Nike After Dark Run

The Inaugural Nike After Dark Run, a half marathon to commemorate “taking the night back” and shifting the narrative that it is unsafe for women to be outside at night. The Nike After Dark Run is powerhouse event touring in six cities globally and made it’s stop to Los Angeles on June 7th. The L.A. race culminated in a performance by rising star, Doechii at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.

And while many enjoyed the camaraderie, challenge and accomplishment of running a half marathon, others were sorely disappointed by what they experienced during and post event. 

Celebrities and public facing influencers like Whitney Alford, Kendrick Lamar’s life partner were in attendance with her and Lamar’s kids. Codie Oliver, creator of the Black Love docuseries and relationship summit was also there alongside U.S. Olympic great, Jordan Chiles. Codie Oliver uplifted her longtime friend who supported her throughout the race, ensuring that Oliver wasn’t left behind and her husband and mom who were in the audience cheering her on. “Thankful to my incredible praise playlist, supportive friends and family who showed up when I had no expectations and to all the strangers along the course who shouted for (us). Whitney Alford posted to her Instagram stories, “immensely proud of myself for finishing the race. It was tough. Bucket List.”

Others however had choice words for Nike’s organization of the event or lack thereof. Some runners took to Threads naming late starts, some saying they waited almost two hours before the race actually got started, a lack of bananas for post-race recovery, not enough mobile restrooms, and not being kind to new runners (which personally raises my brows because why did you expect a half marathon to a be a breezy pace?). Other directly from INglewood uplifted that traffic was a nightmare, stating they were unaware that the race was even taking place at all and the city failed to promote the race to residents in enough time to prepare for road blockages. Although, the Nike After Dark Run can’t fully be blamed for that. Wrestlemania was happening at Intuit Dome during the same time so the traffic catastrophe was likely due to non-residents also coming in for that event as well. 

There is always room for improvement and no person or organization is above reproach, however, it is equally important that we become an empowered, self-sufficient society again. Nike has always been known for its extreme athleticism. They literally endorsed the top athletes in the world like Lenron James, Sha’carri Richardson, David Beckham and Serene Williams! To expect a Nike race to be gentle or jr. league shows a lack of discernment on the participants’ part.

Nonetheless, most people had a great time and it’s beautiful thing to see folks getting in top shape. Health is wealth and that will always be a message worth promoting!