Editor’s note: Patricia Fernandez is part of the wowOwow Executive Intern Program, where experienced businesswomen learn a new skill from our younger, Internet-savvy staff.

It all started when the cancer came. A passionate, successful artist and teacher, Elaine Breiger was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991, when she was 59. On the advice of her doctors, she underwent bilateral mastectomies. Then, in 1992, her twin sister — and her closest friend — was also diagnosed with cancer and died that same year. And somehow during this terrible time, a time of hard new realities, an unusual idea took root in her mind: She was going to run a marathon.

"For some crazy reason, I do not know why, I just said, ‘I’m going to do the New York marathon.’ I have no idea where this idea came from. It wasn’t like something happened in the sky and a light came down. It was just, ‘I’ll do that.’"

For Elaine, the crisis of dealing with cancer seemed to clarify what really mattered in her life — and to free her from ideas that had held her back in ways she didn’t even realize.

"When there’s so much uncertainty in your life, sometimes you just don’t really care. I didn’t mind making an ass out of myself. We’re so concerned with how we appear, and so judgmental, et cetera, et cetera, and this was like, to hell with it, who cares? It was like a challenge to myself, and it seemed like a very life-affirming thing."

Meeting the challenges she placed on herself would become a pattern for Elaine, and the rewards were incredible. Along the way, she recognized it was essential to gather people close to her for support.

"I found out that my surgeon had done the marathon the year before. So when he said to me that he would do it, too, and that we would meet at the finish line — that made me feel so good. The fact that we had this kind of bond, that we were going to see each other at the finish line, meant a lot to me."

As it turned out, her surgeon developed a heel spur and couldn’t run — but there was no way Elaine was going to quit. She had come too far and was feeling the momentum that comes from breaking through barriers. "I didn’t really know how to train and I never felt like I really belonged in the park schlepping along with all these runners. But when I went to the marathon expo to pick up my number, I saw people from all over the world — fat people and thin people and tall people and short people — and I said, I belong here."

One key to Elaine’s success is that she allowed herself to progress at her own pace and took pride in what she achieved. She started slowly, built gradually, and remained constantly focused on the finish line. She basically walked her first marathon, jogging a little, but not too much for fear she’d run out of gas. Although it took her more than six hours, she said it was a thrilling experience. "My husband had said to me, joking or not, ‘You better take a flashlight.’ Thing is, I finished it when it was still light outside."

At the finish line, Elaine, like countless other first-time marathoners, immediately felt a hunger for more. "I felt great and I said, ‘I’m going to do it again.’ I’ve been doing it sequentially since that time."

It’s true: marathons can be habit-forming.