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When the Nike After Dark Tour kicked off in 2025, nearly one in three women on the start line had never run a race before. And yet 50,000 women across five continents showed up and did it anyway. 

Running culture has exploded over the past few years, especially among women who are finding community through run clubs, race weekends and fitness events that feel more social than competitive.

Nike has long said that if you have a body, you’re an athlete. Last year’s turnout felt like proof, and this year, the series returns with seven cities on the calendar: Shanghai, Sydney, Mexico City, London, Los Angeles, Manila and Mumbai, with Manila joining the lineup for the first time.

At each stop, women can choose between a 10K or a half marathon, both held after dark and built to feel more like an event than a race. Think pre-race programming, on-course production and post-race celebrations, each one reflecting the city it takes place in. No two stops are the same, and that is by design. The LA stop, for instance, ends with a post-race concert at SoFi Stadium and running through London after dark is going to feel nothing like running through Mumbai or Mexico City. 

The races also double as a testing ground for Nike’s latest running gear and training tools, available to anyone who shows up, whether she’s been running for ten years or ten weeks.

We know that running has never been a sport that lacked women. But what it has lacked is races that actually feel like they were made with women in mind from the start. Close to half of 2025’s participants said the women-focused format was specifically why they registered, not the city or the distance. And for the women who had never raced before, the 10K gave them something that a lot of race series do not offer: a real entry point into the experience.

The After Dark Tour is not a new idea, exactly. Nike hosted a global women’s race series for a full decade, from 2005 to 2015, before the series went quiet. It took ten years to come back, and when it did, the demand was immediate. The addition of Manila in 2026 shows Nike is paying attention to where women are already showing up.

For a lot of women, the race is only part of the draw. The community around it is the real reason they keep coming back. The series is open to women of all backgrounds and experience levels, and last year, they showed up. Race dates and registration details for all seven cities are available at afterdarktour.nike.com.

The post Nike’s After Dark Tour Is Going Global Again, And This Time It’s Bigger Than Ever appeared first on Essence.

Author: Kimberly Wilson

Read the original article on Essence.