Nike's global women's night race series wants to run 10,000 runners through Hermosa Beach. The city has to figure out whether the event is worthy of the disruption to residents.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday evening on whether to recommend City Council approval of the Nike After Dark Tour LA 2026, a women's half marathon that would close Hermosa Avenue, the Strand, and several side streets on a Saturday evening in October.
The event, classified as Impact Level III — the city's highest impact designation for special events — would bring approximately 10,000 runners and 1,000 spectators through Hermosa Beach on October 17 this year as part of a global women's night race series spanning seven cities worldwide.
Hermosa Beach would be a pass-through. The 13.1-mile course starts and finishes in Redondo Beach, with runners heading north through Hermosa and into Manhattan Beach before looping back.
Road closures on the Hermosa Beach portion of the course would begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, with a 5:00 p.m. race start time. The closures roll through in stages:
The start/finish area on N. Harbor Drive in Redondo Beach would be closed from 11:59 p.m. Friday, October 16, through noon on Sunday, October 18.
Staff noted that where Hermosa Avenue narrows from two lanes to one between 26th Street and 35th Street — at the Greenwich Village intersection — presents a logistical challenge. As an alternative, staff is considering extending the Strand closure south to 26th Street rather than 24th Street.
City staff have been working with the event producers since December 2025 and have proposed several modifications to the original route plan:
Staff says the actual period when runners are passing through Hermosa would last approximately 50 minutes, during which hard closures would be in effect. Before and after that window, closures would be "soft" — allowing some vehicle and pedestrian movement.
The After Dark Tour is positioned as a celebration of women runners, with participation limited to women ages 18–25. The 2025 edition ran through central Los Angeles — starting at The Grove and finishing at SoFi Stadium — and drew 15,000 runners with 40% being first-time racers under 25.
The 2026 South Bay course was selected in part for its proximity to the Del Amo Nike Store, the availability of the Redondo Harbor area for an expo and parking, and what the organizers describe as "iconic course moments" including Hermosa Pier, the Strand, and Pier Avenue.
On-course activations would include music, lighting, and Nike branding. The event would also include an after-party, vendors, sponsors, filming, amplified sound, generators, fenced areas, signage, barricades, and pop-up tents.
The event is estimated to generate around $16,500 in permit fees for the city.
Direct city costs for staffing, reserved parking, and services have not yet been determined.
Nike would also provide 100 complimentary race entries for Hermosa Beach residents, to be distributed and managed by city staff.
If approved, the event's Sunday teardown on October 18 would overlap with two other events already on the 2026 Special Events Calendar: the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk and AAU High School Beach Volleyball League Matches. That would mean three events in one day, which exceeds the city's Special Events Policy Guide limit of two events per day. Staff is recommending an exception, noting the teardown times should not conflict with the morning events.
Critics may point to the city's own 2024 Parks Master Plan — a document the city paid $329,000 to develop, backed by 1,123 pages of community survey data, and unanimously approved by City Council just over a year ago as a 30-year guiding document. A statistically valid community survey conducted as part of that plan found that over 70% of residents felt the city already had the right number of special events. Hermosa Beach currently hosts 52 special events generating 144 total event days annually. Adding the Nike After Dark Tour — which would also require an exception to the city's own two-events-per-day policy — raises the question of whether the calendar is creeping beyond what residents said they wanted, barely a year after the city asked them.
There is also criticism in the community over the somewhat opaque notification regarding this event. It was not until late last week that the meeting agenda finally confirmed that this event was indeed the Nike run, although it had been generically noticed to households affected by street closures several weeks earlier. Nike's own global announcement of the race series is not scheduled to take place until March 1st, which may explain the secrecy.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission hearing on Tuesday, February 10, is the first step. If the commission recommends approval, the proposal would advance to City Council for final consideration.
If approved, the event producers would continue working with the city's Special Event Team — including representatives from all city departments, the Hermosa Beach Police Department, and the LA County Fire Department — on safety planning, emergency access, crowd management, and permitting.
The event seems unique and interesting - but given the fact that two events are already scheduled across the proposed date, the city can expect some pushback from residents.
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