Bob Anderson (runner) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bob Anderson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

runner, photographer, publisher and film producer. He is the founder of Runner's World
Runner's World
Runner's World is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

magazine. A desire to find information about running and racing led him to a career in magazine and book publishing for more than twenty years. After selling Runner's World to Rodale Press

Rodale Press

Rodale, Inc., is an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties. Rodale is headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania and also maintains a satellite office in New York City, on Third Avenue....

in 1984, he founded Ujena Swimwear, Swimwear Illustrated, and Around Town Productions. He has been the subject of media coverage for more than thirty years.

Life and work

In 1966, as a high school senior in Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park, Kansas

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...

, Bob Anderson was interested in running

Running

Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

. He was a 4:41-miler with a passion for the sport and wanted to learn how to train for a marathon. He searched for information about training and racing and discovered there was little information available so, at age 17, he started his own publication.

Anderson started a black and white magazine titled Distance Running News and began selling subscriptions. The publication came out twice per year and by its second year the magazine had 850 subscribers. The circulation grew to 3000 and the publication developed into a magazine published six times per year. Anderson published the magazine by himself for several years.

In 1970, Anderson brought on runner and writer Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson (runner)

Joe Henderson is an American runner, running coach, writer, and former chief editor of Runner's World magazine. He currently writes for Marathon & Beyond magazine, and since 1982, a weekly column entitled "Joe Henderson's Running Commentary"...

as chief editor. Henderson was a young newspaper reporter and former Iowa State cross-country champion who had worked for Track and Field News. In that same year, Anderson moved the operations from Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

to Mountain View, California

Mountain View, California

-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...

, and the name of the magazine changed to "Runners World." Runner and cardiologist, George Sheehan, came on board as the magazine's featured columnist and medical editor.

In 1973, the magazine went monthly and added color to the pages. As the popularity of running grew in the United States, the circulation of the magazine increased. Runner's World thrived during the "running boom." According to an article in the Oakland Tribune, the circulation of Runner's World increased from 50,000 in 1975 to 250,000 in 1977. In that same year Henderson left to pursue other writing and editing opportunities.

In 1980, the Daily Herald (Chicago) published a San Francisco (AP) article titled: "Running: Sport of the '70s." The article highlighted comments by Bob Anderson. In that article, Anderson said that in 1970 the number of people who considered themselves runners was 2 million. He also said that according to a national survey of one independent polling company, the number of people who considered themselves runners was 30 million.

Bob Anderson's contributions captured the attention of President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

. He was invited to the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

and acknowledged for his contributions to health and wellness in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Writers and columnists for Runner's World included Richard Benyo

Richard Benyo

Richard Stephen Benyo is an American journalist and veteran distance runner. He is the editor of Marathon & Beyond Magazine, a magazine devoted to marathon and ultramarathon running. He is also the former executive editor of Runner's World Magazine, and Anderson World Books, Inc...

, John Brant, Ambrose Burfoot

Ambrose Burfoot

Ambrose Joel Burfoot is an American marathoner, whose peak competitive years came in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon. After retiring from competition, he became a running journalist and author...

, Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper (journalist)

Bob Cooper is an American freelance journalist, a contributing editor for Runner's World, a former executive editor of Running Times, a competitive long distance runner, and a longtime San Francisco Bay Area resident...

, Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson (runner)

, Hal Higdon

Hal Higdon

Hal Higdon is an American writer and runner. He has contributed to Runner's World magazine longer than any other writer. He is the author of 34 books, including the best-selling Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide...

, Don Kardong

Don Kardong

Donald Franklin Kardong is a noted runner and author from the United States. He represented his native country in the men's marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada....

, Kenny Moore

Kenny Moore

Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Moore is an American athlete and journalist. At the University of Oregon, Moore was one of Bill Bowerman's finest distance runners. After college, Moore ran in the Olympic marathon at both Mexico City and Munich, finishing fourth in 1972...

, George Sheehan, and Joan Ullyot.

Publishing

Bob Anderson expanded his publishing ventures beyond Runner's World
Runner's World
Runner's World is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

magazine. He founded Anderson World Books, Inc.
World Publications
World Publications was a book and magazine publisher in the late 1960s-1980s started by Bob Anderson.-Publications:...

and began publishing books and other magazines related to health and wellness. Author and running expert, Richard Benyo

Richard Benyo

, acted as vice president and editor of Anderson's publications.

He produced the Runner's World Book Series, which included books related to exercise, stretching, aerobics, bodybuilding, yoga, and nutrition, and he published numerous books on running, including The Complete Woman Runner, and The Complete Runner.

