New Nike Running Collection Honors the Audacious Spirit of Ekiden Racers

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New Nike Running Collection Honors the Audacious Spirit of Ekiden Racers

• November 07, 2024
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What to know

• Nike is announcing its new 2025 Ekiden Collection, which features four road racing footwear models and complementary lifestyle apparel that celebrate the unmatched passion and devotion of Japan's long-distance relay runners.
• The racing footwear and lifestyle offerings sport a flame graphic borrowed from the Air Streak Spectrum Plus: a revered 2002 silhouette from the Streak Series, which was designed with insights from ekiden racers.
• The collection will be available in Japan on November 22. The collection will then be available globally at select retailers December 4.
  

Nike is announcing its new 2025 Ekiden Collection, which celebrates the unmatched passion and devotion of Japan's long-distance relay runners, whose grit, teamwork and speed inspire all athletes to turn their dreams into reality.

Nike has worked with Japanese Ekiden runners since the 1990s to develop innovations that help elevate their performance during grueling relay competitions. This year's pack includes four road racing footwear models - the Alphafly 3, Rival Fly 4, Vaporfly 3 and Zoom Fly 6 - that push the boundaries of performance to help make runners better, faster and stronger.

Each silhouette is adorned with a flame graphic pattern symbolizing the fire that burns within all racers and the torches used during the night legs of the earliest ekiden competitions.

The flame graphic is borrowed from the world-record-breaking Air Streak Spectrum Plus: a revered 2002 silhouette from the Streak Series, which was designed with insights from Japanese racers. Japanese kanji characters on the upper of each Ekiden Collection silhouette complement the throwback design, inspiring all runners to reach their highest potential.

A matching motif inspires the collection's lifestyle apparel: a Nike Windrunner jacket and classic long-sleeve T-shirt.

The Ekiden Collection campaign, "Let Your Fire Run," features athletes from Chuo, Komazawa, Tokai and Toyo universities who will compete in Japan's premier ekiden race, held in early January 2025. The campaign highlights the challenging moments of an ekiden training cycle, emphasizing that true victory often requires pushing through uncomfortable moments.

"The Ekiden Pack supports runners from daily training to race day by letting you select the right shoes to match your needs, whether it's the Rival Fly for easy runs, the Zoom Fly for faster distance runs, or the Vaporfly or Alphafly for speed training and the race," says Toyo University ekiden runner Kosuke Ishida. "Ekiden is a race where the items you wear also attract attention, so running in distinctive shoes motivates you to push your limits. This year's flame design really gets me fired up for the race."

The 2025 Nike Ekiden Collection will be available in Japan on November 22. The collection will then be available globally at select retailers December 4.