SHE'S IRONWOMAN CAMARILLO WOMAN DROPS IT ALL TO PURSUE DREAM RACE.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Her friends and family thought she was having the mother of all mid-life crises. Carol Hunt turned 40 years old and realized she wanted something different for her life. She quit her high-paying job in retail, started running regularly and took a job reading water meters for the city of Camarillo so she could walk around under the sun.

Everyone who thought she was crazy then has more justification now. Hunt, 51, is training for her first Ironman distance triathlon. The competition consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run, all back to back, to be completed in less than 17 hours.

Hunt admits her life change doesn't seem sane. But she's happier than ever.

``Before, I had a fair life and a lot of money,'' Hunt said. ``Now I have less money but a better life. I think a lot of people at age 40 examine their priorities. Part of my family thought I was crazy and part of them still do. But they are always there to support me.''

Hunt started out by going to the gym. Then she started race-walking, then running 5k and 10k races, then marathons and eventually triathlons. Now she has a personal coach and funds from a grant given by Balance nutrition bar.

Balance awards grants to people who do activities that integrate the body and mind. Hunt made a budget of how much money she needs and submitted an essay on why she needs it. She was given the $7,500 she requested.

``It's really amazing,'' Hunt said. ``I'd never heard of anything where you don't have to be the fastest or the best. You just need to have a dream and describe that dream.''

She uses the money to train daily and attend regular distance triathlons around the country, such as one she just finished in Hawaii. The normal distance triathlon is a 1.5k swim, 40k bike ride and 10k run. Hunt is going those distances in the Los Angeles Triathlon Championship on April 21.

She never has gone Ironman lengths, but she is working up to that level with the goal of completing the race in Panama City, Fla., on Nov. 9.

Hunt was surprised to find a lot of women her age or older who ran triathlons. She has been training with one, Terry Holden of Ventura, since the beginning.

``I think the thing with more mature women is that when we were in school, they didn't really have sports for us,'' Holden said. ``It's interesting to see more mature women getting into the sport. When their kids graduate from college, they need something to do.''

Holden did her first Ironman competition in Hawaii two years ago. Hunt's goal is just to finish one and go from there. That, too, was Holden's goal. But now that she's done one, she wants to do another. She also will participate in Florida.

``It kind of gets in your blood,'' Holden said. ``The first time it's 'Can I finish?' Then you finish and think maybe I could have done a little better. It's crazy and we readily admit that, too.''

Hunt and Holden called themselves WOOF, or women over 40, when they began. Now the ``F'' stands for 50. The worst part about their age is that they have to advertise it. Participants wear their age on their backs when competing.

``I've shown that you are never too old to change,'' Hunt said. ``Don't just sit there and say you don't like your job; change your job. We have choices. You just need to have the perseverance to go through with it.''

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Camarillo's Carol Hunt, 51, is training to compete in her first Ironman triathlon in November.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News