Andy Johnson
Age: 38
Resides: Riverside
Family: Wife Wendy and children Ian, Emma, Anna and Ethan
Occupation: Drives for 7-Up
Congratulations to the February Athlete of the Month, Andy Johnson. Andy has been nominated for his outstanding running as of late. In his most recent race, the very competitive Frostbite 5, Andy finished 3rd with an impressive time of 26:37 (or 5:20 per mile). Until about 5 years ago, Andy was racing motorcycles. In a short time back, he has quickly become one of the top local runners with numerous wins including Ginghamsburg 5k, Holiday at Home 5k, Little Miami 10-Miler and Spring Valley 15k. He has only run a few marathons and has broken the 3-hour mark every time.
Running is in the Johnson family. Andy's dad is the race director for the popular Patterson Park 5k and an official in several high school track and cross country meets. Andy's cousin, Stephen, is currently running for Dennison. Also, at some of the shorter distance local races you can even find the names Wendy, Ian, Emma, Anna and Ethan in the results.
Andy represents the Greene Frogs in the local team series races. I think his favorite race of all is the Moraine Heritage Festival 5k because in his first win since taking up running after racing motorcycles, he edged out teammate Jeff Coudron in a photo finish. The following year, he edged out another teammate, Kenn Daily, with a sprint to the finish. He continually reminds them of those races, even though they are logn passed. That race does not even exist anymore. Another of his favorite races is Santa's Recovery Run in Xenia. He cherishes the Snow Globes they used to give out.
In all seriousness, though, in addition to being a great runner himself, Andy is also the perfect training partner for Kara and Tara Storage, who don't run in many local races, but are two of the top female runners in the country! Andy is one of the few local runners who can push them on their "Speedwork" days. Andy jokes that running with guys is what he does on his recovery days!
If you see Andy, congratulate him on his incredible accomplishments!
