Nike Flash Run Amsterdam

Nike continue to arrange Nike Flash Run events all around the globe to show off the unbelievably baller Flash pack footwear and apparel in it’s natural habitat, the dark city streets.

Last week we were lucky enough to attend a special night time Flash Run at Nike’s European head office in Hilversum,  just outside of Amsterdam to take part in the Nike Flash Run Amsterdam.

There were few clues about what the night would involve other than a start time, a location, the mandate to bring a camera phone and the promise of Nike Shield Flash Max jackets up for grabs as prizes.

Too good to turn down.

The event kicked off at 7pm. As we arrived we were given a choice of footwear to chose from the FW14 Flash Pack… The Air Zoom Pegasus 31, Lunar glide 6 or Air Zoom Structure 18. I’d wanted to try out the Structure 18, but unfortunately they didn’t have my size left, so after a quick tantrum and flipping some lockers over I chilled out and settled for the trusty Peg 31…My go to shoe for the last 6 months. Game changer for me personally, no more knee pain.

After a quick stretch we made a quick 2km group dash towards the city centre of Hilversum to receive our instructions…a 6 point scavenger hunt through the backstreets. The important numbers;

// 1 map

// 8 teams of 2

// 6 targets to find

// 6 pictures to take as proof

//  2 jackets up for grabs

A mix of speed and smarts would be needed to hit the targets in the right order and seal the deal.

My partner and I made a quick strategy decision…follow the tall skinny dutch dudes who look fast as, and will know the city.

Admittedly the flaw in this was that they burned us off pretty quickly, but a lucky break meant that we took a ‘wrong’ turn and found the first target quickly. Buoyed on by our strategical genius we found a little bit of pace in our legs and hit targets 2-5 in quick and fluid succession, passing the majority of the field as we did so. We were already dreaming about the next level selfies we’d be smashing in our new shiny 3M jackets.

But then disaster struck. One final target to find, an agonising 30 mins were spent circling an unlit park trying to find the final target before we could sprint back to base, photo’s in hand, hand grasping for that insane jacket….precious seconds ebbing away, the cold started to set in as we resorted to flagging down bemused locals to validate we were in thee right location…and then the sound in the distance the Hunger Games-esque klaxon sounded,  signalling that another team had hit all six targets and made it back to the beginning to claim their prize.

Heartbreak descended upon us. We had to know, who won? You guessed it, the tall skinny dutch dudes who look (and are) fast as.

However, despite my lack of 3M jacket banger to show for the activities, it was still a fun night and massive props to Nike for organising such good vibes.

Next time imma stand on the fast looking dudes ankles during the group run.

All photography by Tetsuro Miyazaki, check his other work out here.