Aliyah Funschelle has always had an athletic streak. She played basketball growing up, rowed in college, and now toggles between weight training and Spin class. But when her friend asked Funschelle to run a half-marathon with her this past June in L.A., her knee-jerk response was: “Oh, I can’t do that, I’m not a runner,” says the 27-year-old.
But this was no ordinary half-marathon. Announced in February of this year, the Nike “After Dark” event was marketed as a global, all-women tour designed to upend the traditional performance-forward race-day experience in favor of one that highlights the social elements of running.
