National Black Marathoners Association

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The National Black Marathoners' Association[1][2][3] (NBMA) is a not-for-profit runners' organization. The executive director and co-founder is Anthony (Tony) Reed, the first Black person in the world to run marathons on all seven continents in 2007.[4][5][6] It was formed in 2004 and held its first Annual Summit at the 2005 Lewis and Clark Marathon in St. Charles, Missouri. The organization offers college scholarships to high school distance runners. In 2013, it recognized the accomplishments of African American distance runners through its National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame and Achievement Awards Events. The organization is open to everyone, regardless of their running or walking ability or distance.

In 2021, they focused on African American women runners[7][8][9] with the documentary, Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners.[10]

[edit]

National Black Marathoners Association's 1865 Logo

Since 2004, the National Black Marathoners' Association's (NBMA) official logo has been a symbolic race number. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished "slavery and involuntary servitude" on December 6, 1865.[11] After that date, Blacks were supposed to be "Free to Run" without interference.

Annual summits[edit]

The Association's annual summits are occasionally held in partnership with major races including the 2018 Baltimore Running Festival,[12] the 2019 Little Rock Marathon,[13] the 2020 St. Jude Marathon,[14] and 2021 Flying Pig Marathon.[15]

Film[edit]

Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners[16][17][18] is a 2022 feature length documentary film directed and written by Anthony Renard Reed.[19] It is about nine USA-born, African American women, who ran 26.2-mile marathons in under three hours and were inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame.[20]

The film features Marilyn Bevans, who became the first African American woman to run a sub-three-hour marathon[21] at the Boston Marathon,[22] as well as Samia Akbar, Michele Bush-Cuke, Sika Henry, Michele Tiff-Hill, Ingrid Walters and Shawanna White, who also ran sub-three-hour marathons and were all inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2022.[23][24][25][26] Alisa Harvey[27][21] and Ella Willis-Glaze are also featured in the film.

The chief videographer and editor was Kayla Key, who also was the voiceover for each of interviewee introductions. Bridgette L. Collins was the voice of Harriet Tubman and Nita Peters McKeethen was the trailer voiceover.

Documentary sections[edit]

The documentary is divided into four major sections. The first section opens up by focusing on the relationships between Harriet Tubman, slaves running for freedom, and the National Black Marathoners Association’s 1865 “Free to Run” logo. Next, it defines the marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards like running 105 laps around a quarter-mile track. To run a marathon in under three hours, each lap must be faster than one-minute, forty-three seconds.

The second section consists of introducing each woman’s accomplishments and individual interviews. The third section focuses on the collective challenges which the runners faced, such as racism, sexism, work-life balance, religion, crashes, breast cancer, and body shaming. The last segment brings to Marilyn Bevans’ return to the 2022 Boston Marathon, where she was an official starter. Graci Gonzales,[28] an up and coming nationally ranked, six-year-old and under distance runner, is introduced. The documentary closes with a music video for (Welcome to the) Marathon by Dallas-area rapper, Solo Texas.

Production[edit]

Filming for the interviews and introductions took place between August 15 and 29, 2021 in Tucson, Arizona; Boston, Massachusetts; Detroit, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland; and Alexandria, Virginia. Youth from the Boston Lion Track Club, MetroCobras Track Club, and Boston United Track Club. The chief videographer and editor was Kayla Key. The closing scenes, which featured Marilyn Bevans, were recorded by Anthony Renard Reed at the 2022 Boston Marathon.

Reception[edit]

In The Washington Post, Kelyn Soong wrote in April 2023 that the documentary has caused "renewed attention" to the "exclusive list of Black American female marathoners to break the three-hour barrier," their stories, and "the fact that relatively few Black American women have broken the three-hour marathon barrier."[21]

Honors and awards[edit]

The documentary and two ten-minute shorts received various awards at 2022 film festivals, including

  • Seattle Film Festival[29] - Best Sports Documentary Feature Film and Best Original Song for a Feature Film.
  • The NewsFest True Stories International Film and Writers’ Festival[30] - Best Music, Best News Story/Public Information, and Best Short Documentary Under 13 Minutes.
  • WRPN Women's International Film Festival[31] - Exceptional Merit Award
  • New York Independent Cinema Awards[32] - Award Nominee

