Following the Fat Man's progress isn't going for the gold, but Julie Isphording isn't complaining.

        Ms. Isphording, 39, hasn't slowed down since she made it to the Olympics as a marathoner in 1984. An injury then kept her from finishing the race that American Joan Benoit wound up winning.

        She still runs about 60 miles a week, and she still spends her days selling Cincinnati — and anyone else who'll listen or log on to her Internet column — on the benefits of health and fitness.

Julie Isphording in the studio of WBOB-AM. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        A lifelong champion of women's athletics, she'll be featured in the March issue of Runner's World, though the photo doesn't show her on the track — a change she appreciates.

        “It's such an honor not to have to sweat to get into the pages of Runner's World,'' she jokes. “First time ever. I actually have nice clothes on, and my hair's combed.”

        She was 17 when she ran, and won, her first race, the Springer Sprint at Lunken Airport. She had taken up running a week before entering the 5K race.

        She still has the trophy — which features a male runner, she notes with some irony — and she still enjoys the thrill of crossing the finish line.

        Her schedule is crowded: She is the marketing and public relations coordinator for the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, the co-director of the Avon Running fitness walk-run and the Thanksgiving Day Run, which drew 7,000 people last year.

        Every Saturday, she hosts On Your Feet on WBOB-AM (1160). “That's my love. I bring in national authors and really neat local people,” she says. “It's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.”

        That's where the Fat Man comes in.

        A loyal listener, the Fat Man was inspired by Ms. Isphording's show to start running and lose weight. More than 70 pounds later, he's not as fat any more as he continues to send weekly — and anonymous — updates into the show.

        “Every week he writes to us with his inspirations as a new runner,” Ms. Isphording says. “He'll write about the craziest things. They all have a lesson. I wish I knew who he was.”

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