Chasing after his first-born turned into a lifelong passion for Shaker’s Tyrone Brown.
By Sue Starrett
Photo by Robert Muller
Tyrone Brown is a 70-year-old runner. The “running” actually began in Brown’s South Moreland neighborhood after the birth of his first child, a son, in 1984. “I needed to keep up with him,” he laughs, along with his younger brother who arrived a few years later.
His first competitive race was the 1985 Revco 10K, which he continued running for 20 consecutive years. He now runs for health and fitness – and for good causes. He’s participated in 5K, 10K, and halfmarathon races for beneficiaries ranging from the Red Cross, Cleveland Clinic Transplant House, and American Heart Association to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 5K and the Shaker Lakes Hike and Run. He often finishes in one of the top three positions for his age group. “There are very few streets I haven’t run on.”
To commemorate his extensive race history and show love for his two grandsons, Brown recently commissioned a local needle worker to make a queen-sized quilt out of 48 of his many race shirts. He plans to have her create at least two more, though three such quilts hardly will make a dent in Brown’s vast collection of memorabilia. Some of his trophies, medals, and other artifacts from 38 years of racing are on display in his home, while others are stored in boxes.
From the ages of 31 to 68, Brown ran five miles almost every day.
Brown grew up near the Cleveland Clinic. His childhood mentor was Lawrence Nichols, who engaged the neighborhood kids in a variety of projects. (Alexandria Nichols, Shaker’s recreation director, is Nichols’s daughter.) As a teenager, he worked as a busser for Holiday Inn to earn tuition for high school and college.
After studies at The Ohio State University, Brown was a computer operator for ADP in Cincinnati. He moved to Shaker Heights in 1978 and worked for the Cuyahoga County court system for 30 years, retiring at the age of 53. For the past three decades he has been manager of two Shaker Heights apartment buildings.
Brown’s other pastime is dancing, specifically Chicagostyle Steppin’, which involves a lot of spinning and dipping. (YouTube is full of instructional videos.) He hosts and attends dance events in Northeast Ohio, and is a member of a national network. Not surprisingly, he also registers for races when he is steppin’ out of state. His 2024 calendar already includes events in Tampa and Atlanta.
He eats a healthy diet and drinks a lot of water. Occasionally he indulges in a hamburger or a glass of wine, but he avoids dairy. He’s never had a cup of coffee or smoked a cigarette. He takes vitamins and has had no significant injuries – thanks in large part, he feels, to his favorite Nike running shoes. “I sure have saved a lot of money over the years,” Brown says, “and I sleep really well at night.”
This quilt is made from 38 of Brown’s race shirts.
He believes physical activity is good not only for his body, but his brain and soul. His response to the pandemic? Run. In fact, the only conditions that prevent him from his routine are rain – particularly on uneven and hilly terrain – and wind chills of 20 degrees and below. From the ages of 31 to 68, he completed five miles nearly every day. Two years ago, he decided to run between three and five miles on alternate days; this schedule includes meeting his goal of participating in at least one race every weekend.
The baby who inspired his father to start running, Marco Brown, graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 2002, followed by his brother Jermaine two years later. Jermaine lives in Mentor and is the father of two sons, and Marco lives in Las Vegas. When his father visits, he includes a race or two in his schedule.
“I plan to run until I can’t run anymore,” Brown says, “Then I’ll walk.”
