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When Julia Hawley crossed the finish line in St. Croix this weekend after completing the grueling 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and half marathon it wasn't the end of her race.... just the beginning.

Victory in the 45-49 age group on the hilly, windswept course qualified Hawley for the Hawaii World Ironman Championships - a goal she has been shooting for, for the past two years.

Before taking on that challenge - double the distance of this weekend's race - she will warm up at Ironman Switzerland in July.

By the end of the year she will have completed one half-ironman and two full ironman races - no mean feat while working full time and bringing up two kids.

"I kept thinking I've got to go twice as far next time," said Hawley who pushed through the pain barrier to beat scores of other Hawaii hopefuls to the finish.

With more than 800 athletes in the event it can be hard for age-group competitors to tell where they are in their own race within the race.

It wasn't until she completed the cycling section and saw that her bike was the only one in the racks laid out for her age group that she realized she was leading the pack.

"Each athlete has their age group category written on their leg and I could see that I was passing quite a few of my rivals on the bike.

"I was pretty confident I was in first when I saw there were no other bikes in the rack. I had to tell myself not to look back and to just run my own race."

Hawley, who trained for the event at an Ironman camp in Kona, Hawaii, completing the world championships circuit, said the intensity of her training had helped her get through the half-marathon and cross the finish line in first.

"I didn't expect to qualify in this race," admitted Hawley, who has narrowly missed out on making the cut for Hawaii on several occasions over the past two years.

She has completed a total of six half-ironman races and one full ironman in her efforts to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

The disappointment of not making it to Kona two years ago was even more acute because her training partners Karen Smith and Karen Bordage got there.

Only the winners of a series of Ironmen races and a handful of half-ironman races around the world are entitled to compete in the world championships.

And Hawley had penciled in the Swiss Ironman race, where she will compete alongside Smith, as one she could win.

"I can afford to take that race a little easier now," she said

"It's an intense training schedule - on average 10-18 hours a week. I'm lucky to misery in company with the two other girls that I train with. I'm really hoping they can qualify as well now and we can all compete in Hawaii together."

Hawley, who competes locally for Winners Edge, said her success in St. Croix had been a family effort and could not have been achieved without the support of her husband and two daughters.

"My girls are so proud of me, they're telling everyone 'mommy's qualified for Hawaii'."

Hawley was joined in St. Croix by Kent Richardson who had a success story of his own in his first half-ironman.

Richardson finished fourth in the 50-55 age group - missing out on a Hawaii spot by a few seconds.

With two spots up for grabs in the age group and one of his rivals having already qualified, Richardson could have made the cut by finishing third.

"I was in third place for most of the run," he said.

"With around seven tenths of a mile to the finish this guy ran me down and passed me. Little did I know that third spot would have qualified me for the Hawaii Ironman so I let him go."

Richardson could console himself with a spot in the Half Ironman World Championships, to be held in Clearwater, Florida in November.[[In-content Ad]]

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