CINCINNATI — A longtime runner at 99 years old, one Cincinnati man is still pounding the pavement five miles at a time, three times a week, offering inspiration to friends and strangers alike.
Lifelong Cincinnati resident Mike Fremont took up running in 1958. For the past 46 years, he's been running through Sharon Woods, a local county park, with his regular group.
Fremont has made dozens of friends at the park throughout the years — so many, in fact, that he decided to cut down the distance of his runs last year.
"I decided when I was 98 that it was taking me too long to do 10 miles with all the people I see and stop," Fremont said.
When he's not running, it's competitive canoeing with friends.
"(A) combined age of 178 in that one canoe," he said.
The nonagenarian said the secret to his longevity has nothing to do with the regular amount of exercise he gets. He attributes it to his diet of only plant-based foods and the time he spends caring for the environment.
"All the athletic successes I've had in these later years, I attribute it all to diet and lack of stress in my life," Fremont said.
Fremont has been an inspiration to many he's met throughout the years — including world-class ultramarathoner Harvey Lewis, another Cincinnati resident.
So, to the man who set such a good example by choosing to walk the road that rises up to meet him, he leaves a score of followers in his wake.
"I love my life," Fremont said. "It's wonderful."
This story was originally published by Kristyn Hartman on Scripps station WCPO in Cincinnati.
