Sweatin' with ... Sharon Brown
By Keith Herrell, Assistant managing editor/features of The Cincinnati Post
There's no such thing as grimly pounding out the miles on a treadmill for Sharon Brown. Eight hours away from curtain time for ''Jekyll & Hyde'' at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, she's zipping along on one in the fitness center at the Garfield Suites Hotel, laughing and gesturing for me to hop on the treadmill next to her.
Seems doable. ''What speed are you at?'' I ask, stepping on in street shoes and hoping no one from the hotel staff catches me.
''Six-point five (miles an hour)! Come on!''
I can do that, I think, punching buttons and gaining speed.
''Six-point eight!''
Hey, wait a ...
''Seven-point-oh!''
Well, never mind. Where's the ''slow down'' button?
Ms. Brown, meanwhile, is happily running along and carrying on a conversation with anyone within earshot. An actress since she started appearing in commercials at 3 1/2 (she politely declines to give her age), she has been running to stay in shape - and compete in the occasional road race - since 1992.
Ms. Brown prefers to run outside, and our original plan last week was to run from the hotel to Bicentennial Commons and back. Raw, rainy weather scuttled that plan, delaying her debut on Cincinnati streets. But with another week left playing Lucy Harris in the ''Jekyll & Hyde'' run, she'll find a way.
''I'm an actress first, so I can't get injured,'' she said. But if her schedule permits, she likes to get out and run for as much as an hour or more.
The regimen has obviously produced results, both in personal fitness and competitive achievement. She has run mara thons, half-marathons and 10-kilometer races, describing herself as a ''front of the middle of the pack'' runner. And she proudly points out that she beat some Navy SEALS in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.
''I love the camaraderie of runners,'' she said. ''The first marathon I was in, I got to Mile 20 and I was doing fine (she gets up and energetically demonstrates).
''And then ...'' She staggers, letting her actress side illustrate what it's like to hit The Wall.
''A perfect stranger came up to me, looking as bad as I did. I said, 'Come on, I'm not gonna let you finish this way.' ''
That's the real reward of racing, she said. ''Everybody keeps inspiring everyone else.''
Ms. Brown likes hills, so Cincinnati should be to her liking. Her favorite running cities so far include Seattle, for the hills, and Boston, for the running history. (''In Boston, it's a rule - you have to run.'')
The daughter of comedic actor Johnny Brown (''Laugh-In,'' ''Good Times''), Ms. Brown grew up in New York and has pounded out the miles in Central Park and the East Village while grow ing up and appearing on Broadway (''Dreamgirls,'' ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'').
While running dominates her fitness regimen, Ms. Brown is also into Tae-Bo thanks to her fiance, Bill Blanks Jr. His father, Billy Blanks, created the workout that blends elements of Taekwondo and boxing.
''I definitely have a good teacher,'' she said.
''Jekyll & Hyde'' continues at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., downtow n, through Sunday. Reservations: 513-241-7469.
- Publication date: 12-13-99
