Eric Putnam graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1991. He earned several honors in track and cross country.

In Cross Country, he was a 4-time Individual State qualifier and All-Ohio 3 times, including a second place finish in the State Championship Meet 1989. He was a Regional Champion in 1989 and 2-time Conference Champion and 2-time Confrence Runner-up.

In Track, Eric was a 3-time State Meet qualifier and 2-times All-Ohio, including a 4th place finish in the 1,600 meter run in 1991. He was a Regional Runner-up in the 1,600 meter run in 1991 as well as a 2-time District Champion and 3-time Conference Champion. He is a memeber of the 4x800 meter relay team that holds the school record set in 1991 while finishing 4th in the State Meet.

Eric went on to run Track and Cross Country at Ohio University where he was a 4-time Varsity Letterwinner and Cross Country Team Captain in 1994 and Track Team Captain in 1994 and 1995. He was 7-times All Conference in Track, including several top ten finishes in the Mid American Conference Championship Meet. He was named Team Co-MVP in 1996.

Eric continues to compete, being a 2-time Run Ohio Grand Prix Champion in 2005 and 2006.

Eric is now on the coaching side of Cross Country. He has been an assistant coach at Xavier University and the Head Coach at Chillicothe High School, and is presently the Head Men's and Women's Coach at Shawnee State University.