Paul Schwartz

NorthJersey

New Jersey running legend Tom Fleming collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack while coaching his Montclair Kimberley Academy team at a meet Wednesday in Verona. He was 65.

Fleming's running career included wins in the 1973 and 1975 New York City Marathons, the second win in the last race before the event moved from Central Park to the five boroughs of New York City. He also finished second twice in the Boston Marathon, won the Jersey Shore Marathon three times and won in Cleveland, Washington D.C., Toronto and Los Angeles during a terrific running career that led to him being inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2013 and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, N.Y., the following year.

Fleming, a longtime resident of Bloomfield, began his running career as a junior at Bloomfield High School, graduating in 1969 after finishing second in the Group 4 state two-mile run. He then was a four-time NCAA College Division All-American while at William Paterson, graduating in 1973, winning the conference championship in cross-country all four years.

But it was in the grueling 26-mile, 385-yard marathon that Fleming earned his greatest success.

He went from running 50-mile weeks as a high schooler to a then incredible 130 to 140 miles a week as a college senior, and from 1970 to 1982 ran under 2:20 for the marathon, 27 times, including a fourth place in the Fukouoka, Japan, marathon in 1977 when it was the unofficial World Marathon championship. He finished fifth in the 1976 Olympic Trials Marathon and had a personal best of 2:12.05 at the 1975 Boston race, which still ranks within the top 40 performers in American history. He at one time held American records in the 15-mile, 20-mile, 25K, 30K and 50K runs.

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He operated the Running Room store in Essex County for many years and became the head track and cross-country coach at Montclair Kimberley Academy in the late 1990s. He was also a fourth-grade teacher at MKA.

In a release sent out Wednesday, headmaster Tom Nammack called Fleming "an extraordinary teacher, mentor, coach and colleague.''

On its website, MKA announced Wednesday night: "Due to the loss of a beloved member of our faculty, Tom Fleming, the Middle School will not be in session for students tomorrow, Thursday, April 20."

Funeral arrangements were pending.

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