St. Louis native Tony Reed, executive director of the National Black Marathoners Association, will return to St. Louis to compete in the Go! St. Louis marathon.

We reintroduced St. Louis to one of its most successful native sons a couple years ago. But since then, Reed has been busy. He has written a book, “Running Shoes Are Cheaper Than Insulin: Marathon Adventures On All Seven Continents,” which talks about his motivation for running and the adventures he has lived through in running on all the major land masses. He has increased his marathon total to 91.

He will be speaking to youngsters at Camp Wyman on April 3 and at his alma mater, Webster University, on April 4. Runner’s World recently featured Reed in an article in the February issue. Read it here.

Here are excerpts from the story we wrote in 2006:

Tony Reed fits the profile — some would say stereotype — of a distance runner. He’s an overachiever at work and play. He has earned four degrees, is a CPA and a certified project management professional. He runs for fitness and fun. Diagnosed as a youngster with a prediabetic condition, Reed said he took up running to offset the need for insulin.

“I’ve been running away from diabetes and hypertension, which are in my family on both sides, ever since,” he said.

Yet he recalls with a laugh the first time he did a double-digit mileage run, from Washington University to the Gateway Arch and back as a college student in the late ’70s.

“I finished by going up the steps at Brookings,” he said. “I checked to see if anybody was around, then I did the ‘Rocky’ thing, with my arms in the air. … I’m always looking for ways to make running interesting.”

Reed, 50, is a founder and executive director of the National Black Marathoners Association and has become an advocate for minority participation in endurance sports. He travels with a suitcase of health statistics that show the dangers of inactivity and obesity as well as the benefits of regular, cardiovascular exercise, especially to minorities. Among his favorites:

African-Americans and Hispanic whites are 1.6 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The American Heart Association notes that heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of African-Americans. Stroke was 2.4 times more likely to occur in African- Americans compared to Caucasians.

“It appears that there is a racial related risk, in addition to risk from environmental and socioeconomic factors,” said Dr. Michael Cannon, an assistant professor in the department of community and family medicine at St. Louis University. “The risk factors can compound for African-Americans, Hispanics, native Americans and Pacific islanders. All have a higher risk for hypertension and diabetes than Caucasians.”

Cannon echoes Reed on two points: that physical activity can reduce the incidence or effects of diabetes, heart disease and stroke and that long-distance running isn’t the best first step to improved fitness. Cannon stressed that people who want to start an exercise program build a foundation with continuous — though not necessarily strenuous — exercise for 30 to 60 minutes virtually every day of the week.

The weekend’s activities around the marathon suit people of all ages and fitness levels. Family activities scheduled for Saturday in Forest Park include the Mature Mile for older adults, children’s fun runs, the last mile of Read, Right and Run for elementary school students, and a 5K for all ages. The marathon is run simultaneously Sunday with a half-marathon and marathon relay.

Reed had considered organizing African-American runners since 2001, but his concept solidified two years ago, when he returned to St. Louis to run in the 2004 marathon. As he ran through his former neighborhood, the public housing complexes at Tucker Boulevard and Hickory Street, some of the neighborhood children ran along with him.

“It made me think about how far I had progressed in my life. I was really touched,” he said. “That got me thinking about the impact our organization could have on other blacks who see us out there running. The kids could be exposed to it and change their perception of what we can do. We can also change the perceptions of adults, to change their perception of aging.”

He also realized that race directors could have a positive impact on minorities by routing courses through their neighborhoods.

The goals of the organization and its 700 or so members are a good step in countering statistics from the heart association that non-Hispanic white adults (65.7 percent) were more likely than non-Hispanic black adults (49.3 percent) and Hispanic adults (45.0 percent) to engage in at least some leisure-time physical activity.

“We physicians are doing a poor job of getting people to understand,” Cannon said. “We want to give people hope that they can be healthier, and that’s what he’s doing.”