Over the previous two years, Nike’s Project Dreamweaver supported some 120 women in the US in their quest to qualify for the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. The sportswear company provided the participants with regular shipments of gear as well as the support of its Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), whose scientists studied their biomechanical, physiological, psychosocial and perceptual needs.
The program, according to Nike, amounted to a journey of 800,000-plus kilometers over 70,000 runs during its two years, and the data collected will inform Nike’s athlete-services model and future Nike Running footwear and apparel innovations. The athletes were joined by women’s marathon legends and Olympians like Joan Benoit Samuelson, Shalane Flanagan and Keira D’Amato, who offered advice and mentorship.
Thanks to the project’s support, 15 Project Dreamweaver runners have achieved an Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier time and will join elite Nike athletes on the starting line of the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 3. More than half of the Project Dreamweaver runners have reached new personal bests in the half- and full-marathon distances.
