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.
- How it performs on tight corners and variable surfaceslike Leake Street’s concrete, mirroring real city running conditions.
- The idea of “full horsepower” a phrase used across Pegasus 42 events translated into a visual of runners endlessly circling the tunnel at pace.
Content from the night shows Pegasus 42 branding throughout the arches, reinforcing the link between the shoe’s tech story and the tunnel’s raw, urban backdrop.
Community, atmosphere and brand storytelling
Beyond product, the activation worked because it tapped into London’s run club culture and used competition as a community builder. Highlights included:
- Sixty plus runnersfrom different clubs and communities, each bringing supporters, content creators and friends into the space.
- A “fun, loud and vibrant”atmosphere under the arches, with music, MCs and spectators lining the track to cheer teams on.
- Strong social coverage, from Sports Direct Running’s own channels to runners’ Reels, all using the tunnel’s graffiti and the Pegasus 42’s bold colours as a visual hook.
The result was an evening that felt less like a traditional product launch and more like a pop up race night, where the shoe is the enabler rather than the only story.
Collaboration behind the scenes
The Leake Street Pegasus 42 launch came together through collaboration between:
- Nikedriving the product story, creative concept and Pegasus 42 positioning.
- Sports Direct using its scale and running community access to host the event and bring clubs together.
- 26 Leake Streetproviding and adapting the tunnel space into a safe, runnable circuit.
- On Board Experientialand production teams like Curtis Gott, Shelley‑Ann Rowe and George Greenhalgh, who supported experience design and on site execution.
Together, they turned a usually transient commuter underpass into a one night only Pegasus 42 arena, proving again how powerful it can be when running culture, place and product are woven into a single, tightly focused experience.
