Nike Re:RUN and W+K Tokyo Follow Marathon Dropouts on Road to Success

NIKE Japan tells the story of 3 real women who were committed to try a full marathon again in the documentary film series “Re:RUN” created by Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo, and its final film “The Finish Line” launched. Every year on March 8th, about 18,000 runners finish the Nagoya Women’s Marathon. But every year, there are many women who don’t finish. 

NIKE reached out to thousands of Japanese women and selected 3 women, NAO, NATSUMI and KANA who once gave up but decided to stop giving up, to prove themselves, to put the past behind them and take on the challenges that lie ahead. NIKE prepared each woman with custom training programs created by its professional trainers, along with running sessions with the trainers to offer them support in overcoming their challenges.

Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo followed each woman for over two months, documenting their lives and helping them with their training routines. On March 6, two days before the 2015 Nagoya Women’s Marathon, NIKE launched the campaign film along with short films telling each woman’s story. On the race day, we covered their runs live on NIKE's social channels, documenting when they passed the point they had previously quit, and the moment they crossed the finish line. A marathon is more than just running 42.195 kilometers, at least for these 3 women.

In the film “Re:RUN”, each woman tells us in her own words why this race is so important and what it would mean to finish. The films shine a light on how real women think of themselves through sport.

NAO HARADA (Miyazaki) 20 year-old NAO was the only one out of all her friends who couldn’t finish the marathon. She decided to try again to overcome her inferiority complex and prove she can do it to her family, college friends and herself.

NATSUMI KOZATO（Tokyo) NATSUMI gave up on a lot of things in her 20s, but is committed to finishing a marathon and say goodbye to her old self. This marathon is a new beginning for her.

KANA MURATA（Kanagawa) KANA had won many medals and prizes at other running events, but experienced failure for the first time when she couldn’t complete her last full-marathon. She runs at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon to regain the confidence she gave up.

The documentary film series“Re:RUN”celebrates the transformative journeys of 3 women who made it through the finish line to determine their own destinies.