An exclusive Q&A with Podium 5k founder and race organiser Chris Barnes, ahead of the SportsShoes.com Podium Festival in March

Were now coming up to a decade since the first ever Podium 5k event took place (November 8, 2014), around the Steven Burke cycle track in Barrowford.

Chris Livesey once the top-ranked under-20 1500m runner in the UK won that inaugural race and since then Podium 5k has gone from strength to strength.

Marc Scott stormed to a British 5km record with 13:20 at Barrowford in 2020 and Beth Potter also clocked an unofficial world record over the distance a year later, running an incredible 14:41.

Last year, SportsShoes.com acquired Podium 5k and the first event that took place after that announcement was Breaking 10, which saw Emile Cairess run 45:57 and smash Richard Nerurkars European 10-mile record of 46:02.

The philosophy behind Podium 5k is to put the athlete first and more than 50 non-profit races for affiliated and non-affiliated athletes have occurred since 2014.

Next on the list is the biggest project to date SportsShoes.com Podium Festival on March 16.

The event will be held at New College Leicester, offers a 30,000 prize fund and involves attempts to break both British and European 5km records.

Here are the thoughts of Podium 5k founder and race organiser Chris Barnes.

How did Podium 5k start up and what were the inspirations behind it?

I was offered first refusal on a closed circuit pancake flat cycle track in Lancashire from a friend who was into cycling. I went down for a look and thats where the crazy ideas all started.

Due to the arrival of parkrun a lot of the 5km races up and down the country had slowly disappeared. Due to the fact Podium 5k wasnt set up to make profit, it meant I could host events breaking even at best.

So I replicated the Tuesday night track meets at Stretford, graded the races and listened to athletes and coaches about races dates, plus put pacers in from the very first event. Chris Livesey won that very first event in 15:02 which at the time was deemed super quick. The dream was now reality.

How has Podium 5k evolved over the years?

From that first event back in 2014 up until when Sportsshoes.com took Podium 5k on, not much changed apart from its popularity.

Athletes turned up and paid their 5 at registration in an old, dark cold shipping container. Id take costs out and the rest was prize money. I think the simplicity of it was part of the appeal. That and the fact every event was always fast.

These days Podium 5k is on a whole new level with crazy prize money, its nationwide and got all the big shoe brands involved. Its exciting but its still athlete first!

What are your favourite memories so far of Podium 5k events?

Tough question. I loved the first few Podium 5ks because they grew in quality and the times got ridiculously quicker every event, but three of them stand out when Marc Scott ran 13:20, Beth Potter clocked 14:41 and obviously Emile Cairess 45:57.

The Scott once was amazing. The line-ups were like nothing wed seen over a 5km for years on the road in the UK.

We had Olympic medallists and the atmosphere was also unbelievable, due to people not seeing sporting fixtures for some time due to the Covid regulations. It changed the way Podium 5k operated going forward.

The Cairess Breaking 10 event was different. The build-up was polished and having Adidas on board elevated it.

All the pacers were in identical kit and Cairess just sat behind waiting to go it alone, chasing a record that had stood for over 30 years. For me it was pound for pound the best event in the UK in 2023.

The Podium 5k with Beth Potter edges it though. That night was meant to be all about the fact William Hill had put betting on the elite mens race. Then Potter ran 14:41! It was unbelievable and my phone didnt stop for weeks afterwards. It was by far craziest night there has been down at Podium 5k.

What was the thinking behind Sportsshoes.com Podium Festival? How excited are you by the scale of the event?

To be fair, Podium 5k is in a very fortunate position where we now have brands using the events to launch their latest super shoes. It gives the event more exposure and brands are keen to put up amazing prize money to ensure the best athletes race.

Its a great way for brands to get exposure for their shoes if there are quick race times. Obviously we would normally partner with one brand per event but for the Sportsshoes.com Podium Festival we are trying something different. Most brands are launching new super shoes around March so hopefully it is a success and we can make it an annual thing.

Why do you think Sportsshoes.com Podium Festival can make such an impact for both brands and those runners participating?

Entries so far indicate the elite races will be ridiculously fast. The womens field is so deep in quality its looking like there will be two female-only races. On the mens side, Robin Hendrix has requested 13:10 pacers to target the European record, so its very exciting. Hopefully it means a few of the British lads get dragged around to the British record too in the process as well as the likes of Hendrix potentially breaking the European record at Podium 5k.

If these sort of records go, its brilliant for both the event and the brands.

What are your ultimate goals and ambitions for Podium 5k?  

Nothing has really changed for me with Podium 5k. It has always been athlete first. Im also very fortunate that Sportsshoes.com have allowed Podium 5k to continue with this ethos, while adding the fantastic funding and brand awareness that allows Podium 5k to look after athletes even more, offering super shoes, kit to race in as well as the unbelievable prize money offered.