Words of wisdom: “There’s never any elation with a second wind. It just seems as though without even noticing it, I’m running stronger, I’m breathing easier and my legs are hurting less.”

From jogger to the Olympics is the unlikely story of Nancy Ditz, who didn’t even begin running until her mid-20s, and within five years was one of the top marathoners in the country. Always involved in sports, Ditz was a diver in high school and a coxswain in college. But a few years after graduating from Stanford University in 1976, Ditz began jogging. A local track coach spotted her and invited her to join his running progam. She made steady progress and in 1988, shocked everyone but herself and family by making the Olympic marathon team by placing second in the Olympic Trials Marathon. Ditz also won the first two Los Angeles Marathons (1986-87). Ditz is now 52 years old and lives in Woodside, California with her husband, Bruce Mosbacher, and their two children, where she is active in youth sports, television commentary and fund-raising efforts for Stanford.