The Week Running Won
Between Nike's stumble, ASICS and UA on the Boston podium, and a culture that keeps expanding, the real winner was the category itself.
Some weeks, you marvel at how exciting this industry is. Some weeks, you just laugh.
This is an exciting week... but check back tomorrow.
Let’s start at the finish line.
At the 2026 Boston Marathon, John Korir won the men’s race in a new course record while wearing a prototype of the ASICS Metaspeed Sky. Sharon Lokedi repeated as women’s champion in her signature Under Armour Velociti Elite 3. Two major brands not named Nike or adidas, standing on top of the most storied marathon in the world. To me, that signals something real about where the running category is right now. The conversation is genuinely open. The field is genuinely competitive. And performance, not marketing spend, still ultimately decides who wins.
Lokedi came into the race as the heavy favorite after setting a course record in 2025, and she delivered... finishing in 2:18:51 to lead an all-Kenyan podium sweep, despite forgetting her watch at the starting line. That detail is perfect, actually. She ran one of the fastest women’s Boston times ever by feel. No data. Just instinct built through years of work. That’s the kind of story that resonates beyond the hardcore running community, and to me, that’s exactly the kind of athlete storytelling that Under Armour needed from a shoe bearing her name.
But the story that dominated the week wasn’t on the course.
Nike posted a sign at its Newbury Street location in Boston reading “Runners welcome, walkers tolerated.” The sign came down within 24 hours after widespread criticism that the messaging was exclusive. And the internet did what the internet does.
Nike clearly wanted to tap into participants’ sense of pride, but the swipe at walkers came off as mean-spirited and at odds with the sport’s inclusive spirit. I get the angle; even qualifying for Boston is competitive. For the vast majority of runners who don’t qualify for Boston or have reason to walk part of the 26.2, it felt like a gratuitous slap in the face.
The interesting part, to me, isn’t the mistake. Brands make mistakes. Copy gets approved that shouldn’t. Someone thought it sounded like motivation; it read like condescension. It happens. The interesting part is what came next.
ASICS posted a billboard near the finish line reading “Runners. Walkers. All welcome. Move your body, move your mind.” No press release. No lengthy apology. Just positioning. Clean, fast, and directly in the right place at the right time.
Walking-focused footwear brand Ecco launched a Boston-wide activation, posting billboards reading “No run intended. Walk your walk,” and gave away 100 pairs of sneakers to everyday walkers and marathon spectators. Ecco’s global CMO Ezra Martin, who spent 11 years at Nike before this, told PRWeek that the moment opened a door for a brand that normally doesn’t have a presence in performance conversations. The lesson, in his words: even if your brand wasn’t part of a conversation when it first started, the key is paying attention and picking up on opportunities when they arrive.
That’s a masterclass in reactive marketing. Not reactive as in desperate... reactive as in prepared.
And then Nike put out a statement…
