Talk the talk, walk the walk

WODS DJ Karen Blake is doing what she can for the Jimmy Fund.

Karen Blake has waited her whole life to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon. When she finally does it, on Sept. 21, the "Oldies" WODS-FM (103.3) DJ shouldn't be too exhausted. She might even be in high heels. Because the "marathon" the weekday 2-6 p.m. host will be finishing will be the final five-mile leg of the 20th annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk.

"Five miles, it isn't that much," Blake says of the fund-raiser, which invites volunteers to walk one of five routes that follow the path of the Boston Marathon. These include the entire 26.2-mile marathon route, either the first or the second half, or the final five or final three miles to raise funds for cancer care. Blake will be doing the final five and looking forward to crossing the finish line in Boston. "Could I do 26?" she asks. "Let's be honest. Twenty-six miles in heels won't cut it."

The symbolism of the marathon route, from Hopkinton to Boston, is important to Blake. After all, the DJ is a city native who has spent her career on Boston radio, most recently spinning disco tracks at the now-defunct "Star 93.7" (now WMKK-FM) for nine years before joining the oldies station three years ago.

"I can't tell you how many marathons I've been to," says Blake. Looking back on a radio career that started when she was 19 with an internship at "Kiss" WXKS-FM (107.9), she says, "I've broadcast live from the finish line for I don't know how many years. One time, they had me on the roof of a building on Boylston Street with the pigeons flocking around. But a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do!"

Of course, the real reason to do the walk, Blake says, is to raise both money and awareness of the Jimmy Fund, which supports cancer care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Blake has been talking up her walk during her drive-time shift, assembling donors and fellow walkers into "Karen's Team" (more information at www.oldies1033.com).

"We've all had family members who've been touched with cancer," she says. "Family members and friends, and we keep those people in mind when we're walking and trying to raise money."

Part of the lure for listeners will be the opportunity to spend quality time with the DJ. "We're going to walk, gossip, and raise money for a good cause," says Blake. "It's going to be fun."

That lighthearted spirit is key to the event, says Marianne Gibson, assistant director of the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. "We like to make the walk accessible to everyone," she says. Walkers may register in person that day or online at www.jimmyfund walk.org through next week. More than 7,000 people are expected, she says, and the fund hopes to raise $7.2 million. "We love to have everyone involved and talking it up on the radio. And not everyone wants to walk 26 miles."

"I'm going to sprint those last 10 yards," says Blake. "Even if I'm in stilettos. I hope they'll have a ribbon I can break."

Turning serious for a moment, she expresses the spirit of the walk: "I know five miles isn't much, but it's what I can do."

Spinning the dial

Tomorrow WGBH-FM (89.7) will be broadcasting live from the ICONS Irish Music and Arts Festival in Canton from 1 to 6 p.m.