“The most fun you can have at a running event” – that’s how Joseph Birchenall, Brand Communications Events Lead describes On Track Nights, our global series of events that brings together the world’s fastest runners, amateur heroes, a festival atmosphere and on the field entertainment. Keep reading to hear from Joe on what makes On Track Nights (OTN) so special.
1. How did OTN start?
The idea of OTN was first born a few years ago when we noticed too many empty seats and dwindling crowds at major running events. We believe that the sport of running deserves more, it deserves to be celebrated and lifted up. Naturally, we wanted to be part of the solution so we sat down and started brainstorming about what we could do to encourage as many people as possible to come along and see how much fun and how exciting track racing can be.
Our approach was to try and blend the local with the global, so we want to give local runners and run clubs the chance to take part in the same events as some of the world’s best athletes. Throw in the festival vibes that we bring to each event – with musical performances, flash tattoos, on-track tunnels, food trucks, dancers, stunt bikers, climbing walls, bouncy castles, face painting – the list goes on and on. The goal is to offer something for everyone, whether they come for the run or the fun.
2. How does it work?
We partner with innovative and exciting track meets around the world that share our determination to offer audiences and athletes more. The Night of the 10,000m PB’s in London is a great example of this. It’s been called the “Glastonbury of running events” mostly because of the festival atmosphere – it’s always been loud and rowdy, and that’s what caught our eye. Over the last decade, this event has developed something of a cult following for the unexpected offering audiences and athletes a unique experience. We wanted to build on this and partner with other events around the world that were doing things a little bit differently – always going a step further to bring audiences and athletes together.
3. How is it going?
In 2023, we hosted five OTN events in five different cities: Los Angeles, London, Paris, Vienna and Melbourne. Across all of the events, we gathered more than 20,000 attendees with more than 250,000 people watching on livestream. If someone thought running wasn’t a spectator sport, this proves it otherwise.
On top of this, we’ve had some incredible athletic performances - not just by On athletes. At the most recent event in Vienna, we had nine athletes hit the Olympic standard, one new national record and the fastest 5,000m times for men and women ever recorded on Austrian soil. We also had more than 200 local club runners take part in the event and the flash tattoo stand was fully booked within minutes of opening – something that seems to happen whenever they’re on offer!
Maybe the best part is that we’ve welcomed new fans to the sport – from musicians to stunt bikers, dancers, footballers and families. All events had very diverse crowds of people who don’t usually go to track meets, which is exactly what we wanted. We built our online presence by spreading the message on social media, reaching more than 20 million people, making sure our audience knows everyone is welcome. Athlete or not, there’s something for everyone.
"Community has been at the heart of On since day one and On Track Nights is a legacy of that"
Community has been at the heart of On since day one and On Track Nights is a legacy of that. We got local run clubs and communities involved with every single event, cementing that pairing global superstars with local heroes is in fact a winning combination. We’re trying to offer a fun experience, getting people up close and personal with some of the world's best athletes while also celebrating the local runners giving them a chance to run on the same track as some of the best.
We had our first event of 2024 in London in May with more than 9,000 people showing up. This year, we’re still hosting five events going back to the Night of the 10,000m PB’s in London, Track Night Vienna, FAST500 in Paris, the ZÁTOPEK:10 in Melbourne and introducing OTN to Tokyo in the Middle Distance Circuit.
“This is what [track and field] needs… You look at what this event brings in - the crowd, the atmosphere, the attention - it’s just nuts. I don’t think there’s another event in the world like this.” - Andrew Butchart, 10,000m champion
“The way that the crowd carries you is amazing. The noise is unbelievable. In the middle of the race I struggled, but the crowd kept me going. The hype, the cheering was always there.” – Zak Mahamed, Runner
“I’ve never experienced anything like this and it’s amazing that On is putting on an event like this and giving under-17 and under-20 athletes an actual opportunity. I ran in the Diamond League last year but this event is something else.” – Finlay Hutchinson, Winner of under-20 800m race
4. How does OTN look like in the future?
We’ll continue to elevate and expand OTN, deepening our relationships with local communities and, who knows, maybe introduce some new events to the schedule! We want to build on the local meets global aspects of these events, so I’m particularly excited to improve our broadcast capabilities to be able to drive some of the fun home from wherever people are watching.
One moment that really sticks in my mind was the reaction to our OAC athletes in Melbourne. When they were coming off the track, the audience had posters and were asking for signatures. It was special to see such an appetite to get up close and personal with our athletes, so increasing athlete storytelling is definitely something we’ll continue to develop.
We’ve learned – and are continuing to learn – what works and we’re in the right place to make these great events even greater. So stay tuned at on.com/explore/events/on-track-nights .
