“Es importante que todos nos veamos en lo que hacemos”

Erica Stanley-Dottin, Rolanda Bell, and Dannielle McNeilly have all run a sub-3:00 marathon. They believe that other Black American women will soon follow in their footsteps.

Running a sub-three-hour marathon is an incredible accomplishment: 6 minutes and 52 seconds per mile, or faster, for 26.2 miles. Thirty-one Black American-born women have achieved this amazing feat. They’re on a list maintained by running historian Gary Corbitt.

Three of the 31 women on “The List,” as it’s known, live and train in New York City. They share their inspiring running journeys and reflections on the past, present, and future of Black American women’s distance running.

Rolanda Bell
2:49:36
2018 Chicago Marathon

“I fell in love with running when I was eight years old,” said Rolanda Bell, who was born in Queens and has dual American/Panamanian citizenship. She competed at the USATF Junior Olympics representing the Metro Eagles Track Club, and later in track and cross country at the University of Tennessee.

Rolanda recalled that her childhood coaches recognized her talent at longer distances. “I was always considered a middle-distance specialist,” she said. “My coaches helped me find the events where I would find the most success based on my abilities.”

“Sprinting is glorified as being the ‘cool’ part of track and field,” she added. “Young African American kids typically get put into those events because throughout history that’s where we had the most success. If I stuck to sprinting, I probably wouldn’t have gone as far in my career because I wasn’t as talented in that area.”

Representing Panama, Rolanda has won medals in the Central American, South American, and Pan American Games. As a member of the Central Park Track Club, she has also excelled in racing longer distances on the roads.

After running 1:16 at the Brooklyn Half, Rolanda finished her first marathon in 2:49:36 at Chicago in 2018. “I was really happy to accomplish something that very few African American female runners have done in my first attempt,” she said.

She was inspired by the achievements of other Black American women marathoners, especially Samia Akbar, who ran 2:34:14 at the 2006 New York City Marathon. “It impacted me and put the idea in my head that I want to try to achieve what she did one day,” she said. “She definitely paved the way for my generation.”

Rolanda believes she and other Black American women distance runners can inspire other Black American women to achieve great things. “I intrinsically run to inspire other women of color by seeing me in the mix and in the front pack of a race,” she said. “My personal accomplishments are secondary to my larger impact.”

“I think by having something like ‘The List’ and elevating the stories of people of color participating and accomplishing amazing things in the distance world, it’ll spark something in the younger kids where they can finally see themselves in us.”

Coaches of young Black runners have a role to play too, she said. “I think the most influential people in Black communities are youth coaches. It’s a coach’s role to have the ability to see the talent in a kid and develop it.”

She added, “I would love to see more distance clinics put on and made accessible to minority communities, poor and disenfranchised communities, and change the concept of what a typical distance runner should look like.”

Erica Stanley-Dottin
2:52:05
2022 Berlin Marathon

Erica Stanley-Dottin was a sprinter at Georgetown University in the 1990s. After college, she ran to keep in shape, and every year she’d cheer on runners at the New York City Marathon as they ran through her Brooklyn neighborhood. She was inspired to run New York herself in 2008 and finished in 4:06.

She got married, had two children, and didn’t run another marathon until 2017. This time she ran 3:56 and was hooked on trying to get faster over 26.2.

Erica joined Black Roses NYC after following the group and its coach, Knox Robinson, on social media. “I was interested in a diverse running group and a coach who looked like me,” she said. “I was inspired by Roses, the intense group training regimen, and fast women runners.”

Shortly after joining Black Roses, she met Marilyn Bevans, the first Black American woman sub-3:00 marathoner in history. Bevans ran 2:55 to place fourth at the 1975 Boston Marathon and had a lifetime best of 2:49.

Two of Erica’s Black Roses teammates, Sharada Maddox and Giovanna Fischer, were training to run sub-3:00. Sharada achieved that goal in 2021 and Giovanna followed in 2022 respectively. (Both women still run with Black Roses, but no longer live in NYC.)

Erica ran 3:15 in 2019, 3:07 in 2021, and 3:01 at the 2022 Boston Marathon. That September she smashed through the 3:00 barrier with a 2:52:05 in Berlin.

“I think it’s important that we all see ourselves in what we do,” said Erica. “The possibilities are endless because we know that there is a way, a path forward.”

“I didn't set out to be a representative in running,” she added, “but if I can inspire others to get into the sport at whatever level, I think it’s important to acknowledge and make space for that.”

She’s excited to see more Black American women becoming distance runners. “More and more of us are coming into the sport and I think it’s beautiful. I’d like to think that the more of us Black women distance runners are out here, the more young girls will see that and see distance running as accessible to them,” she said.

“The ability to explore and feel a sense of freedom and the wonder that comes with distance running is so important to Black people,” she added. “I think our future is bright and the community is growing every day.”

Dannielle McNeilly
2:59:33
2023 Chicago Marathon

A native of Brooklyn, Dannielle (Danni) McNeilly ran cross country and 800 meters on the track in high school. She didn’t run collegiately but became a recreational runner in 2010 and completed her first marathon in 2013 in a time of 3:33. In 2014 she joined Black Roses NYC with a goal of getting the best out of herself over the marathon distance.

“I can wholeheartedly say that being a part of this collective is a major factor in my becoming a sub-3:00 marathoner,” she said. “The training and support is unparalleled.”

Danni was inspired in her pursuit of sub-3:00 by her teammates Erica Stanley-Dottin, Sharada Maddox, and Giovanna Fischer. “Watching them break 3 was a beautiful thing to see. I was strongly inspired to be like them,” she said.

Representation is important to Danni. “It can be hard to do or be something if you don’t see it for yourself,” she said. “While I know there are Black American women distance runners, the kind of representation specifically applicable to me has always seemed few and far between. In the 10+ years that I’ve been marathoning, finding someone who is a competitive racer like myself is rare.”

Danni appreciates that her accomplishments inspire others. “I would love to see more of us out there, and the only way to do that is to keep showing up,” she said. “The more you show up, the more people will follow suit.”

“It is a privilege to participate in the sport the way I do,” she added. “If what I’m doing inspires someone to run anything, be it a mile or a marathon, I’m happy for them. Runners who say I inspire them don’t realize that they are the ones who motivate me to keep doing what I do.”

For Danni, it’s an honor to be on The List. She believes more Black American women will run sub-3:00 in the near future.

“It’s bright and promising,” she said, “and there are more of us coming.”