Nike and Sports Direct Turn Leake Street Into a Pegasus 42 Race Track
Nike and Sports Direct turned London’s Leake Street Tunnel into a full throttle test track for the Pegasus 42, staging a one hour endurance race on a custom 300 metre circuit that wrapped the graffiti covered arches in pure running energy. Ten London run crews went all out to see who could clock the greatest distance in 60 minutes, putting Nike’s latest “full horsepower” Pegasus through exactly the kind of conditions it was built for.
Turning Leake Street into a Pegasus track
Hosted at 26 Leake Street, the activation reimagined the Leake Street Tunnel famous for its ever changing street art under Waterloo station – as a 300m endurance loop for one night. Working with On Board Experiential and the 26 Leake Street team, Nike and Sports Direct installed a purpose built track running the length of the tunnel, complete with lighting, sound and branded touchpoints that made the space…
feel part run club, part underground stadium. The format was simple and brutal: 10 London run clubs/teams. 1 hour on the clock. A relay style race where each squad tried to rack up as many laps and miles as possiblebefore time ran out.
That structure turned the tunnel into a continuous moving loop of runners, showcasing the Pegasus 42 not in a showroom, but in the middle of the kind of sustained effort it’s marketed for.
Showcasing the Pegasus 42 “full horsepower” Nike describes the Pegasus 42 as a “powerful workhorse” daily trainer, built with an engineered mesh upper, ReactX midsole foam, a full length curved Air Zoom unit and a redesigned waffle outsole for responsive cushioning and grip.
It launched globally in April 2026 and is positioned to help “all runners push their limits and break new ground.” By hosting an endurance race instead of a short demo, Nike and Sports Direct could highlight: The shoe’s comfort and responsiveness over repeated efforts, not just a single sprint…
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