Tom Fleming, 1978 Toronto Marathon champion, dies coaching track meet

Two-time New York City Marathon champion Tom Fleming died of a heart attack last Wednesday in Montclair, N.J., according to The New York Times. He was 65.

The fourth-grade teacher and varsity cross-country and track and field head coach was found unconscious near his car in Verona, N.J. before being transported to a local hospital. Fleming, born July 23, 1951, was coaching at a middle school track meet when, according to the Montclair Kimberley Academy athletic director, he complained of feeling ill and decided to go to his car to sit down. ESPN reports that CPR was administered and that he had a pulse when taken to hospital.

“Somewhere, someone in the world is training when you are not,” he said. “When you race him, he will win.”

Fleming, who was known for running more than 300K per week in training, won the 1973 and 1975 New York City Marathon. He finished runner-up in Boston twice and finished fifth at the 1978 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. His marathon success extends into Canada too as he won the 1978 Toronto Marathon defeating a name that may be familiar to Canadian running fans.

According to Association of Road Racing Statisticians results, Fleming beat Canadian marathon record holder Jerome Drayton on that day. Fleming ran 2:17:26 to Drayton’s 2:18:07 on Oct. 8, 1978, three years after Drayton set his iconic 2:10:09 Canadian record.

Fleming is often cited in reference to a now-famous quote regarding running. “Somewhere, someone in the world is training when you are not,” he said. “When you race him, he will win.”

George Hirsch, the chairman of New York Road Runners (NYRR), the organization that puts on the New York City Marathon, told The New York Times that Fleming was “as tough a runner as I’ve known.” At his peak, he would run upwards of four times per day.