NN Pro Elite
2018–19
3 team-issue pieces from the 2018–19 cycle live in our archive — the season this page reads, race by race, in the jersey it was run in.
NN Running Team 2018–19 kit is team issue from the 2018–19 season of the first professional running team — a line closed for good by the January 2026 rename to dsm-firmenich.
This page reads the season first: what the team actually did that year, verified result by result — then the kit it was done in, and every piece of it in our archive.
Part of our Brand Series — the full story is in The History of the NN Running Pro Elite Team. Jump to the full cycle collection or browse the category.
- What it is
- Founding-era team issue, 2018–19 — the record years of the first pro running team
- Berlin 2018
- Kipchoge 2:01:39 — world record by 78 seconds
- Vienna 2019
- 1:59:40 — the first sub-two-hour marathon distance, ever
- Kamworor
- 3rd straight world half title · 58:01 world record · 2× New York champion
- Cheptegei's 2019
- 15 km world best at home (2018) + world 10 km record in Valencia (2019) — the team's race and the road
- Also that era
- Legese wins Tokyo · Bekele 2:01:41 · Gidey 44:20 for 15 km at Nijmegen
- In our archive
- 3 founding-era pieces — the scarcest NN years we hold
The Seasons Everything Points Back To
If the NN Running Team has a golden age, it is these two seasons. Between March 2018 and December 2019 the squad set world records on the road, the track and the half marathon, won London twice, New York twice and a world cross title — and finished with the most famous morning in running history. The ladder tells it rung by rung.
The ladder (table)
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| MAR 18 | Kamworor: third straight world half title |
| APR 18 | Kipchoge wins London |
| SEP 18 | Berlin: 2:01:39, world record |
| NOV 18 | Cheptegei: 15 km world best at home |
| MAR 19 | Legese wins Tokyo |
| SEP 19 | Kamworor: 58:01 half marathon record |
| OCT 19 | Vienna: 1:59:40 |
| DEC 19 | Cheptegei: world 10 km record |
From Berlin to Vienna
The centre of it all was Eliud Kipchoge: London in 2:04:17, then Berlin on 16 September 2018 — 2:01:39, a world record by 78 seconds. A year later, after a fourth London title, came Vienna: 1:59:40 at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, the first time a human covered the marathon distance under two hours. An exhibition, never a record — and the reason the partnership that later branded the team's kit exists at all.
Around him the squad stacked its own history: Geoffrey Kamworor took a third straight world half title in Valencia, then the 58:01 half marathon record in Copenhagen and a second New York win. Joshua Cheptegei broke the 15 km world best at the team's own Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen, and in 2019 closed the year with the world 10 km record in Valencia — the championship titles of that year, cross and track, were won in Uganda's federation kit and live in our Uganda page. Birhanu Legese won Tokyo in 2:04:48; Kenenisa Bekele ran Berlin in 2:01:41, two seconds from the record; and Letesenbet Gidey broke the 15 km world best at the team's own Zevenheuvelenloop, 44:20 in November 2019.
From this era · in the archiveNike NN Running Team Pro Elite 2019 Running ShortsRace shorts from the 1:59 season itself — the year of Vienna, the 58:01 and the triple crown.120,00 €View piece →The Kit of the Cycle
The founding-era kit is the team's identity at its purest: clean white mesh singlets carrying the paired NN mark and Swoosh, and total-orange racing bottoms. Nothing decorative — a white-over-orange uniform that made the squad instantly readable in any lead pack.
Construction is team issue through and through — our authentication guide covers the tells. Since the January 2026 rename, nothing NN-branded is produced at all.
From this era · in the archiveNike NN Pro Elite 2018 Women Distance SingletFounding-era racing white — the oldest NN piece in our archive, from the season of the 2:01:39.90,00 €View piece →The Full 2018–19 Cycle in the Archive
Every founding-era piece we hold, grouped by edition — in-stock first, sold pieces dimmed and documented, refreshed against live stock. For the other NN years, the team pillar carries every cycle, and the 2023 deep-dive covers the rust year.
What is NN Running Team 2018–19 kit?
Founding-era team issue from the first professional running team's golden seasons — the white-and-orange identity worn through the 2:01:39 Berlin record, Kamworor's 58:01 and the Vienna 1:59:40. Only three pieces of the era have reached our archive.
What did the team achieve in 2018 and 2019?
World records on three surfaces: Kipchoge's 2:01:39 marathon (Berlin 2018), Kamworor's 58:01 half (Copenhagen 2019), Cheptegei's 15 km and 10 km road bests — plus London 2018 and 2019, New York 2017-style repeats via Kamworor, Tokyo via Legese, the 15 km bests of Cheptegei and Gidey at Nijmegen, and the 1:59:40 exhibition in Vienna.
Was Vienna 1:59:40 a world record?
No — rotating pacemakers and handed drinks made it ineligible. It remains the first time any human covered the marathon distance under two hours; the first sub-two in a record-eligible race came in 2026, by an athlete who never wore this jersey.
How do I recognise founding-era NN kit?
Clean white mesh singlets with the paired NN mark and Swoosh, and total-orange racing bottoms — no INEOS branding yet (that arrived from 2020) and no rust tones (2023). Team quantities only, never retailed.
Sources and References
- NN Running Team — Wikipedia — Team history and roster
- Kamworor hat-trick, world half champs — World Athletics — Valencia 2018, 1:00:02
- Kipchoge wins London 2018 — LetsRun — 2:04:17
- Cheptegei smashes world 10km record — World Athletics — Valencia 2019, 26:38
- Cheptegei 5km world record Monaco — World Athletics — 12:51, Feb 2020
- Night of world records in Valencia — Gulf News / BBC — 26:11.00 and 14:06.62, same night, Oct 2020
- Kipchoge wins NN Mission Marathon — World Athletics — Enschede 2021, 2:04:30
- Barega upsets Cheptegei, Tokyo 10,000 — VOA — Tokyo silver 27:43.63
- Nageeye wins Rotterdam in 2:04:56 — European Athletics — Dutch record, first Dutch winner
- Cheptegei repeats as world 10,000m champion — LetsRun — Eugene 2022
- WCh Oregon22: women's 10,000m — World Athletics — Gidey world gold
- Cheptegei wins Olympic 10,000m gold in Paris — Al Jazeera — 26:43.14, Olympic record
- Paris 2024 men's marathon — Wikipedia — Kipchoge DNF, Nageeye DNF, Kiplangat 37th
- Nageeye wins 2024 NYC Marathon — LetsRun — 2:07:39
- Amsterdam Marathon 2024 — World Athletics — Yehualaw course record 2:16:52