Working as a stock market analyst and day trader Jane Fox is used to running numbers and taking risks.

But physically running? No way.

That changed as the Pasco woman watched The Biggest Loser on television last December.

"The last four finalists were training for a marathon. These people had been big couch potatoes at the beginning of the season but at this point here they were, getting ready to run 26 miles," Fox said.

"I'd never been motivated to run though I've always been a gym rat. I thought If they can do it, why couldn't I? Just because I'm 61 you never know if you can do something like this, or not, unless you try," she said.

Fox didn't want to train for a sanctioned marathon.

"I wasn't sure how fast I could run. I was afraid I might come in last and that would overshadow the fact that I ran a marathon at all," said the grandmother of 11.

So she found an online training program by Hal Higdon, a Runners World magazine writer. Fox began following his 18-week program at the end of December. The last week -- which for Fox is May 8 -- culminates with a homemade 26-mile marathon.

Fox runs four times a week varying the distance each time. Sometimes her runs are indoors on a treadmill, sometimes on the bike paths and once in a while she just puts on her shoes and runs out the front door.

"I found once I started that I didn't have any problem finding motivation to run," she said.

And Fox stayed motivated to follow the program even though she pulled a tendon in her knee her first time out.

"It healed up pretty quickly," she said.

But her other activities -- hiking with the Intermountain Alpine Club, mountain biking with her husband, Harry, and workouts at the gym -- have fallen by the wayside.

"There's just no time for them right now," she said.

One of her biggest issues on long runs was how to keep hydrated and keeping enough energy to carry her through. So she "hired" a water boy, her husband.

Harry rides his bike alongside her, armed with Gatorade and Sports Beans -- specially formulated jelly beans to refuel hard working muscles during workouts.

One of Fox's biggest hurdles has been learning to pace herself. After weeks of training, Fox can now run a mile comfortably in about 10 minutes and keep it up mile after mile.

"But I tend to start out fast, to push too hard and then I die at the end of a run," she said. "Having Harry with me helps. He reminds me to slow down."

"Eating proper meals before a long run is crucial too, and Harry's my cook," she said. "I picked a good husband."

Surprisingly, keeping her weight under control has been hard even though Fox is burning about 100 calories a mile.

"I think it's my mind set. I'm running off all these calories so I think to myself I can eat whatever I want. It doesn't work that way unfortunately," she said.

For the May 8 marathon she and Harry mapped out a course that's just a fraction over 26 miles.

She'll start her one-woman race on Clover Island in Kennewick. Using the Sacajawea and riverfront trails she'll run along the Kennewick and Richland side of the Columbia River to Leslie Groves Park, 13.1 miles, then turn around and go back.

"My family's going to see me off, then meet me half way to rah, rah, me on and then meet me at the end," Fox said.

She's also enlisted some moral support.

"I've heard the last six miles are the hardest so I have three ladies from the gym, all runners, who are going to meet me at the 20-mile mark and run the last six miles with me," she said.

So what will Fox do when she completes the 18-week program.

"I'll probably continue to run but not so intensely," she said. "The Tri-City marathon is at the end of October and by the time August rolls around I'll probably have forgotten the pain I've gone through."

"My brother asked me what I'm trying to do. Sometimes you just have to step out of your comfort zone and test yourself," Fox said.