Every June, area residents embark on a six-month challenge to train for and run a marathon. Many sign up and train with a group. Others buy a book, partner with a friend or go it alone.

Four area runners – Juliette Kalb, Chris Hanna, Thelma Jones and Bruce Boyle – were marathon hopefuls in June 2006. They set out to conquer 26.2 miles. Desire and commitment ensured the successful completion of Wellstone's Dallas White Rock Marathon last December. Each experienced a life-altering transformation. Each plans to participate in the Dec. 9 edition.

Here are their stories.

Juliette Kalb wanted to run a marathon before she turned 30.

It seemed far-fetched when she turned 29 in March 2006. The Dallas resident was lugging 180 pounds on her 5-2 frame.

In mid-April 2006, she began building up to the three-mile base she would need to start the Luke's Locker marathon training program in June. She joined after the director, Don Lucas, promised that – barring injury – anyone who sticks to the program will complete the marathon.

"I took that to heart," said Kalb, 30. "To me, that was a promise. He guaranteed I'd be able to achieve this goal. I was so afraid to miss any days, or his warranty would be null and void."

Every Saturday offered a new challenge as the distance increased, she said.

"The first time I ran a loop around White Rock Lake, I cried," she said. "I never imagined I would be able to run nine miles."

The scenario repeated itself weekly as she completed 16, 18 and eventually 20 miles. By race day, she had dropped 35 pounds and made a self-discovery.

"I was no longer the chubby girl I started out as," she said. "I was now a runner, an athlete."

G.J. MCCARTHY / DMN

Juliette Kalb, Thelma Jones, Chris Hanna and Bruce Boyle will be taking part in the White Rock Marathon this year.

Kalb regained her sense of self. Her marriage improved. She's contemplating applying to law school. She dropped from size 14 clothes to size 6-8.

"The discipline it took changed so many other things in my life," she said. "It's remarkable that something like marathon training seeped into so many other aspects of my life."

She completed the 2006 marathon in 4 hours, 52 minutes. Four months later, Kalb ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon 14 minutes faster. She's hoping to eclipse 4:30 next Sunday.

Chris Hanna's entry into marathon running evolved from a simple desire to live longer and be healthier. The former lacrosse player watched his weight increase to 290 pounds from 1996 to 2003. When he graduated from SMU with his M.B.A. in February 2003, he needed a lifestyle change.

His answer was baby steps, literally and figuratively.

"If you change too much, you get overwhelmed," he said.

Hanna, 38, slowly adjusted his diet and started to walk. Initially, that meant attempting to reach the end of the block, after dark, so no one would see him.

"There were way too many things jiggling," said Hanna, of Dallas. "I was very embarrassed. I knew the alternative was increased medical problems and continued self-loathing."

Within a couple months, he could run around the block. His achy knees were less painful than before he started running. After six months, he could run one mile without stopping. His perseverance paid off. By spring 2005, he had lost 105 pounds.

That November, he completed a half marathon. His boss suggested trying a marathon.

Hanna trained alone and finished the 2006 Rock in 3:48. He had an opportunity to run the April 2007 Boston Marathon, where he shaved 16 minutes off his time. He'd like to break 3:30 next Sunday.

When Hanna looks at old photos, he gets emotional.

"It doesn't even feel like me," he said. "I know it was me, but that person doesn't exist anymore because my life has changed so much – mentally, physically, spiritually."

Thelma Jones is stubborn and determined. She willed her way to the marathon finish line last year when she had every reason to quit. A hamstring injury necessitated that she walk half the marathon course. Jones, now 53, refused to climb in the police car that trailed the final participants.

"At first, I felt so embarrassed," she said. "I was the last one out there. I couldn't believe there were people waiting for me."

Pride overshadowed her embarrassment. The Dallasite completed her goal against extreme odds.

"I accomplished something I would have never thought I could have done: a whole marathon," she said. "That was one of my biggest accomplishments ever."

Jones was 75 pounds heavier when she started training in Luke's Locker's "Walk to Run" group. The participants shared one another's misery, bonded and completed the December 2004 half marathon. In 2005, she started coaching other first-time walk-to-runners.

Last year, her running buddies decided to train for the full marathon. They persuaded Jones to try. She was on track until a hamstring injury slowed her time and minimized her training.

On race day, adrenalin propelled her halfway. By mile 13, she resorted to walking. She called one of her coaches, who joined her on the course and encouraged her to keep going.

Marathon officials and friends applauded when Jones crossed the finish line more than seven hours after she started.

"I broke down," Jones said. "I felt so good about myself."

Jones, who calls herself the "Caboose Coach," plans to run the half marathon this year with the group she's coaching.

Bruce Boyle has his heart set on qualifying for Boston. The goal was within his reach after he trained for and completed the marathon last December.

In January, he began a speed-training program at Luke's Locker. He had already shaved two minutes per mile for short distances. He was euphoric.

His exuberance was short-lived. Boyle, a Richardson resident, was hit by a car while on a training run in January. He broke two bones in his right leg and one in his right thumb. After a three-day hospital stay, he had screws in his leg, pins in his hand and stitches in his head. His leg was immobilized for five months.

Boyle refused to let the setback end his running career. He had become passionate about the sport since completing the 2005 Turkey Trot. He felt fit and healthy, and he had a strong desire to get faster and go farther.

"It was hard and frustrating getting back into running," he said. "I knew how good I felt before, and I wanted to get that feeling back."

By June, Boyle, 67, was strong enough to join a marathon training program. He started out walking and has steadily improved.

Unfortunately for Boyle, he hasn't regained his endurance. He ran last month's Dallas Running Club Half Marathon 14 minutes slower than a year earlier. Regardless, he plans to keep training, propelled by the physical and mental benefits and his desire to qualify for Boston.

"The benefits are unbelievable," he said. "I feel better running than sitting around."