One of the coolest places to run

The mystique of Nike lies behind a berm near Beaverton, Oregon. It is there, where the Nike Worldwide Headquarters spreads across 286 acres and more than 75 buildings, that Jordan lovers can visit the lobby of the Jordan Building to peruse a collection of drool-worthy sneakers. Or maybe you want to check out that replica Pebble Beach #18 tee box and subsequent green a mere 315 yards away. Or tie back to a bit of Nike’s New England history and stop in the Boston Deli inside the Joan Benoit Samuelson Building, a deli-meets-sports bar with a treasure trove of signed athlete photos and memorabilia, much of it dedicated to Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

And that’s just a start.

In my many years covering Nike, writing for publications such as Sports Illustrated and Popular Mechanics,  I’ve had the pleasure of multiple invites onto the campus to interview athletes and designers and witness the creation process live in search of a better story. Whether with a group of other journalists in a coach weaving through the security-guarded entrance of the Tiger Woods Conference Center (my first official visit to campus), pulling up to the main entrance (past the 48 flags signifying the countries Nike did business with when it was founded), or even meeting a Nike employee on campus after meandering through a wooded walking path south of it that connects the local light rail line—and hundreds of employees using the stop—to the main campus, arriving at the site always offers an entry into what feels like a rarefied world.

The Sports Performance Center, opened in 2001 at 75,000 square feet (it was once named after Lance Armstrong), includes a glass-encased, Olympic-size swimming pool. The two-story center’s 30-foot-high glass window walls also hold weight rooms, workout studios, a spin room, and a rock-climbing wall.

The Coach K facility trumps them both, though, especially with that specially designed basketball court on the third floor.

Exploring outside—whether you brought your umbrella or not—comes in many forms. A 1.3-mile trail loop inside campus includes four footbridges, and a 1.9-mile loop reaches outside campus. The best area for stretching those legs, though, come near that MAX stop, where the Michael Johnson track nestles into the landscape. A five-lane, 400-meter track made from 50,000 recycled athletic shoes lets the red of the surface play against the greens and browns of the environment.

With so many aspects to the university-like campus—often closed off at key points with security—it allows both employees and riff-raff like me to enjoy the odes to sports sprinkled about. The Nike Worldwide Headquarters serves as a workplace environment with the hustle of folks going about their jobs, but the campus is one with grand gestures, intriguing history, and a setting that gives it a unique character. For many lovers of sport and the gear tied to it, Nike is significant. A visit to the campus connects gear creation with experience. Or, at the very least, we can take in a bite of history at the Boston Deli.