395,500 runners. 34 cities. 32 countries. 1 race.
The 2012 season of Nike’s We Run race series aims to inspire, support and connect runners around the world. These groundbreaking events will forge a new global community of athletes, who will participate in Nike’s most connected race series with innovative Nike+ technology.
This fall’s We Run series embraces the re-engineered Nike+ Running experience, which motivates runners with insightful and inspirational new features and products, and has broadened access to the Nike+ community, now at approximately 7 million members.
Now in its fourth year, the We Run season kicks off Sept. 1 in Prague, Czech Republic and concludes Dec. 15 with races in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and Santiago, Chile, after touching 395,500 runners in 34 cities. See the full We Run 2012 calendar.
Wherever it touches down, We Run will prove to be much more than a one-day race. Nike has created a fully integrated, months-long training and competition experience that engages the runner from the moment they register through to race day and beyond.
“We Run offers an unprecedented opportunity for runners in cities worldwide to connect with each other through a powerful shared experience,” says Arturo Nunez, Marketing Director for Nike Emerging Markets. “Serving the unique demands of young runners – you will find the experiences being more fun, digital, cultural and social. Running is always at the core, but what surrounds it is a truly unique experience that inspires and engages the runner in an authentic and distinctive way.”
Runners will connect with both their local and global running communities through their shared We Run participation, and through Nike’s use of innovative digital services for registration, training, support, and premium race day experiences. On-going run clubs offer training sessions with coaching tips, competitive challenges, and advice on everything runners need to get them to race day: product trials, gait analysis, footscans and more.
The Nike+ ecosystem allows runners to share their experiences, track their running progress and create and meet challenges for themselves and their running networks. Nike+ gives access to the world’s largest running club through nikeplus.com, the redesigned Nike+ Running App for iPhone and Android, nikeplus.com, and the range of Nike+ running products including the Nike+ SportWatch GPS Powered by TomTom, the Nike+ FuelBand and Nike+ Sportband.
“The combination of Nike+ with We Run allows runners of all abilities to supercharge their running experience, and push themselves toward accomplishing their goals,” says Steve Tsoi, Marketing Director for Nike Central and Eastern Europe.
In addition to Nike+ products and services, many We Run markets have other ways for runners to digitally enhance their experiences. In some cities, runners will be able to use a special Google search activation that will allow them to see (and share) the moment they cross the finish line. In some races, runners can fuel their social media obsession with a feature that allows them to post to Facebook as they run. At pre-race expos, photo booths with instant photosharing will enable runners to broadcast to their online communities.
The races range from 5ks to ½ marathons, and capture the unique enthusiasm of each particular market. Nike teams with athletes, local musicians and personalities to create distinctive events featuring live entertainment, special benefits and community engagement efforts tailored to support the authentic personality of each city. The runners further connect with their communities via creatively-designed courses that take them past their city’s most iconic sites.
Race day offers a premium expo offering exposure to Nike’s expert advice, top performance products such as the new LunarGlide+4, the benefits of digital technologies and the Nike+ Running Ecosystem, altogether delivering an overall elite consumer experience only Nike can provide.
To celebrate the experience and the runners’ participation Post-race concerts and multi-media events feature cutting-edge musicians, DJs and artists.
Look to NikeInc.com/nike-running throughout the series for dedicated coverage of the races and more information about the total We Run experience.
