Nike didn’t walk, it ran to remove a sign ahead of Monday’s Boston Marathon after sparking backlash on social media.
In the days leading up to the annual marathon — one of the world’s biggest events of its type — Nike posted the sign in the front window of its Newbury Street store that read: “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.”
It quickly was slammed by users on social media, who called it tone deaf while saying it was an example of “pace shaming” and insulting towards those with disabilities.
Robyn Michaud, who competed in the marathon in the adaptive division, called out the sportswear giant for the ad’s non-inclusive message in a post on Instagram.
“Due to a spinal cord injury I HAVE to take walk breaks,” she wrote.
“Even with a cyst in my spinal cord, I still regularly break 5 hours in Boston and plan to again this weekend.
“Thank you for TOLERATING me, Nike.”
After the sign went viral, Nike took it down from the storefront and issued a statement saying it had “missed the mark” with the ad.
“We want more people to feel welcome in running — no matter their pace, experience or the distance,” Nike said in a statement.
“During race week in Boston, we put up a series of signs to encourage runners. One of them missed the mark.
“We took it down, and we’ll use this moment to do better and continue showing up for all runners.”
Nike replaced the ad with a new sign that reads: “Boston will always remind you, movement is what matters.”
What was the response?
Several competing brands were quick to capitalize on Nike’s flip-flop on the sign.
Asics posted a billboard in Boston that read “Runners. Walkers. All welcome.”
Others were left wondering if the sign was all that offensive in the first place.
“If you can’t run a sub-10 minute pace you should not compete in a marathon,” one user wrote on X.
“Come on Nike … grow a pair!” another user wrote. “Stop being so woke and caving in to criticism. I thought that was a great ad.”
What is the Boston Marathon?
The annual race features more than 32,000 competitors who will travel through eight Massachusetts cities and towns before completing the 26.2-mile journey in downtown Boston.
The Boston Marathon also is one of the world’s hardest to qualify for, with men in the 18-34 age group required to post a time of at least 2:55 to race while women need to hit a 3:25 mark.
Who won the 2026 Boston Marathon?
During Monday’s race, defending champion John Korir of Kenya set a new course record of 2:01.52, besting the previous mark of 2:03:02 set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011.
Fellow Kenyan and defending women’s champ Sharon Lokedi also retained her title, but her time of 2:18.51 came up short of her record-setting time in 2025.