Oakland Documentary Premiere Features Two Local African American, Hall of Fame Distance Runners
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OAKLAND, Calif. - Californer -- The National Black Marathoners Association is hosting the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame Induction at Laney College's Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center Concert Hall in Oakland, CA on March 16 from 2:00PM to 4:30PM. Joseph Gray and Shalisa "Lisa" Davis will be inducted. Mr. Gray is considered the Greatest Male Mountain runner of all time according to a World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) poll. Among his many accomplishments, he's the two-time World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Champion and thirty-six-time USA National Team Member. Ms. Davis has completed over two hundred marathons and ultramarathons, which included running marathons in all fifty states. She also set the world record for women running marathons on each of the seven continents in seven days, thirty minutes, and twenty-seven seconds in 2017.

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This event will also be the Oakland premiere of the documentary We ARE Distance Runners: Untold Stories of African American Athletes. In addition to featuring the late Dick Gregory, it features two of Oakland's well-known runners; "Coach Mama Lisa" Felder and "Coach Al" Jackson. They were both inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2015 along with Olympic marathon medalist Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi. The documentary also features hall of fame honorees Ronald Gregory, Shalisa Davis, and Anthony "Tony" Reed, the director. The documentary and related shorts were selected by fourteen US, Canadian, Swedish, French, and Indian film festivals where it received sixteen awards, including six wins. The awards included Best Documentary, Best Biographical Film, Best Short Historical Film, Best Short Social Message Films, Best Human-Interest Story, Best Interview Format, Talk Show, or Podcast, Best Sports Film, and Best Inspirational Film.

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This event is held during the Oakland Marathon Weekend. For more information about these events and to obtain tickets to the 2024 National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame Induction, including the local premiere of We ARE Distance Runners: Untold Stories of African American Athletes visit https://blackmarathoners.org/2024-hall-of-fame.shtml.