Dapto mother of four Jacqueline James achieved a major goal when she lined up to compete in her first marathon at the age of 41.
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James crossed the finish line at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon on Sunday after running a gruelling 42.2 kilometres in warm conditions.
It was quite an achievement because only 18 months ago, weighing 110 kilograms, James couldn't even run.
Yet she is now a trim 65 kilograms, after shedding 45 kilograms through healthy eating and exercise.
The catalyst for change was that James wanted to be more active with her children, who range in age from 20 to 11.
"I always say I had a brain snap on January 17, 2013," she said.
"I was sitting at work thinking that I needed to make a change. The Michelle Bridges information popped up on the side of my computer screen and I thought I would give it a go."
She lost the weight as part of the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, an online health and fitness program. She did the program three times, over a nine-month period.
"I followed the program and I walked every day," she said.
"I got up before the sun came up and started walking 10 kilometres every morning and then I started running, and the rest is history.
"It built up from 1 kilometre to 42.2 kilometres."
James said she progressed from walking to running one day in winter out of necessity.
"I was on my walk and there is a 900-metre stretch where there are no street lights from one roundabout to another and it was cold so I thought 'I'll just run this little bit' and from there I thought 'I can do this'," she said.
She decided last November that she would run in the marathon and the hard training began, with 60 kilometres of running per week.
The change has turned her life around.
"I can do everything now. I'm enjoying life." James said.