03/01/2026
On a January morning in 2026, Jerri Haslem showed up to the MLK Day 5K Drum Run in Birmingham ready to do what she usually does. Work behind the scenes. Keep things moving. Make sure everybody else has their moment.
But this time, the moment found her.
Before the race started, organizers surprised Jerri with the MLK Day 5K Drum Run Fitness Award. She was stunned.
“It blew my mind,” she said. “They said, 'You know what? You've been at it since Day One, and we thank you. You tell us about health and you show up.'”
Jerri is 62, a Birmingham native, a health educator, a certified fitness trainer and the visionary for Black People Run, Bike and Swim, which started in February 2011 in Birmingham. She has spent years motivating people to take their health seriously, especially in the Black community, where diabetes and high blood pressure hit hard.
She's led free fitness classes to help attendees address chronic health issues in the past, and that will continue in April 2026 when she joins local partners to host a free outdoor cardio class in downtown Birmingham. The location will be announced later this month.
"I do it because it feels like it's a part of who I am,'' she said. "You could call me at 2 o'cook in the morning, and I could do some type of class''
Since 2020, she has led mindful movement classes with AARP Alabama, bringing chair-friendly workouts into people’s homes. And through the Run, Bike and Swim Foundation, she has helped turn races into community support. From 2011 to 2022, Black People Run, Bike, Swim hosted its "5K at The Junction" in Ensley. In 2022, she added a Thanksgiving run called "The Turkey Trot at the Junction.'' In 2025, she moved "The Turkey Trot at the Junction" to the Birmingham CrossPlex.
She plans to do another turkey trot on Thanksgiving Day at the CrossPlex this year, citing that turkey trots are a tradition in the running world.
Jerri has been running since she was 38. She has completed 62 half-marathons and wants to keep the number matched to her age as long as she can. Her goal is to do her 63rd half-marathon when she turns 63 this September. As she talked about her runs on the morning of Feb. 28, she shared that she'd just returned from running a 5K that was part of the Black History Month Community Run with a LuLu Lemon ambassador at Kelly Ingram Park.
"I promise you, if you knew all the things I did, you'd say, ''Girl, what?' '' she said. "As we age, I've got to get my exercise in. I've got to lift weights. I want to be able to open a jar and not have someone open a jar for me.''
"I work out seven days a week,'' she said. "You have to keep your body and your mind moving.''
