Teri Hatcher training for triathlon

Teri Hatcher wants to run before she’s dead, run far and run fast. She and a friend were recently discussing what would be on her “bucket list,” a list of things to do before she dies, and running a triathlon made the list.

“I want to learn to play a couple of songs on the guitar. I want to learn a few of those fancy dances from one of those Dancing with the Stars teachers. And I want to run a triathlon,” the actress, 44, said.

Fortunately, Disney, the parent company of her show, “Desperate Housewives,” asked her to lead a team in this year’s Nautica Malibu Triathlon on Sept. 13. Hatcher is also raising money to benefit the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

She’s been training hard for the last month. Hatcher rides her bike to work three to four times a week, and has been known to swim with the whales, but running is the hardest part of the triathlon.

“It’s the least fun for me,” she said of the four-mile run that comes at the end of the event. “By that point, I’m really tired, so the whole time I’m thinking, ‘I’m not going to make it.’”

But Hatcher says participating was not about getting a great time or winning.

“I’m just out to do it and I did it,” she said. “I did surprise myself that I’m in better shape than I thought I was.”

To donate to her cause, visit Teamhatcher.org.