looking good to become the British champion! After earning an Olympic silver medal, an Olympic bronze medal, and a World Championship bronze medal in the 5000m (for America), it looks like Paul Chelimo is preparing to move up in distance. Earlier this year, he signed a contract with Decathlon’s performance shoe brand Kiprun with his sights set on a marathon soon. He debuted in his new kit with a 62:22 at the Berlin Half and is entered for Saturday night. This is just the second 10,000m race of his professional career and his first since his 27:43.89 personal best from the 2019 Stockholm Diamond League. All eyes will be on whether Chelimo will go hard or suffer for the rest of his life.

2. Weini Kelati Chases The World Championship Standard – While many people remember the battle between Natosha Rogers and Emily Infeld in the final 100m of last year’s World Championship qualifying race at the Prefontaine Classic, Kelati was in the mix for much of it, before finishing 5th overall – just nine seconds behind Infeld. She also came agonizingly close to making the team in the 5000m with a fourth place finish at USAs. She ultimately got her first chance to represent Team USA at the World Cross Country Championships in March but, c’mon, wouldn’t you also rather make the team on the track? The first step is getting the World Championship qualifying standard of 30:40.00. Her coach, Stephen Haas, told us this will be her only attempt at hitting the standard before shifting the focus to the 5000m and targeting that standard in June. The plan would be to double at the U.S. Championships if she has both standards.

3. Andrew Butchart Goes For The British Title – Last year was Butchart’s first year as a 10,000m guy after going 27:36.77 at The Ten in California. He went on to finish seventh at the Commonwealth Games. The spot for Worlds is his for the taking, with a few caveats. No British man has the standard so he’ll have to run 27:10.00 (his PR is 27:36.77) or get his world ranking a bit higher. And since no one fully understands that algorithm, let’s just go fast! He’s looking for his first national title since 2019.

4. How Fast Will Jessica Warner-Judd Go? – The only woman in the field with a personal best under 31 minutes, she’s already got her World Championship qualifying mark through her 30:35.93 at the World Championships last summer. She’s only been running the 10,000m for two years and now has a chance to claim her second national title in the event while also defending her title after winning last year’s race in 31:22.24 – just three seconds ahead of former UW Husky standout Amy-Eloise Markovc (LET’S GO PUPS!), who is also back for more laps in (on?) Parliament Hill.

5. Don’t Overlook Hawi Feysa – In the same way that the United States has a surplus of strong women’s 400m hurdlers, Ethiopia’s got more 10,000m aces than it knows what to do with. That logjam is alleviated somewhat by Letesenbet Gidey being assured a spot for Budapest as the defending champion, which means Ethiopia gets to send three other women to Worlds this summer. Shockingly, only three women have the qualifying standard and Hawi Feysa is looking to move up in the pecking order by hitting the standard here. She has a personal best of 31:03.32 from last June but did not get picked for Worlds after finishing 11th in their selection race. She just finished 6th at the World Cross Country Championships so she’ll be up with Warner-Judd in this one.

6. Will anyone grab a beer mid-race? – Smart money’s on no, but hey… as I hope they say in the north of London: “I just might have a pint.” One of the coolest elements of this event is the beer garden tent set up in lane three. We have yet to see someone snag a pint and still get under a World Championship qualifying mark. Would be easier if it was in lane two.