Pair of running shoes worn by Tony Reed during a marathon in Nairobi, Kenya
date: label: Date
content: 2007
name: label: Created by
content: ASICS, Japanese, founded 1949
label: Worn by
content: Tony Reed, American, born 1956
notes: label: Caption
content: With the completion of the 2007 Safaricom marathon in Nairobi, Kenya, long distance runner Tony Reed became the first Black person to complete a marathon on all seven continents. He has also completed marathons in each of the 50 states, known as the "marathon hat trick."
label: Caption
content: Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Reed first became interested in health in fitness when he was diagnosed with a pre-diabetic condition at the age of eight. He began long distance running in 1979 while working as a computer programmer in Texas. He has since completed 132 marathons, including winning ten age group and weight division trophies.
label: Caption
content: Reed co-founded and is executive director of the National Black Marathoners Association and has written several books and articles about distance running. In 2022, he wrote and directed the award winning documentary Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners.
label: Description
content: Grey, white, and red running shoes in size 13 worn by Tony Reed while running the 2007 Safaricom marathon in Nairobi, Kenya. The shoes are part of the Asics Speva line. The shoes have a plastic sole with leather and synthetic textile upper with reflective material on the toes and sides. Red sole inserts have red fabric adhered to white rubber supports. The red sole insert has “FORTITUDE/ ASICS” printed on the red textile side of the insert. The plastic on the shoe located underneath the sole insert has “Speva 65” printed onto it. White shoe laces are laced through the holes.
place: label: Place used
content: Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Athletes
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Sports
label: Topic
content: Track and field
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Sports Uniforms
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anthony and Deborah Reed
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.69.3ab
objectType: label: Type
content: running shoes
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: leather with plastic and synthetic fiber
label: Dimensions
content: L x W: 13 x 5 x 25 1/2 in. (33 x 12.7 x 64.8 cm)