Whenever Julie Chagnon thinks about skipping a training run she looks at a photo of a runner she used to know.

It's an image of a woman in pain, overweight and struggling to complete the Sailin' Shoes 5K.

The photo was taken in 2009, and Chagnon is the woman in the photo.

"Every time I think I'm tired of this, I look at that picture," said Chagnon. "My shorts are riding up and I'm miserable. I'm just putting one foot in front of other. I look at that photo and I know I don't want to be back there."

With three years of consistent training behind her, Chagnon is hooked on running.

She has lost 27 pounds. She feels better mentally and physically. She recently won age-group titles in the Sailin' Shoes 5K and Panoramic 4-Mile run.

For her dedication to running and commitment to living a healthful lifestyle, Chagnon, 42, has been named the June Runners Roost Runner of the Month and is the winner of a new pair of Mizuno shoes.

The Runner of the Month program is a combined effort of Runners Roost, Mizuno Shoes and PikesPeakSports.us.

Chagnon winces when she talks about her life prior to running.

"I was approaching 40 and I didn't like the way it was going," she said. "I was putting on weight and I thought, 'man, is this it?' That's when I started running."

She quickly made some exciting discoveries. While it was painful to start, she found something she could call her own.

"I discovered for once something that was all mine," she said. "It was my time."

It's common for runners to have a breakthrough moment when running's mental, physical and spiritual elements align and they begin to love each stride, every mile, the feeling. Chagnon's moment came in the 2011 American Discovery Trail Marathon.

"The last four miles was just an out-of-body experience," she said. "I knew I had to finish. I just kept thinking about how far I had come, in running and in life.  For me, it was pure determination. There is just so much more left in you than you  think."

Chagnon doesn't have a set training plan. Some weeks, the miles come easily, and some weeks not so much. She especially enjoys running on the Pikes Peak Greenway  Trail - the scene of her enlightening ADT Marathon. And she has become something of a race addict.

"The energy of races is something I really like," she said. "Without the races, I don't know if I would have stayed with it so long. I think it's one thing to run...but the races bring in the passion in it."

She said longtime local runner Mel Watson and Lisa Rainsberger, the last American woman to win the Boston Marathon (1985), inspire her. And her husband, Don, has supported her every step of the way.

"I like listening to the veterans," she said.

What is the best advice about running that she has received?
"Have fun," she said. "That's what Mel told me."