Stellar elite showdowns promised for 2022

Sir Mo Farah will face Andy Butchart at the Vitality London 10,000 on Bank Holiday Monday 2 May, while a thrilling elite women’s race will see three of the 10 fastest Brits of all time go head-to-head. Returning to its iconic route in central London for the first time since 2019, the Vitality London 10,000 is renowned for its fast, flat course – and that has attracted a stellar line up.

Farah returns to the roads

In the elite men’s race, multiple Olympic champion Farah – who has not raced since last June due to injury – will be tested on his return to the roads by a strong domestic field led by Butchart.

Farah is the seven-time Vitality London 10,000 champion and the course record holder, having set his PB of 27:44 on this course in 2010. However, Butchart has two wins on his CV, in 2016 and 2017, and ran a speedy 10,000m of 27:36:77 on the track in the USA in March.

Other names in the field include Chris Thompson, Joshua Griffiths and Phil Sesemann, who are all using the race as a tune-up for championship marathons this summer.

McColgan to meet her match?

The elite women’s race promises to be spectacular. The field is led by Eilish McColgan, who became the third-fastest British woman of all time over 10K at the Great Manchester Run last October when she ran the distance in 30:52.

McColgan will face two other women who, in the past eight months, have run times that have catapulted them into the top 10 of the UK all-time rankings for 10K: Samantha Harrison (fifth-fastest of all-time, 31:11) and Jess Piasecki (sixth fastest, 31:19).

Also featuring in this stellar field are Charlotte Purdue, the first British woman at last year’s London Marathon, and Steph Twell, who won the Vitality London 10,000 in 2018 and 2019 – the last two occasions it was held in central London.

Spencer Barden, Head of Elite Athletes at London Marathon Events, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to central London with such exciting fields for the Vitality London 10,000 featuring some of Britain’s very best distance athletes.

“We can’t wait to see Sir Mo back racing again, while the women’s race is going to be hugely competitive, with four of the 10 fastest British women of all time on the Start Line. With David Weir and Shelly Woods also headlining the wheelchair races, it’s going to be a great day.”

Weir and Woods head the wheelchair fields

Two-time champion Weir heads up a strong men’s wheelchair field that also includes JohnBoy Smith, Simon Lawson and the 2019 winner, Daniel Sidbury. In the women’s field, Woods returns with her eyes set on a third win at the Vitality London 10,000 – she will face competition from Jade Jones-Hall and Samantha Kinghorn.

See below for the full elite fields for the 2022 Vitality London 10,000.

Elite men

Elite women

Wheelchair men

Wheelchair women

The Vitality London 10,000 will be broadcast live on the BBC Red Button.

Enter the Vitality London 10,000

The Vitality London 10,000 is held on a spectacular central London route that starts on The Mall and finishes by Buckingham Palace, passing famous landmarks including Nelson’s Column, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Bank of England, Somerset House, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey along the way.

General entries for the Vitality London 10,000 are still open and cost £39 (with a £2 reduction for members of UKA athletics clubs). Every finisher receives a New Balance technical T-shirt (with a retail value of £35) and souvenir medal.

The Vitality London 10,000 will also host the British 10K Championships for 2022, with clubs able to register members for the event now (at £37 per club runner). In addition to the individual British 10K Championships for men, women and wheelchair classes for men and women T53/T54, there is also a team competition for registered running clubs with separate prize funds for men and women.

Run for Ukraine

A dedicated Run for Ukraine wave will be part of the 2022 event and 100 per cent of the discounted £15 entry fee for participants in this wave will be donated by organisers London Marathon Events to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Participants in the Run for Ukraine wave will be encouraged to fundraise for the DEC collective of the UK’s 15 leading aid charities (or for the Ukrainian relief charity of their choice) and to wear blue and yellow on the day. The running numbers for the Run for Ukraine wave will also be blue and yellow.

Entries for the Run for Ukraine wave are now open. The entry fee is £15 (with the full fee being donated to DEC) and participants are invited to set up their DEC fundraising page here.