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Tony Reed ran his first marathon 40 years ago and has made it a lifestyle.
Since that first marathon in 1982, he’s finished 131 others in all 50 states and seven continents. His handwritten running journal that he’s kept since 1979 tells him he’s logged more than 49,000 miles.
At age 66, he still runs the occasional 26.2-mile race and has spread the word of running to African-Americans in the United States and worldwide. Using his travels and expertise, Reed co-founded the National Black Marathon Association along with Charlotte Simmons in 2004.
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The goal of the organization was to encourage Black Americans to pursue a healthy lifestyle through long-distance running and walking. Ever-growing in popularity, the group will be in Cincinnati for the weekend of the Flying Pig Marathon holding a summit as they have in different cities in recent years.
His motivation for the group came from his trotting travels.
“While I was running marathons around the world, I looked up and realized I was one of the few African-Americans in all of the races,” Reed said. “For me, it’s been inspiring to see the doors open not only nationally but internationally. For quite a few years, I would be the only one in a marathon or there may only be two or three African-Americans in a race. I really smile when I see more and more African-Americans pursuing distance running.”
Reed was in town last Halloween for the 23rd Flying Pig and looks forward to the 24th, as the NBMA has a number of activities planned. The NBMA selects its annual gathering two years in advance and has previously visited Ohio for marathons in Cleveland and Columbus.
The night before the race, they will have the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame and Achievement Awards program at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, April 30, at the National Underground Railroad Center’s Harriet Tubman Auditorium.
Among the inductees is Cincinnati high school legend (Courter Tech) Reggie McAfee, who went on to North Carolina and became the first African-American to run a sub-four-minute mile.
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Reed will also premier a documentary he produced and directed called “Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African-American Women Marathoners.” Hall of Fame inductees Samia Akbar, Michele Bush-Cuke, Sika Henry, Michele Tiff-Hill, Ingrid Walters and Shawanna White have run marathons in under three hours.
“Now about 23 African-American women have done this, all born in the U.S.,” Reed said.
Marilyn Bevans also will attend. In 1975, she was the first African-American woman to break three hours at the fabled Boston Marathon and is featured in the documentary along with this year’s inductees.
“Since 1975, 14 million people have finished marathons in the U.S. and just 2% of those finish marathons in under three hours,” Reed said.
Another to be honored at the NBMA summit is Frances Gilbert, founder of the Avondale Running Club. Gilbert is on the Flying Pig Marathon board of directors.
The NBMA will also have a booth at the P&G Health and Fitness Expo at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Members of the Avondale Running Club are slated to be on hand and Reed hopes they can add participants.
Randie Adam, the vice president of marketing and visitor experience with CincyUSA.com, estimates the economic impact of the NBMA in Cincinnati over the Flying Pig weekend to be more than $40,000.
The National Black Marathoners Association has 16,000 members in its Facebook group, according to Reed. Their website lists them as the country’s oldest and largest not-for-profit organization for Black American distance runners. Many members have never completed a marathon or are walkers.
“We’ve always been open to runners of all abilities,” Reed said. “It’s open to everyone and it’s free to join. When the pandemic hit, one of the first things they were saying was that if you are overweight, diabetic or suffer from high blood pressure or hypertension, all diseases of inactivity, puts you immediately at a higher risk of contracting Covid. Unfortunately, a high percentage of the African-American community suffers from all of those diseases.”
Members reside in 48 states and reside in 10 different countries, most of which Reed has visited through running. Among his conquests have been marathons at Mount Kilimanjaro, the Great Wall of China and Antarctica. The NBMA has held international summits in addition to the yearly gatherings in the states.
The long-range forecast for Sunday’s footrace back and forth over the Ohio River calls for mid-60 degree temperatures.
Flying Pig Marathon events begin at noon Friday, April 29, with the Expo and run through Sunday, May 1, when the marathon begins with the wheelchair start at 6:25 a.m. followed by the full race start at 6:30 a.m. The after-party continues until 3 p.m. at Smale Park.
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