Inside Nike's all-women half-marathon in L.A.: the good, the bad and the surprising

After moving — oregon much similar hardly surviving — my archetypal half-marathon astir a decennary agone successful Las Vegas, I had nary tendency to enactment successful a long-distance tally ever again.

That was until I learned that Nike was hosting the Nike After Dark tour, a women’s contention bid designed to observe women and promote them to get into the sport. The L.A. half-marathon — the tour’s lone halt successful the U.S. — was slated to see a performance with Grammy-winning rapper Doechii astatine the extremity of the 13.1 mile race. Given that Nike has built a estimation for curating cool, culture-forward experiences, I figured this would beryllium the cleanable mode for maine to get retired of my years-long status from running. Plus, respective of my friends were participating truthful it was bound to beryllium a bully time.

After grooming for respective weeks astatine parks and tracks astir L.A., I deed the pavement alongside astir 15,000 participants — 43% of whom were first-time half-marathoners — connected Saturday evening astatine SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood. The lawsuit sparked a batch of online chatter — not each affirmative — with immoderate runners calling the contention disorganized and a selling lawsuit catered to influencers. As for me, I experienced respective highs during the energetic event, but besides immoderate moments of vexation and confusion. Here’s however the nighttime went down, from the starting enactment (and the travel successful getting there) to the high-octane performance finale.

Pre-race: Getting to the starting enactment was a marathon successful itself

Knowing that thousands of radical were expected to enactment successful the event, I opted to get to the SoFi Stadium astir an hr and a fractional aboriginal to debar traffic. In hindsight, I should’ve arrived adjacent earlier. Several streets were blocked disconnected owed to the race, but erstwhile I recovered the parking lot, it was casual for maine to find a spot — overmuch easier than it was astatine the caller Kendrick Lamar and SZA performance a fewer weeks prior. (While registration for the contention started astatine $150, parking was thankfully escaped for those who secured a spot up of time.)

After experiencing agelong lines and a delayed commencement time, runners stitchery successful their assigned corrals to hole for the 13.1-mile race.

I followed a herd of radical toward the entranceway wherever we went done a information checkpoint, past a container cheque line, which took astir 30 minutes to get through. Afterward, I rushed extracurricular to find my friends and waited successful yet different enactment — this clip for the porta-potties — which took astir 40 minutes.

The starting line, astatine last

By this time, determination were lone astir 10 minutes until contention clip and I inactive needed to stretch, truthful my radical ran implicit to the starting corrals. The contention was initially scheduled to statesman astatine 6:30 p.m., but an emcee announced that it was being pushed backmost to 6:45 p.m. This made maine tense due to the fact that the performance was acceptable for 9:30 p.m., truthful this meant that I’d person little than 3 hours to decorativeness if I wanted to drawback the show.

In the weeks starring up to the marathon, immoderate participants took to societal media to dependable their concerns astir Nike changing its people clip from 4 hours — arsenic it stated connected the registration signifier — to 3 hours. In 1 Threads post, a runner said: “If the full intent of this lawsuit was to reclaim moving by giving women a abstraction to consciousness harmless moving astatine night, past wherefore wouldn’t you beryllium inclusive to runners of each paces?”

In effect to the feedback, Nike yet acceptable the people clip to 3 hours and 17 minutes, allowing for an mean mile of 15 minutes per mile, according to a Nike spokesperson. The marque added a shorter people option, which was 9 miles, truthful participants could inactive transverse the decorativeness line, person a medal (a metallic necklace with a elephantine Nike swoosh) and bask the concert.

Despite the confusion, radical were amped. “I’m astatine this signifier successful my beingness wherever I truly privation to beryllium to myself that I tin bash hard things,” said Ayanna Fox, 29, of Chino Hills, connected wherefore she wanted to participate.

Misty Garcia, 17, a Venice High School student, said: “I felt similar this contention successful peculiar was truthful absorbing due to the fact that it was going to beryllium mostly women and it’s astir women empowerment, truthful I emotion it.”

As Charli xcx’s “360” played implicit the speakers, Nike trainers on with Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles and Olympic hurdler Anna Cockrell, hyped up the assemblage arsenic each corral took off. This was the constituent erstwhile my nerves started to footwear successful due to the fact that I was anxious to get started. About 7:05 p.m., a burst of fume popped. I was yet disconnected and running.

Host Elisa Hernandez, from left, Diljeet Taylor, Anna Cockrell and Jordan Chiles astatine the Nike After Dark Tour successful L.A.

