He has become an inspiration for runners of all ages and a voice for the prominent place of African American distance runners in the sport’s history. Reed is also the elder statesman for the African American distance running community. He is executive director and co-founder of the National Black Marathoners Association and has written several books and articles about distance running. Soon after, he started running the Dallas Marathon and estimates that he’s now run both races 20 times each. In 2022 he was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame.