KRC 2018: A Year of Nike

Let’s take it back even before January 1, 2018. Above is a photo from one of our first runs ever in 2016. The family has grown, but at it’s core, not much else has changed. We still meet at The Line Hotel at 10:30am. The speed limit is still 35. POT and Commissary have changed to Alfred Coffee and Openaire but the smiles are still the same. One thing that does seem to change though, is our growth. I’m not talking about how many heads come out to each run but rather how each of those individuals have evolved over the months and years.

Let’s take a stroll and look back on where we’ve come. Though I can’t speak for all of KRC, below are the most memorable moments for me in KRC this year.

RUN ACROSS HAITI: February

For those of you that don’t know, the catalyst for KRC started in one of the most poverty-stricken, yet beautiful countries in the world. 3,000 miles away from our Saturday morning run and $10 Matchas, a group of individuals would soon run across the country of Haiti.

I went to Haiti on assignment while working on a documentary with The North Face in February 2016. Two months later Mike and I started Koreatown Run Club with zero running experience. It was due to my time spent in Haiti, witnessing how running could bring a group of individuals together that inspired what we have today.

The first year I came back to the annual run, I had recruited Esther to come along. She didn’t need much convincing. Despite her petite figure, she’s known for her trail running and kindness so she was onboard pretty fast. The following year in 2018, our runners tripled with Esther returning bringing along with Joe and Ozzie.

Haiti is a magical place that when combined with some tough running will change a person forever. Unlike Vegas, what happens in Haiti follows you your whole life. The experiences shared will last you an eternity of stories around any campfire.

This year, I’m also happy to say myself and five other KRC members, Ozzie, Ellen, Alex, MK and Iggy will be running across Haiti in 2019. A donation link is in our names above.

EARNED NOT SEEDED: February

One of the most enjoyable things we’re able to do is come up with fun and different ways to get people out and running. So when we got our hands on a number of the then unreleased Epic Reacts back in February courtesy of Nike, we wanted to figure out a way to give back to our runners without just handing over a pair of the coveted sneakers.

With the Haiti trip mentioned above at the end of the week, we had a tight schedule and decided to put on a scavenger hunt right on evening of Valentine’s Day. We came up with riddles leading the mob from The Line Hotel to the Wiltern to the Gaylord. The course averaged about three miles. That’s a decent time away from your significant other if you chose to run with us over spending time with them. But if you were lucky enough, you were already running next to them.

Of course the evening had to end at a random mattress store on Western. We tried to play up the fiction that no shoes were going to be gifted and the night was coming to a close but it seemed like people had too much fun to even care. The takeaway of the evening, “Even if you’re going home alone. You’ll be going home with some new shoes!” Cue Jarick walking out with 100 pairs of Epic Reacts on pillows.

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A post shared by K / R C (@koreatownrunclub) on Feb 16, 2018 at 8:56am PST

NIKE LA 10K: APRIL

2018 for us was the year of the Epic React. The year of choosing go. With the Valentine’s Day run and even the Search Party run we threw a few week’s ago, it all really culminated into a race on the I-10 freeway. The Go LA 10K.

In 1984, Joan Benoit Samuelson made a choice. She chose to run in the first ever Women’s Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles. She won; paving the way for future generations of athletes to chase their olympic-size dreams. On April 22nd, over 8000 Angelenos followed her footsteps by running on the same freeway nearly 34 years later. KRC was more than happy to be apart of the launch.

From billboard ads to co-hosting a shakeout run with Coach Blue and Olympian Emily Infield and saying ‘fuck’ on the mic twice in the middle of the Santa Monica Promenade in front of Nike Corporate, this was one of the most fun projects we’ve been apart of. Look at Joe's legs! Also DM me if you want to hear the uncensored version of our Audio Guided Run with Coach Blue. My challenge to Kevin Hart still stands.

It was a great day with an even better after party held at Soulection’s office. We probably shouldn’t post any photos from it so here are a couple more the race.

NIKE REACT BY YOU: MAY

During all the emails back and forth and scheduling the studio session, Jarick called us up again to schedule another meeting. The tone of his voice worried us into thinking the AGR was off. I thought Nike Global finally came across my podcast with Fletcher about the Newsroom and were about to pull the plug. The meeting started and they told us they wanted us to design a shoe for them.

So this wasn’t a Sean Wotherspoon type deal, we basically had access to an elevated NikeID template. That’s not to say this wasn’t an insane opportunity to not only work with Nike on another level but also be in the company of a few other run clubs we highly respected. We ended up with three different color ways of the Epic React, each representing something different about KRC. One day I’ll craft a dissertation and take you on an in-depth look at the design process but I don’t think anyone cares that much and I have more of these posts to write.

Words by Duy Nguyen

Photos by Duy Nguyen, Paddy Moynahan, John Jefferson and Armani Smith