Nike’s attempt at a snarky Boston Marathon billboard was so bad that they were forced to remove it following significant backlash.
Last week, the athletic brand put up a sign in its Newbury Street location that was supposed to encourage people to join in the race, which saw over 32,000 participants tackle 26.2 miles of Massachusetts roadway before wrapping up on Boylston Street. But if the company was trying to make a joke, it didn’t land with a massive amount of people.
The sign, reading “Running welcome. Walkers tolerated,” received so much negative attention that it was eventually removed.
Look:
Seen on Boylston Street.
Has Nike gone too far? pic.twitter.com/lTKf6i6SxK
— Brady Holmer (@Brady_H) April 18, 2026
Critics of the sign accused the store of “pace shaming” participants, but on social media the sentiment received a surprising amount of support:
For those new to running —
The Boston Marathon is a race.
A race is an event where you run as fast as you can, and the people who finish first are generally considered to be better at the sport than those who finish later.
This is why Nike made a sign saying “Runners welcome.… pic.twitter.com/A5ztZK5L5j
— Michael Brandt (@MichaelDBrandt) April 18, 2026
“For those new to running — The Boston Marathon is a race. A race is an event where you run as fast as you can, and the people who finish first are generally considered to be better at the sport than those who finish later. This is why Nike made a sign saying ‘Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.’ and most people got a little chuckle from it and moved on,” wrote Ketone-IQ CEO Michael Brandt.
The craziest thing about the Nike/Boston ad “controversy” is that all these other brands are piling on and saying “all paces welcome here” but with 80% of the entrants time qualifiers, all paces are literally *not* welcome here.
It’s the Olympics for those who can’t make the…
— Jonathan Levitt (@JWLevitt) April 19, 2026
“The craziest thing about the Nike/Boston ad ‘controversy’ is that all these other brands are piling on and saying ‘all paces welcome here’ but with 80% of the entrants time qualifiers, all paces are literally *not* welcome here. It’s the Olympics for those who can’t make the Olympics, and that’s ok!!!! I say this as someone who ran a 2:59 and it still wasn’t fast enough. Made me want to be better,” explained running podcaster Johnathan Levitt.
Others shared the belief:
Anyone offended by the Nike Boston Marathon copy is a massive snowflake.
— Michael J. Miraflor (@michaelmiraflor) April 19, 2026
Come on @Nike… grow a pair! Stop being so woke and caving in to criticism. I thought that was a great ad. $nke pic.twitter.com/esKpRbP1Ua
— Dr. Julian Hosp (@julianhosp) April 18, 2026
People have hit a new level of sensitivity that’s honestly ridiculous.
For “walkers tolerated” to offend someone is bananas. It’s tongue in cheek. Big Walking needs to relax. https://t.co/SdtrSHsQ2Q
— Jack Appleby (@jappleby) April 19, 2026
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