Nike has taken down a controversial sign at its Newbury Street store that prompted a backlash from disability advocates. The sign, displayed prominently on an outside window a few blocks from the finish line of the upcoming Boston Marathon, read, “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.”
Nike’s corporate communications department confirmed the removal of the sign in a statement provided to GBH News.
“We want more people to feel welcome in running — no matter their pace, experience or the distance. During race week in Boston, we put up a series of signs to encourage runners. One of them missed the mark. We took it down, and we’ll use this moment to do better and continue showing up for all runners,” the statement said.
GBH News confirmed the sign was installed a little over a week ago. When a GBH News reporter visited Newbury Street on Friday, the sign was no longer there.
Some local runners and disability advocates argued that the sign was belittling to people who finish the race at their own pace, according to their body’s ability, and goes against the inclusive mission of the marathon.
Nicole Homerin, who lives in Watertown, will be running her ninth marathon on Monday. She has a heart condition and has run every race as a run/walker. She said that, as a “back of the pack runner,” it’s normal to see walkers on marathon routes.
“[The sign’s message] doesn’t even acknowledge all the other ways that we can move our bodies — rolling, strolling, dancing, whatever mobility device that allows for freedom of movement,” she said. “I think it’s, first of all, a very hierarchical kind of thing that running is somehow superior to walking. And then also excludes all of the other forms of movement that are equally celebrated and valued.”
The memory of the 2013 marathon bombing also makes the local running community unique, she said.
“Especially in a city like Boston, who experienced a bombing where you have so many amputees and so many injured runners and so many people who still deal with PTSD and anxiety and all of these things as a result — of any city, this is the city you should not be posting that,” she said.
Robyn Michaud, who arrived in Boston Friday from Ontario, Canada, to run her fifth Boston Marathon in the adaptive division, said that a cyst in her spinal chord requires her to take walking breaks. She has run 50 marathons and said she was saddened by Nike’s message.
“I think everybody was so upset with what Nike did, because that’s not who we are as runners, as the running community,” she said. “I wish that everyone could have the experience of visiting the adaptive and para staging area on Marathon Monday and get to meet the athletes that compete in that division. There is so much heart and grit in these athletes. It’s unbelievable.”
For some, it reinforced their feeling that the elite running community is not as inclusive as it should be.
“The running community is just very ableist … like you need to run fast, you need run hard, you need have dedication, you need to just do everything that a disabled person might not be able to do, or an older person,” said Tina Zhu Xi Caruso. She’s a local disability advocate who runs with the local chapter of Achilles International, which encourages people with disabilities to get involved in competitive sports.
“There’s no right way to do running,” she said. “You never know someone’s story from just looking at them.”
The sign appears to be part of a similar campaigns at other major marathons.
As the sign spread on social media, some runners responded that the Boston Marathon is focused on high performance and requires qualification, so the sign made sense. Some called it an example of edgy marketing, or said it reminded them of “hard coaching.”
“I’ve ran and qualified for Boston 2x and ran my second with Stage 4 cancer and walked plenty my 2nd ... This isn’t offensive to me at all,” one person wrote on Instagram.
Some runners said the controversy will prompt them to support other running brands.
“When I saw that for Nike, I was like, I’m glad I’m a Hoka girl,” said Caruso in reference to another shoe brand.
