A two-time winner of the NYC Marathon, Fleming was a coach at Montclair Kimberley and mentor to everyone.
Hall of Fame marathon runner Tom Fleming, a two-time winner of the New York City Marathon, was as accomplished as anyone in the sport but always knew there was room for improvement.
That philosophy became the foundation for Fleming’s passion as an athlete and lifelong commitment to coaching, sharing his knowledge with generations of student-athletes.
As news continues to spread that Fleming, 65, suffered a fatal heart attack Wednesday evening while coaching Montclair Kimberley during a three-team meet in Verona, those close to Fleming remember him as a man of the sport.
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“His life was the sport,” said Paul Williams, who coached Fleming at Bloomfield High School in the late 1960s. “He shared that with anybody and everybody that asked him. He didn’t just coach Montclair Kimberley. He coached anybody that came to him.
“I have children of my own, and sometimes as a coach you get close to the kids on the team. When one of them passes away like this, it’s almost like losing one of your own children.”
Fleming’s running career began in 1968 as a junior in high school when he joined the spring track team and “blossomed” when he gave up soccer to run cross-country the following fall, said Williams, 80.
That fall, Fleming helped the Bloomfield cross-country team win the NJSIAA Group 4 title.
“He believed in LSD,” Williams joked. “Long, slow distance running. That was his method for getting as good as he did.”
Fleming would go onto become a four-time NCAA All-American at William Paterson before launching a storied professional career as a marathoner.
As a senior in college in 1973, Fleming earned his first of two second-place finishes in the Boston Marathon. The next year, he won the New York City Marathon and added his second title in 1975. In 1976, Fleming was sixth at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Fleming also won the 26.2-mile race in Cleveland, Washington D.C., Toronto and Los Angeles and added three titles at the Jersey Shore Marathon. He was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2013.
“We lost a living legend right here in Essex County,” said former Columbia High and current Bloomfield College coach Lisa Morgan. “It’s so heartbreaking. He had so much knowledge and experience to offer the kids. It’s sad to say he went out doing what he loved, at a track meet.”
Newark Central coach Bruce Berry also remembered Fleming’s love for the sport.
“Every time I think about it, I get teary-eyed,” Berry said. “He was passionate about track and field period. He was passionate about the kids and passing on his knowledge. The guy was fortunate enough to win a whole bunch of marathons, and be recognized worldwide, and would say ‘that means nothing to me, I want these kids to have it.’”
Berry was at the meet Wednesday when Fleming collapsed. Berry said Fleming mentioned he felt ill, but that he was “the same old Tom.”
“We were chomping it up, laughing and joking,” Berry said. “Just a great guy.”
Fleming was a fourth grade teacher at Montclair Kimberley. The school’s headmaster Tom Nammack said in a release that Fleming was a “an extraordinary teacher, mentor, coach and colleague, whose legacy of excellence will make us better people and strengthen our community and school”.
Montlcair Kimberley athletic director Todd Smith added that Fleming’s “love for his sport, love for his athletes and love for teaching the next generation of runners was truly remarkable.”
Fleming was once quoted as saying “somewhere, someone in the world is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win”.
Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.