Since the middle of May, Stevens has lost 35 pounds, as well as reducing his blood pressure medicines by half. His intention is to completely be off of them by January as well as reduce his cholesterol.

Although he has run 17 marathons, the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April of this year was a life-changer for him.

During that race, “All the stars kind of aligned,” Stevens said. “I had begun the marathon at 4:30 a.m., and I ran the first 10 miles in the rain. I got to the halfway point and I just stopped. I was disgusted with myself for being that heavy.”

At that time, he went back to Weight Watchers and joined several people from the running club, along with several church friends. According to Stevens, his leader, Heather Brett, has been a large part of his success with the program.

Stevens also has a couple people in his life that have been big encouragers for his weight loss.

"His wife, Mary, always has been there for him and travels with him to races in various places around Oklahoma and other states.

“Mary has always been so supportive -- she is a great supporter.”

Mary is a recreational walker, and spends much of her days at work walking.

Another person in his life that encourages his running is his good friend, Rachel Boggess, who, for the past almost 19 years has been his running partner.

After meeting in the fall of 1989, they soon began running together. Stevens saw Boggess running with another person, and he joined the group. The other member faded away, but Boggess and Stevens continued to run.

They used to run six days a week together, but both had various injuries so they had to cut back and take rest days. They also would ride bikes when one of them had an injury.

“Rachel has really been an encourager over the years,” Stevens said.

“I’ve been the Wicked Witch of the East,” Boggess said. “One time, when his blue jacket was taut across his belly I let him know that he looked like a big blue M&M.”

Luckily, her humor is not lost on Stevens, and their differences have created a firm foundation for their running partnership.

“When we first started running together, he was not a very flexible individual,” Boggess said. “He wanted everything to be accounted for. We were not allowed to deviate from the course, and he had to know exactly how far we had gone. I always gave him a hard time about that, but it didn’t matter, he still would do it.”

Now, the two run with a larger group from the Edmond Running Club, and Stevens has a GPS system on his watch, which tells him anything he wants to know, along with allowing them to deviate more off the course.

Because he plans ahead, the group always knows where they are when they are out on a course.

“When he’s not with the running group, we just kind of fall apart!” Boggess said. “We literally get lost. We sometimes call our group the Clydesdales.”

Along with the running group counting on him, he has some other ways to ensure that he keeps the weight off for good this time.

“I gave away all of my Fat Man clothes to Goodwill literally trying to burn the bridge back to Fat-Man Land,” he said. “I gave away a suit and 27 pairs of pants. I am trying to do things differently this time, so I won’t backslide.

“I also need to continue doing what I have done that has made me successful. In the past, I have stopped going to the Weight Watchers meetings, I can’t do that. My personality can’t let me do that. I have to have discipline and routine. Plus, at the meetings, we just have a great time! I want to go public with my weight loss, and I want my doctor to keep me on point by tracking the numbers.”

Stevens realizes the importance of running in his weight loss equation. For him, it is no longer just a hobby; it is now a lifestyle and a part of who he is. According to Stevens, running and losing weight are not solitary sports, they’re team sports.

“Your team cheers you on,” he said.