It received official selections to be shown at the Toronto International Women's Film Festival,[33] Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival,[34] San Antonio Black International Film Festival,[35] Visions of the Black Experience,[36] Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association Film Festival,[37] Sweden's Boden International Film Festival,[38] and the Minute Madness Toronto Film Festival[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Black Marathoners Association".
  2. ^ "How These U.S. Running Organizations Are Working to Promote Diversity". Runner's World. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  3. ^ Magazine, Harlem World (2021-06-07). "National Black Marathoners Association The Official Charity Partner Of The NYC Marathon". Harlem World Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  4. ^ "Little Known Black History Fact: Tony Reed". Black America Web. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  5. ^ "Driven to Run: A Journey Marked in Miles - Office of Development and Alumni Relations | The University of Texas at Dallas". Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  6. ^ "Tony Reed Is Paving the Way for Black Long-Distance Runners Everywhere". Runner's World. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  7. ^ Ator, Jen (2020-05-15). "Speak Up, Speak Out: A Wish for U.S. Running From a Black Marathoner". Women's Running. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  8. ^ "Black American women marathoners". www.nyrr.org. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  9. ^ "We Spoke With 3 Black Women Who've All Had Different Journeys to Conquering 26.2 Miles". Runner's World. 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  10. ^ "Breaking Three Hours". breakingthreehours.com. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  11. ^ "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)". National Archives. 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  12. ^ "Baltimore to Host National Black Marathoners Association Annual Summit". Baltimore Running Festival. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  13. ^ "National Black Marathoners Association Hall of Fame Honorees to be Recognized in Little Rock". KARK. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  14. ^ Williams, David. "St. Jude Memphis Marathon: He's run all around the world, spreading motivation and empathy every step of the way". www.stjude.org. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  15. ^ Stutz, Meredith (2022-04-28). "National Black Marathoners Association chooses Cincinnati, Flying Pig Marathon as host for annual summit". WLWT. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  16. ^ Bakoulis, Gordon (February 10, 2022). ""Breaking Three Hours" Film Celebrates Black Women Trailblazers". New York Road Runners. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Layman, Tom; Middlebrook, Hailey; Hatler, Chris (February 20, 2023). "The Best Running Documentaries That Motivate and Inspire". Runner's World. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  18. ^ "Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners". Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners.
  19. ^ Burtka, Allison Torres (March 2, 2023). "Only 28 US-born Black women have broken three hours in the marathon. Why?". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame". National Black Marathoners Association.
  21. ^ a b c Soong, Kelyn (28 April 2023). "Black American female runners are blazing a new trail in the marathon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Boston Marathon history - Boston Globe". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  23. ^ Springer, Scott (April 24, 2022). "'It's been inspiring to see the doors open.' Black runners group to convene at Flying Pig". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Michele Tiff-Hill: From Piano Phenom to Olympic Trials Qualifier and Coach". Fleet Feet. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  25. ^ "A conversation with Samia Akbar". 22 June 2020.
  26. ^ rabbit. "Women's History Month - rabbitELITE, Shawanna White". rabbit. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  27. ^ NYRR Staff (February 9, 2023). ""Breaking Three Hours" Celebrates Black American Women Sub-3:00 Marathoners". New York Road Runners. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  28. ^ "Graci Gonzales". The Anniston Star. June 21, 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  29. ^ "2022 WINNERS". Mysite. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  30. ^ "News Festival". Thenewsfest. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  31. ^ "WRPN.tv Women's International Film Festival". www.wwiff.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  32. ^ "New York Cinema Awards". New York Awards. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  33. ^ "Toronto Women Film Festival". Toronto Women Film. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  34. ^ "Home". www.whistleblowersummit.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  35. ^ "San Antonio Black International Film Festival". San Antonio Black International Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  36. ^ "Visions of the Black Experience film series Nov 10 - 12, 2022". Visions of the Black Experience film series November 12–21, 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  37. ^ AudPop. "2022 BESLA Film Festival". AudPop. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  38. ^ "Boden Films". Boden Films. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  39. ^ "MINUTE MADNESS TORONTO". MINUTE MADNESS TORONTO. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
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