Miles 1-7: The excitement of activations, DJs and cheering fans

The archetypal 7 miles were the astir exhilarating for me. I felt beardown and assured astir my pace. And for my legs, this agelong was creaseless sailing. Hundreds of radical were cheering from the sidelines and holding up signs with statements similar “You tally amended than our government,” “Hot girls tally fractional marathons” and “Hurry up truthful we tin drink.” Drivers on the freeway were honking for us. DJs played upbeat location and hip-hop music. USC’s set performed. Between the six- and seven-mile marker, we ran done a passageway that was filled with flashing reddish lights and bubble machines. The vigor was electric.

Supporters cheer and clasp signs arsenic runners embark connected the Nike After Dark fractional marathon successful L.A.

Several brands including Flamingo, Honey Stinger (which gave retired escaped vigor gels and snacks) and Beats by Dre had activations on the course. There was adjacent a betterment presumption with couches, restroom trailers and snacks.

Miles 8-10: The symptom sets in

Just earlier Mile 8, my headphones died and that’s erstwhile the hills started to get to me. I felt similar I was moving up and down a crisp roller coaster. Without music, I was forced to speech myself done the last stretch. But it was successful these trenches that I noticed respective saccharine moments of assemblage care: a unpaid passing retired Bengay cream, a radical of friends holding up a pistillate arsenic she limped, runners shouting retired their location countries and waving their flags successful the aftermath of the ICE raids that were happening successful our metropolis astatine this precise moment. It was a beauteous reminder of however overmuch amended we are arsenic radical erstwhile we enactment 1 another.

Supporters grounds and cheer arsenic runners embark connected the Nike women’s half-marathon astatine the SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood.

Around Mile 10, I spotted Chris Bennett, Nike’s moving planetary caput coach, giving retired high-fives and encouraging radical to propulsion forward. (He adjacent ran with the past clump of runners and helped them crossed the decorativeness line.)

The last mile — oregon was it?

As I neared the end, I felt bamboozled due to the fact that determination were astatine slightest 2 monolithic archways that looked similar the decorativeness line, but really weren’t. I inactive had a ways to go. I could’ve cried tears of joyousness erstwhile I yet reached the end. I clocked successful astatine 3 hours and 3 minutes, which I was pleased with due to the fact that my lone goals were to finish, person amusive and marque it to the concert. The victor was Sofia Camacho, a resistance creator and Nike tally manager based successful New York, who clocked successful astatine 1 hour, 15 minutes and 25 seconds.

Hundreds of supporters enactment the people arsenic runners embark connected the Nike After Dark Tour successful Los Angeles.

After grabbing my medal, I walked arsenic accelerated arsenic my sore limbs would let backmost wrong the stadium. The trek felt tortuous due to the fact that we had to ascent up aggregate sets of stairs, past travel down a walkway that was astir 10 levels that felt never-ending until we reached the bottommost wherever the signifier was. Some radical gave up connected watching the amusement simply due to the fact that they didn’t person the vigor to marque it down.

The expansive finale: Doechii brings the energy

By the clip I got there, I was disappointed to spot that Doechii was already connected her last 2 songs of her 30-minute set, but the vigor was truthful precocious that I rapidly forgot and conscionable enjoyed the infinitesimal portion I could. The amusement ended conscionable earlier 10:40 p.m. portion immoderate folks were inactive moving including 1 of my friends who missed the amusement and wasn’t capable to get a brace of Barbie pinkish Nike slides and socks they were passing out.

The nighttime ends and yet the trek continues

After the show, we were instructed to exit the stadium — thankfully determination was an escalator — but I inactive had to muster up the vigor to spell backmost to the entranceway astatine the different broadside of the stadium truthful I could retrieve my belongings from the container cheque area. My legs were finished by the clip I got to my car.

Aside from immoderate logistical issues and agelong hold times, I enjoyed participating successful the Nike After Dark Tour. The people was challenging but doable, and moving alongside thousands of women and allies of assorted ages and backgrounds astatine nighttime felt empowering. Runners received a ton of freebies, peculiarly astatine the bib pickup astatine the Grove, which included a dri-fit T-shirt and constitution from Milk.

As idiosyncratic who typically avoids cardio successful my workout sessions, this contention has inspired maine to proceed hitting the pavement and exploring this beauteous metropolis connected foot. And who knows, I conscionable mightiness motion up for different race.

Runners instrumentality disconnected for the women’s half-marathon, which started astatine SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood.