New Jersey Running Legend Who Died At Track Meet Will Be Honored

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County officials have announced plans to rename “The Oval” in Brookdale Park as the “Tom Fleming Athletic Complex” in honor of the late Tom Fleming, an iconic professional runner, coach and elementary school teacher. Fleming, 65, who grew up in Bloomfield and was a teacher and track coach at Montclair Kimberly Academy, passed away of an apparent heart attack while coaching at track meet in Verona last month.

The North Jersey track and field legend was a two-time New York City Marathon champion and ran his way to a pair of second-place finishes in the Boston Marathon.

• See related article: Beloved New Jersey Runner, 2-Time NYC Marathon Winner, Dies At Track Meet

Essex County officials plan to hold a public dedication ceremony at 6 p.m. on June 5 in Brookdale Park.

“Tom was recognized throughout the world as one of the greatest long distance runners from America,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said. “But in Essex County, he was a beloved coach and elementary school teacher who unselfishly gave his time to help others on the track or in the classroom. His legacy will be the many lives he touched and people – adult runners, high school athletes and elementary school students – who he inspired. Naming the track and field in his honor is the most fitting tribute we can give, which was validated by the many letters my office received praising and eulogizing Tom.”

According to Essex County officials:

“Mr. Fleming was born in Long Branch, raised in Bloomfield and attended Bloomfield High School, where he began his career as a competitive runner. He continued running as a member of the track team at William Paterson College, now William Paterson University, where he earned status as an All-American. During his senior year at William Paterson College in 1973, Mr. Fleming competed in a track meet on a Saturday and then ran the Boston Marathon two days later, finishing second. Later that same year, he entered the New York City Marathon and finished first.

“The win was just one highlight of his successful competitive long-distance running career. He won the New York Marathon twice in 1973 and 1975 when all 26.2 miles of the contest were run in loops of Central Park (the race expanded to the five boroughs of New York in 1976), the Jersey Shore Marathon three times and won marathons in Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington and Cleveland. In addition, he had two second place finished in the Boston Marathon a fifth-place finish in the 1976 Olympic Trials.

“After retiring from competitive running, Mr. Fleming made the successful transition to coaching. He was the coach and founder of the Nike Running Room in Bloomfield, which won three consecutive USA National Cross Country Championships in 1990, 1991 and 1992; served as the USA Track and Field national distance coach from 1991 to 1997; was the founder and meet director for the Sunset Classic 5-mile road race (which raises money for special needs children in the Bloomfield Public Schools) in his hometown of Bloomfield for 12 years; and helped Anne Marie Letko and Joe LeMay qualify for the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000, respectively.

“He was awarded the United Nations Peace Medal in 1977 and was inducted into the American Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2013 and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, N.Y., in 2014.”

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Photo: Montclair Kimberly Academy