Dallas resident Anthony “Tony” Reed was a graduate student at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, when he observed his first marathon up close and personal. There had been an ice storm, but he needed to get to the library. While en route to the library, a group of people ran by him. “I thought they were complete idiots running in the ice,” recalls Reed. But that was then – before his first 26.2 miler.
Reed soon found out these people were running The Cowtown Marathon, which later, in 1982, became his first marathon. Next year, he plans to take 500 Black marathoners with him to run The Cowtown for what will mark his 100th marathon.
With more than 90 marathons under his belt, Reed, 52, has battled 40 mph winds and extreme temperatures to stay the course. Avoiding wild animals and trekking up a glacier were challenges that Reed faced in Antarctica to become the first Black person ever to run a marathon on all seven continents. “My objective was simply to keep moving so I wouldn’t freeze to death,” recalls Reed.
A bona fide road warrior, Reed also is no stranger to the board room’s battleground. He is a certified public accountant (CPA), holds an MBA and has more than 30 years of experience in information technology and accounting. He also is a certified project management professional and a certified supply chain management professional.
When not tracking across the globe, Reed spends some of his time managing his own technology-oriented CPA firm, also named Reed. He also frequently speaks at engagements and conducts motivational seminars. Aside from writing industry papers, Reed has authored two books, Running Shoes Are Cheaper than Insulin: Marathon Adventures on All Seven Continents and The Achievement Equation: Your Formula for Success.
Along his race to corporate America, which includes notable past positions such as Information Technology Director at Texas Instruments and Vice President of Information Technology at Motel 6, Reed has experienced his fair share of blisters. Being kicked out of college the first time around for partying too much could have been the pebble in his shoe that knocked him off course – but it wasn’t. “I remember getting a copy of my transcript just to check and make sure my grades were as bad as they said they were,” says Reed. “And I realized that the only name on the transcript was my name. I had to accept responsibility for what I did, and I had to stop blaming instructors… stop blaming the system.”
As a child growing up in St. Louis, Reed was overweight and diagnosed with increased glucose levels. In high school, when sports participation was a curriculum requirement, Reed discovered cross country running. It was intrinsically challenging but made more difficult by local hecklers who yelled and threw things out car windows as he ran. “That was happening because I was Black,” says Reed, who currently carries about 10 percent body fat. “I was being called the ‘N’ word and everything else.”
These early experiences on the trail are not easily forgotten, and even today you won’t find Reed running in a haze with an MP3 player blaring. Making sure that he is aware of his surroundings, Reed says he prefers to listen to the natural sounds around him. “I actually think a lot while I’m running,” says Reed. “I’ve actually come up with some very creative ideas while running. For example, the logo for the National Black Marathoners’ Association literally came to me during one of my runs.”
Founded in 2004, the National Black Marathoners’ Association (NBMA) is the brainchild of cofounders Reed and Charlotte Simmons-Foster, 45, based in the Atlanta metro area. Simmons-Foster, also an IT professional, first heard Reed speak at a convention in 2001. When Reed announced he planned to run 50 marathons by the time he reached age 50, she knew she would keep in contact with him. An avid member of the South Fulton Running Partners, an Atlanta area running group, Simmons-Foster still felt the desire for a Black runners' organization that specifically supported distance running. Very fittingly, the logo of the NBMA is a symbolic race number decorated with the motto “Free to Run” and the number “1865,” representing the year slavery was abolished.
One mission of the NBMA is to encourage Black Americans to pursue healthy lifestyles through long-distance running and walking. And although members pay no dues, the NBMA fundraises to provide scholarships to deserving high school distance runners. But perhaps the objective closest to many a Black marathoner’s heart is to increase the number of people of color on the course. All too often, Reed says he is the only one, or perhaps one of few Blacks, at the starting line. So another mission of the NBMA is to serve as a vehicle for Black American distance runners to meet in mass at a single marathon.
Simmons-Foster, who also serves as Race Selection Director for the NBMA, chooses approximately three marathons per year for group participation. To support the diverse range of experiences reflected in its membership, Simmons-Foster typically selects marathon events on alternating coasts that offer at least the option of a half-marathon.
With more than 12 marathons under her belt, it was the desire to ward off a family history of diabetes that got Simmons-Foster’s feet moving. But it’s her love of the sport that keeps her feet moving. “I’m a social runner,” says Simmons-Foster, who would rather chat with other runners along the course than listen to her MP3 player while training. “[Talking] takes your mind off the fact that you’re running, and it helps you to get to the finish line a lot easier.”
For more on Black marathoners, read “Staying the Course” in the spring 2008 edition of Black MBA Magazine, coming in April.
Posted By: Tony Reed
Saturday, March 28th 2009 at 12:27AM
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