There’s something special about thousands of women lacing up after the sun goes down. That’s the idea behind Nike’s After Dark Tour, a women-only global race series that’s back for a second year in 2026.
This isn’t Nike’s first women’s race series. Between 2005 and 2015, the brand hosted women’s races in major cities around the world. The After Dark Tour picks up that legacy with a fresh, night-time twist, and Nike says it continues its commitment to inviting more women into sport through races built around community, self-expression and the power of running.
The inaugural tour brought out thousands of women across its starting lines. According to Nike Pacific Run Coach Lydia O’Donnell, who took part in the first edition, more than 50,000 runners joined across seven races in 2025. The 2026 line-up includes Sydney, Los Angeles (a half marathon), Manila (10K) and Mumbai (10K), and Shanghai’s stop saw 3,800 women light up the city at night.
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The after-dark format is the hook. Running at night changes the mood, with city lights, a party atmosphere and a different kind of confidence for first-timers who might never have lined up for a daytime race. Nike has long pushed the message that if you have a body, you are an athlete, and these races are built to back that up, whether you’re chasing a PB or just chasing the finish line.
Nike has been building its running presence in South Africa too, from its Two Oceans Marathon showing in Cape Town to its Nike Run Series in Johannesburg and Pretoria, which pairs local run clubs with sunset and sunrise runs. For women across Mzansi, the After Dark Tour is another sign that big brands are investing in women’s running culture. Interested runners can find race dates and registration at afterdarktour.nike.com.
