Nike After Dark:
How One Marathon Goal Turned Into Three Nike Races Around the World
This year, Nike is hosting seven After Dark races around the world, and somehow I will be running three of them: London, Los Angeles, and Manila. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
I definitely did not start 2026 with that on my bingo card.
So, here is how all of this happened.
It Started With the One Thing I Said I Would Never Do
In May, I decided I was finally going to take on a challenge I had spent years saying I would NEVER do.
Run a full marathon.
And because I am still me, I wasn't going to wake up one morning and attempt to run 26.2 miles on vibes and delusion alone. I gave myself almost an entire year to prepare.
I started training, slowly building my mileage and learning what it actually takes to turn yourself into a distance runner.
Then, just a few weeks into training...
BOOM.
The Nike After Dark Los Angeles Half Marathon appeared on my radar.
And this wasn't just another race to me.
This was the race that got away.
The Race I Never Got to Run
Years ago, back around 2018, I had tried to get into Nike's women's race when entry was done through a drawing. You couldn't simply decide to register and pay for your spot. Your name had to be selected first.
Mine was.
And then I had to give up my spot because I couldn't make the trip to San Francisco.
I never forgot about it.
So when I discovered that Nike was bringing its women's race series back and that Los Angeles was part of the 2026 After Dark Tour, there was absolutely no way I was letting this one get away from me again.
Even crazier?
I found out registration was opening the very next day.
Fate. I am telling you.
I logged on about 30 minutes before registration opened and started refreshing the page. By ten minutes before registration, I was already sitting in the queue waiting.
Nike officially opened LA registration at 9:00 a.m. on June 3, with entries offered first come, first served. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
Then, $150 later...
I had my golden ticket.
The race that got away all those years ago was officially mine.
On October 24, I'll be running 13.1 miles through Los Angeles' South Bay, starting and finishing at Redondo Beach King Harbor. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
And I probably should have stopped there.
Obviously, I did not.
Then I Saw the Medal
This is where things escalated quickly.
Once I started looking through the After Dark Tour, I realized there were seven races in seven cities around the world this year: Shanghai, Sydney, Mexico City, London, Los Angeles, Manila, and Mumbai. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
And then I saw the medal.
This year's necklace-style medal had collectible elements tied to the different races, which naturally sent my brain in one direction:
Well, now I need to collect more of them.
Because apparently training for my first marathon wasn't enough of a hobby.
So I kept scrolling.
And there it was.
LONDON.
Okay, Maybe London Was Fate Too
A few months earlier, my family and I had been talking about going to London for my oldest son's 16th birthday. He is a huge Harry Potter fan, and I had found the Warner Bros. Studio Tour where you can actually walk through the sets, see the Great Hall, and experience the world of Harry Potter.
We weren't able to make the trip happen for his 16th birthday.
But now London was staring back at me again.
Except this time there was also a Nike 10K involved.
You see where this is going.
We missed London for his 16th birthday, but we could make it happen for his 17th.
He gets Harry Potter.
I get another race.
Everyone wins.
My deal with myself was simple: If I got into the race, we were going to London.
Registration opened on a Tuesday morning at some ridiculous hour in California. I was half awake, staring at my computer at 2:00 a.m., trying to make sure I didn't screw anything up.
A few clicks and £45 later, I was in. Nike's London race is a 10K at Silverworks Island on October 17. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
We were officially planning a family trip to London.
There was only one tiny problem.
London was one week before my Los Angeles half marathon.
But in the kind of logic that only makes sense when you really want to do something, I decided it was perfect.
London would just be my final 10K before the half marathon.
See?
Perfectly reasonable.
I thought I was done.
I was not done.
Enter My Little Cousin
I had been trying to convince my younger cousins to join me for one of these races. One of them was interested, but she kept missing registration.
And Nike After Dark is not exactly the kind of race where you can say, "I'll register later."
Later may not exist.
At one point she said to me, "Why didn't you just register me?"
Girl.
I had texted you multiple times.
These races were selling out, and I was treating registration like I was trying to get front-row Beyoncé tickets.
