SUB-3 INITIATIVE
Talent was never the missing piece — Infrastructure was.
Fewer than 300 African Americans have ever run an officially-timed sub-3-hour marathon. The Sub-3 Initiative is RunJuneteenth’s program to change that number — not one runner at a time, but cohort after cohort. Each cohort of sub-3 candidates is surrounded with everything a professional build requires: an intensive 16-week training block featuring individualized run coaching, strength training, physical therapy, and nutritionist support; bibs to marquee marathons and tune-up races; and product and gear support from our brand partners. And they don’t do it alone — every runner in the cohort is chasing the same goal on the same timeline, together. Every step of it gets documented, from day one of training to the finish line, so the next candidate can see the path before they run it.
Meet the Fall 2026 Cohort
Not Just Athletes — Amplifiers.
For Fall 2026, RunJuneteenth is partnering with Black Sub3 to bring together a cohort of prime sub-3 candidates, including founders and captains of Club Seattle Runners Division, District Running Collective, St. Louis Run Crew, and more.
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Ashley Davies
Seattle, WA
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Brittany Scott
Washington, DC
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Chris Kashangaki
Boston, MA
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Divonte Pleasant
Sacramento, CA
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Eli Minter
Washington, DC
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Jamaal Smith
Washington, DC
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Paul Paige
St. Louis, MO
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Ricky Hughes
St. Louis, MO
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Sheena Crawley
Baltimore, MD
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Sheridan Fuller
Washington, DC
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Sumaiya Fadhil
Seattle, WA
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Meet the Fall 2026 Coach
Tunde Akinyeke | @taut_7
Tunde Akinyeke is the founder of Chasing Roses Training, where he has coached runners of all levels since 2019. He earned his Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Level 1 certification in 2021, and he also serves as a captain within Atlanta Run Club.
A sub-3 marathoner himself, Tunde coaches from the far side of a barrier most of his athletes are still working toward — including those chasing the same sub-3 mark. His philosophy is simple enough to state and hard enough to live: it all boils down to consistency. That belief shapes how he trains himself and how he trains everyone who runs under his guidance. Running is his hobby in every direction it extends — his own training, his athletes’ training, and the work of getting more Black runners to the start line.
Off the roads, Tunde is a biology professor based in Atlanta, GA.
Goal Race – Fall 2026
California International Marathon — Sunday, December 6, 2026
California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual point-to-point marathon from Folsom, CA's foothills to the California State Capitol in Sacramento. A top-10 largest U.S. marathon by finishers, its course has been unchanged for 42 years and has hosted over 100,000 finishers; the 2025 event saw 8,185 runners finish.
Why this race. CIM is a net-downhill course — 366 ft of drop — and has been ranked the #1 Boston Qualifier (BQ) by multiple running publications. In 2025, over 30% of the field BQ’d and over 17% ran a sub-3 marathon.
The event is organized by the Sacramento Running Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
‘Tune-Up’ Races – Fall 2026
dc half marathon (Washington, DC) Sunday, September 20, 2026
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