Nike After Dark Tour 10k + 1
- Mar 19
- 4 min read
Let Me Explain.
The +1 is the qualifying kilometre, the one that places you in your running group. The 10k is the race itself. But honestly, the race was just the final chapter. The lead up to After Dark race night was a whole story on its own.
Event One: Battersea Track
What an event. The production alone was something else. So many faces, so much energy, and wild to think this was only a fraction of the people who would eventually take part. Around 150 to 200 people in attendance, yet the atmosphere felt enormous.
There was something deeply moving about being in a space full of women taking on the night together, moving as one, striving for something. Even just being a participant in that felt like a privilege. Harriet was hosting, coaches Dora, Intysar and Tilly were in full flow, my friends were running. This was my world. This was an evening to remember.
I brought my trusty dad cam and filmed the whole thing because that's just who I am. I love documenting moments like this. When you capture something real, it becomes a portal. You can go back, relive it, feel it all over again.
The energy was red and fiery. Women who came to do business, to show off their skill, to show the results of their hard work. And they were working. The most unforgettable moment was watching the women warm up together across the track, moving in unison, in power. A motion, a movement, something you just don't forget. The DJs vibes were exactly where they needed to be.
Event Two: Finsbury Park
More local. More intimate. Lowkey and fun. A different energy but a good one.
Like A Girl: The Photoshoot
The run club I am in community with, Like A Girl (L.A.G), founded by Harriet Wright, is literally everything I stand for. By women, powered by women, a safe space for all abilities to come together. Ahead of After Dark we did a photoshoot to champion the girls participating under the L.A.G , because they deserved to be celebrated.
We shot at my studio. The girls came over on a school night. There is something special about shooting people you already have a rapport with. They are not usually in front of a camera but because of the comfort we have built together, they were able to relax, be themselves and just have fun with it. That ease shows in every single shot.
Event Three: Shake Out and Dinner
The perfect shake out before race day. We ate together before we competed, the girls from Paris had come through, and the atmosphere was electric. I have been
photographing in the running scene for a while now so you tend to know a lot of faces, and it is always such a warm feeling to reconnect. Running has genuinely taken me across the world and I am forever grateful for that.
We had a great team dinner, a Japanese fusion menu. It felt like Step Up but make it running, everyone with their crew, everyone bringing that competitive warmth. And then we had a surprise visit from Paula Radcliffe, which was something else entirely. Seeing a great woman walk into a room full of women about to take on their own challenge the next day was special in a way that is hard to put into words.
After Dark: Race Day
And then the day came.
The atmosphere was unlike anything I had experienced. The turnout was enormous. So many faces to greet, so many smiles, so many focused expressions from people ready to show up and give everything they had. The feeling was electric and it ran through every single person there.
And then I ran.
Here is what I learned about myself that day. I have no race etiquette, or at least I didn't then. I didn't eat breakfast properly, showing up to a race having eaten ten minutes before the start. I was on my time of the month. I hadn't changed into the right kit. My headphones weren't working and I had never in my life run without music. It was, without question, the most uncomfortable run I have ever experienced.
And it was my first bibbed race.
If "you live and you learn" were a film, this would be the opening scene.
There was not a single moment from the first kilometre to the last where I settled into my body. Not one comfortable stretch. I fought the entire way. There were moments where I genuinely wanted to stop and every part of me was screaming to do exactly that. But there was no way. I had not come that far to quit.
I ran with two pacers, Gloria and Haidee, my girls from The Speed Project. I knew I was in trouble the moment I saw them literally dancing around me with energy to spare. Not tired. Not out of breath. Just there for me, completely. The way they showed up in that moment was priceless. The right balance of groundedness, firmness, charisma and motivation.
When I finished, I cried. Not a quiet tear, a full outpouring. Emotion for more than one reason, but genuinely it had taken absolutely everything out of me. But I crossed it. Haidee told me that when we turned that last corner I was to sprint to the finish line. And I did. I ran faster than I thought possible in that moment because I could not do it for one second longer. I crossed that line in pain, mentally, emotionally and physically. But I crossed it.
I finished in 1:06. Not what I had hoped for, but under those circumstances? I am genuinely impressed with myself.
What This Race Taught Me
Even in the most uncomfortable circumstances, even when life throws everything at you at once, you push through. Your mind will tell you to quit because it doesn't like discomfort, even when your body is fully capable of carrying you forward. You don't let your mind overpower your goal. You keep going. You do hard things. And somewhere along the way, you meet yourself.
Oh, and the medal? A glow in the dark Nike tick on a silver chain. An absolute vibe.
This lesson lives in my toolbox forever.
For now signing off.
Love,
Leonie x
