ABOUT

“Tommie Runz” was born in New York in August 1984. Growing up, Tommie was raised in Detroit and Southfield, Michigan. In 1993, at the age of 8, he lost his father to a stroke leaving his mother with the burden of raising him and his sister alone. Tommie’s mother made things work and raised them in a loving and hardworking home. However the pain, heartache and trauma of losing his father made way for the inability to comprehend his emotions as a young man. At 17 he took his first drink and found the relief he was searching for in alcohol. The lack of healing in Tommie’s life created the perfect recipe for bad decisions, seemingly one after the other.

In 2007, when delivered the news that he would become a father, something inside Tommie shifted for the first time causing him to think about the future. He decided to move away from Detroit, landing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The culture shock changed his perceptions on life and the true meaning of success. Yet, his consumption of alcohol continued. In 2015, the Bailey family moved back to Michigan. On January 11, 2017 he chose a life of sobriety. This is when Tommie’s journey into fitness and health began.

His new found sense of freedom, control, and wellbeing ultimately led Tommie to try veganism in February 2018. A few months later, his running journey began when he was challenged to run the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon in Chicago. To this day, sobriety, veganism and mindfulness play a vital role in who he is as a human and a runner.

Since his introduction into running in 2018, Tommie has established and solidified a community of individuals who share the same passion in running, mindfulness, and self-improvement. He created and founded Chip Time Running to disrupt the current status quo in the running industry; began a podcast and live show, The Run Eat Sleep Show; and launched the PR Project on YouTube where he sits as co-host. In April 2021, he qualified for the Boston Marathon with a chip time of 2:48:43. As a runner, Tommie continues to chase his goals and aspires to actively improve his times in the 5k through marathon. In doing so, he hopes to increase Black visibility in a predominantly White running space.