But there were still two races later in the year that we could try for:
Manila or Mumbai.
Her response?
"Let's try to do both."
My response?
OKAY. I'M IN.
Because apparently turning 40 has sent me into the kind of midlife crisis where instead of buying a sports car, I sign up to run through foreign countries.
And you know what?
I actually love that for me.
Maybe My Midlife Crisis Is Saying Yes
There is something about turning 40 that has made me ask myself a very different question.
Why not?
Why not go?
Why not try?
Why not see the world?
Why not do the things I spent years convincing myself were too expensive, too complicated, too irresponsible, too far away, or simply "not for people like me"?
Traveling regularly has always been something I wanted to do, but for a long time my relationship with money made experiences like this feel almost impossible.
I grew up with very little. I heard all the usual things about money, especially that money doesn't grow on trees.
Although technically, money is made from trees, so I feel like there may be a loophole here.
But jokes aside, it has taken me years to change the way I think about money, opportunity, and what is possible for my life.
I have lived through seasons when I had far less than I have today. I have watched God provide for me and my family in ways I couldn't have predicted.
So instead of automatically telling myself, I can't do that, I have started asking:
How can I make it happen?
I can figure things out.
And I trust that God will show me the way.
Which brings us to...
The Manila Registration Disaster
Once again, I found myself sitting in a Nike After Dark registration waiting room.
Except Manila was confusing from the beginning.
Before registration was even supposed to open, the website appeared to say that the race was already sold out.
My cousin took one look at it and basically decided, "Well, I guess it wasn't meant to be."
Me?
Absolutely not.
I sat there refreshing that screen.
And refreshing.
And refreshing.
Then, right at 6:00 p.m...
THE QUEUE OPENED.
I immediately texted her:
JUMP BACK IN. REGISTRATION IS OPEN.
Then came problem number two.
My usual American Express wasn't working for the registration, so I had to switch cards and reload everything.
At this point, I could practically hear a countdown clock in my head.
Five minutes.
Eight minutes.
Ten minutes.
COME ONNNNN.
Finally, I entered the new card information.
Next screen:
"Your payment is being processed."
Okay.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Still waiting.
And then...
"Your payment was declined."
WHAAAAAT?!
At that point, I accepted defeat.
Fine.
We didn't get in.
It wasn't meant to be.
Whatever.
Except the next morning, we both woke up to confirmation emails.
WE WERE IN.
LET'S GOOOOOOO!
So now, on November 21, my cousin and I will be running the Nike After Dark Manila 10K through Old Manila, including Jones Bridge and Intramuros.
And just like that, what started as me deciding to train for one marathon became this:
October 17: London 10K.
October 24: Los Angeles Half Marathon.
November 21: Manila 10K. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
Three races.
Three continents.
Two international trips.
One woman who spent most of her life saying she wasn't a runner.
Apparently, 40-year-old me has other plans.
If You Want to Get Into a Nike After Dark Race...
The biggest lesson I learned through all three registrations is simple:
Do not wait.
Nike states that these events have participation caps, and LA registration, for example, was explicitly first come, first served. Both London and Los Angeles are now sold out. Nike After Dark Tour 2026
Be online before registration opens. Have your Nike account ready. Have your payment information ready. If you're registering for an international race, I would also have a backup card available in case your preferred card doesn't process.
And most importantly, if you really want to run one of these races, treat registration like part of the race itself.
Get to the starting line early.
As for me?
I'm currently training for my first marathon while preparing to race through London, Los Angeles, and Manila.
And there is something beautifully full-circle about that.
The woman who once had to give up her Nike race entry is coming back years later.
Except this time...
she's not running just one.
She's running three.
And this is only the beginning.
The registrations are done. The flights are booked. The races are waiting.
Now I actually have to go run them.
Stay tuned, because I’ll be sharing each experience right here, from London to Los Angeles to Manila. The races, the travel, the behind-the-scenes moments, and probably a few stories I don't even know are coming yet.
Three races. Three cities. Three stories still waiting to be written.