Anderson published magazines including Bike World, Nordic World, Soccer World, Self-Defense World, and Aquatics World. He also published FIT magazine; a high gloss women's fitness magazine that was widely circulated during the 1980s. Many celebrities appeared on FIT magazine covers including Donna Dixon

Donna Dixon

Donna Dixon is an American actress.Donna Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia; her father, Earl Dixon, owned a club on U.S. 1, called "Hillbilly Heaven." She is a 1975 graduate of Groveton High School and attended The George Washington University...

, Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...

, Lisa Hartman

Lisa Hartman

Lisa Hartman is an American actress and singer.After some minor television appearances, Lisa Hartman starred in the short-lived Bewitched spin-off, Tabitha during 1977-78...

, Kymberly Herrin, Donna Mills

Donna Mills

Donna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...

, Connie Selleca and Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch

Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...

. Writers and contributing editors for FIT included: Denise Austin

Denise Austin

Denise Austin is an American fitness instructor, author, columnist, and former member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.-Early life:Austin was born Denise Katnich in San Pedro, California...

, Catherine Cassidy

Catherine Cassidy

Catherine M. Cassidy is an American writer and editor. She is the author of Win the Fat War for Moms.Cassidy worked as Editor-in-Chief of Prevention Magazine from 2000-2003...

, Joanie Greggains

Joanie Greggains

Joanie Greggains is an American radio host of The Joanie Greggains Show, a weekend health and fitness program on KGO Radio, San Francisco, California. She is also known for her long-running television exercise show, Morning Stretch....

, Jenilee Harrison

Jenilee Harrison

Jenilee Harrison is an American actress possibly best known for her role as replacement blonde roommate Cindy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company from 1980–1982 and Jamie Ewing in Dallas from 1984–1986.- Early years :...

, and DeBarra Mayo

DeBarra Mayo

DeBarra Mayo is an American health and fitness advocate, writer and media personality. She has epilepsy, which has led her to a career involved with maintaining and enhancing health. She has written regularly on the subject of health and wellness in books, magazines and newspapers, as well as on...

.

As a spin off of FIT magazine, Anderson published a book series titled, The Fit Self-Improvement Series, which covered a myriad of topics including skin and hair care. He also published the Get Fit Book, which featured actress Priscilla Presley

Priscilla Presley

Priscilla Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the ex-wife of singer Elvis Presley, and the mother of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley....

on the cover, and he published FIT Magazine presents Your Healthy Pregnancy '84: Jane Fonda's Program for Staying Fit While Pregnant, which featured a cover photo of Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

holding a baby.

Expanding his publishing pursuits, Anderson put out The Home Medical Book Series; published in cooperation with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education.

Career change

In 1984, Bob Anderson sold Runner's World to Robert Rodale of Rodale Press

Rodale Press

, who moved the editorial offices to Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...

.

Anderson then began working with swimwear and fashion photographer, Steve Harvey. After teaming up with a swimwear fashion designer, Anderson founded Ujena Swimwear, and Swimwear Illustrated magazine. Anderson acts as CEO and his daughter, Lisa Anderson-Wall, has acted as president of the company for more than twelve years.

For more than 20 years, Anderson has produced "The Ujena Jam Talent Search Week"http://www.bikinijam.com/index.php?h=Bikini+Jam&p=4 an event for swimwear models and photographers which has been expanded to include: Lifestyle Events, Fashion Photography, Casting, Workshops and Theme Parties. A golf, fishing and soccer tournament has been added.

Anderson has created a sister company Around Town Productions, which has produced four films, including the drama "What about Cuba!"
He plans to produce more films.

Anderson remains dedicated to photography. His preference for many years was 35mm slide film because he loved the natural skin tones and color saturation the film provided, but he now shoots 100% digital. "I love to shoot in places like Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas , commonly called Cabo, is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,463 people...

. The light is perfect, the weather is awesome and the backdrops are great. All I need is a couple of days, four models and some great suits and I can shoot an entire catalog."

Anderson promotes health and wellness by sponsoring 5K races, and he recently started a weekly fitness column titled: Bikini Body Fitness by DeBarra Mayo

DeBarra Mayo

Bob Anderson has photographed over 500 models at more than 300 locations around the world. His mate, Catherine Cross, is the public relations director for Ujena and she is the director for Around Town Productions.He still runs 40 miles per week and participates in road races up to 10 miles. He has lived in Los Altos, California

Los Altos, California

Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....

since 1969.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.