National Black marathoners Association 20th anniversary summit
&National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame and Achievement Event
The NBMA is the largest and oldest, national, not-for-profit organization that supports Black American distance runners. The organization has awarded more than $50,000 in scholarships to college-bound, high school seniors. It has also produced and distributed five award winning documentaries, including Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners.
The Oakland Marathon is proud to partner with the NBMA and its 20th anniversary summit and Hall of Fame.
Since 1975, about 14 million runners finished 26.2-mile marathons in the USA. About two percent or 280,000 runners finished marathons in under three hours. However, prior to 2021 ONLY twenty out of 14 million finishers were US-born, African-American women, who broke three hours in the marathon. This documentary, Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African-American Women Marathoners, is about nine of these amazing women who are National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame honorees.
