Running in London is growing. Each year there’s a stampede of sign ups for the Marathon, new 10Ks and park runs popping up all over the city.

But for some younger athletes, chafing nipples, short shorts, training regimes, expensive gels - the whole package of event running - it isn’t for them. Even though they run to train for other sports, or run for fun, they would never call themselves a “runner”.

We created the first instalment of Nike Grid for this kind of athlete.

Grid was a game, not an event, lasting for 24 hours and using London’s existing urban infrastructure: the network of telephone boxes.

Entry was free and unlimited. Everyone who signed up got a 6-digit unique PIN they could punch in to start and end runs at each phone box, competing for local territory.

I worked on the game logic and wrote the script for the voice that runners heard on the end of the line. I also managed the online community, responding to questions and comments ‘in-character’. 

Credits

Agency: AKQA & Wieden+Kennedy

Creative Director: Andrew Tuffs

Senior Copywriter: Guy Bingley

Art Director: Hugo Gomes

Designer: Ignacio Gonzalez

Map Data: Open Street Map

Film Production: Mainframe