Nike unveils the EK Umoja Collection

Running is often portrayed as an individual sport. Eliud Kipchoge, a Nike athlete, sees it as a way to foster community and connection. Kipchoge and Nike have advanced their shared aim to redefine human potential and bring the world ahead through running over the course of his 20 years participating at the highest level of the sport. The new EK Umoja Collection, based on the mentality of the world's best marathoner, maintains that upward motion.

The EK Umoja Collection will be available on Nike.com and at select retailers on August 31.

“‘Umoja’ stands for unity in my native Swahili,” explains Kipchoge. “This collection represents the work done together as a running family and community.” The collection includes five Nike running footwear silhouettes: the Nike Alphafly 2, Nike Vaporfly 3, Nike Zoom Fly 5, Pegasus 40 and Nike Victory track spike. In apparel, the line includes the Nike Windrunner jacket, Nike Rise 365 tee, Nike Stride 7-inch short and a Nike Dri-FIT tee.

Each piece in the collection incorporates colours and motifs that pay respect to Kipchoge's professional racing career, which began in 2003 with his first World Championship in the 5,000 metres in Paris. Kipchoge's patriotic Kenyan heritage is represented by the recurring colour red, which also references to the Nike Kenya outfit he wore when he won his first gold medal. The official time of his 2003 5,000-meter win is displayed on the sock liners of the collection footwear as well as certain apparel items: 12:52.79. On the medial midsole of each shoe and apparel item, a graphic print in Kipchoge's handwriting saying "No Human is Limited" - his personal credo — can be found. The Dri-FIT tee bears a quote that inspires Kipchoge's positive outlook on life: “Let us imagine that we are in a garden. Let us focus on the flowers and not the weeds.”

Kipchoge's athletic achievements are unmatched. Kipchoge became the first — and only — person to run a marathon in under two hours thanks to Nike's Breaking2 programme. He also holds the marathon world record, has 10 World Marathon Major titles, and is a four-time Olympian, medaling in all four games since Athens in 2004.

Nonetheless, his elite position has not kept him from the running community. Kipchoge hopes to use his celebrity to attract more people to running by demonstrating the benefits of the sport and the deep ties it can foster. Nike and Kipchoge are working together to make his dream of making the globe a running world a reality. “A running world is a healthy world. A running world is a peaceful world. A running world is a joyful world”, he said.