Tom fleming marathon runners

It was sad to hear that running great Tom Fleming died last month of a heart attack at the still-young age of Fittingly, he died while coaching a track meet. At dinner the night before that race, the chairs on both sides of a long table were filled with at least two-dozen of the best road runners in the sport: Thom Hunt, Kirk Pfeffer, Bill Rodgers, Steve Ortiz, on and on. Fleming, who already had two New York Marathon titles to his name, was the life of the party; I became an instant fan.

Tom Fleming (runner)

American long-distance runner

Thomas J. Fleming (July 23, &#;– April 19, ) was an American distance runner who won the and New York City Marathon.[1] He was also a two time runner-up in the Boston Marathon in and and finished six times in the highest ten in the BAA marathon.

Fleming was the winner of the Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles, Jersey Shore (3 times) and Washington DC marathons in the s. He set a personal best of in the Boston Marathon , and was celebrated for running to miles per week to train for highway racing.[2] He was awarded the United Nations Peace Medal in

He was quoted as saying "Somewhere, someone in the earth is training when you are not.

When you race him, he will win."[1]

Running career

Fleming was born in Long Branch, Fresh Jersey. He grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey and began his life-long interest in running as a student at Bloomfield High School.[3]

A longtime resident of Bloomfield,[4] he was the coach and founder of the three-time USA National Cross Country Champions Nike Running Room in Bloomfield (, , ).

He was He died as he was coaching the middle school path team in a meet in neighboring Verona. A prominent and popular figure in the first running boom, Fleming was revered for his dedication, which was exceptional even in that uncompromising generation. The words that hung on his bedroom wall own become legendary:.

For 12 years, Fleming was the meet director for the Sunset Classic 5 mile road race in his hometown of Bloomfield. This race raises money for special needs children in the Bloomfield General Schools.[5] The race was renamed in his memory in as the Tom Fleming Sunset Classic.[6]

Fleming was a teacher and chief coach of the varsity cross country, indoor and outdoor road & field teams at the Montclair Kimberley Academy.

On April 19, Fleming died from a heart attack while coaching a track meet. He was [7][8]

In May , Fleming was inducted into the American RRCA Distance Running Hall of Fame, and in July , into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, New York.

About Tom Fleming – A8K Classic - ashenfelter8k.org: Thomas J. Fleming (July 23, – April 19, ) was an American distance runner who won the 19New York City Marathon. [1] He was also a two time runner-up in the Boston Marathon in 19and finished six times in the top ten in the BAA marathon.

In November , Fleming was one of five people inducted by the New York Road Runners into its Hall of Fame.[3]

Achievements

References

  1. ^ ab"10K Truth".

    10K Truth. Retrieved

  2. ^"Bill Rodgers and Tom Fleming comment on Rolling Stone cover controversy, by Jeff Benjamin, observe by Larry Eder - RunBlogRun".
  3. ^ abJongsma, Joshua.

    "New Jersey native Tom Fleming inducted into NY Road Runners Hall of Fame", The Record (Bergen County), November 2, Accessed November 3, "Days before his favorite marathon, longtime Montclair Kimberley Academy coach Tom Fleming joined a prestigious collective of running icons.

    The Bloomfield and Glen Ridge native, a two-time New York Marathon champion, was posthumously inducted into the New York Road Runners Hall of Fame during a ceremony Thursday at the TCS Recent York City Marathon Pavilion in Central Park Fleming, born in Long Branch and raised in Bloomfield, attended Bloomfield High College, where he began competitive running."

  4. ^Stewart, Phil.

    "Running Times' Boston Marathon Coverage", Running Times, July Accessed October 8, "The frontrunner this year (as last year) was twice-runnerup Tom Fleming of Bloomfield, NJ, whose race strategy was simple: "I just figured to run as fast as I could for as long as I could, and see if they could catch me." For the first half of the race, nobody even tried."

  5. ^Sunset ClassicArchived June 29, , at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^Jongsma, Joshua.

    "Bloomfield Sunset Classic renamed for Tom Fleming", The Record (Bergen County), June 30, Accessed November 3, "The sun hasn’t set on remembrances for Tom Fleming, an iconic track coach in Essex latest came at the annual Sunset Classic in Bloomfield on Thursday night, renamed after Fleming this year.

    The Tom Fleming Sunset Classic included a kids jog, a 1-mile and a 5-mile race that started on Foley Field."

  7. ^2-time NYC marathon champ dies coaching middle school meet
  8. ^Longman, Jeré ().

    "Tom Fleming, 65, Fresh York City Marathon Winner, Dies".

    Thomas J. He set a personal best of in the Boston Marathonand was renowned for running to miles per week to train for road racing. He was quoted as saying "Somewhere, someone in the planet is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win.

    The Novel York Times. Archived from the original on Retrieved

  9. ^"World Marathon Rankings for ". Retrieved
  10. ^"Cleveland Marathon - Cleveland OH/USA website". Retrieved