Theyaren’tpaid,but they’reover-the-top dedicated—andprettydarngood

Early-morning jogs, strict diets and punishing workouts are par for the course when you are a professional athlete. But what about the attorney, salesman or student who has a relentless passion for a particular sport?

We’re not talking about your typical weekend warrior, but the hard-core athlete driven by something deeper than a desire to have fun or shed pounds.

Triple Threat

Take Lake Highlands resident Katie Paulson, for instance — she’s a corporate attorney by day, but on early mornings,eveningsandweekends, she’s a bicycling, swimming and running superwoman. She has completed nine Ironman-distance triathlons (that’s a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run, the best of which she finished in 11 hours, 37 minutes).

And though the Ironman is grueling, thousands of people every year claim one,whichiswhy,forPaulson,the achievement lacked luster. She wanted togoevenharder,solastfallshe entered the three-day-long Ultraman — effectively a double Ironman. “I want to see how far I can push my body,” she says.

Pushing to this extent requires sustained mental toughness, decided dedication (working out six days a week and often twice a day) and a high pain threshold. paulson played high school basketball and volleyball, and she attended college on a basketball scholarship. After working a few years, she returned to law school those years didn’t allow much free time for sports. After law school, however, she found that “just working one job” made room for something recreational.

“When I feel like stopping — and it’s rare that I don’t at some point during a race — I ask myself what hurts and tell myself I don’t need to walk and that stopping will just prolong the agony,” she says.

triathlon Katie Paulson

she joined some friends for an informational meeting with team In training, an extension of the Leukemia & Lymphoma society that trains people to compete in endurance sports.

“I didn’t even really plan to sign on for the goal race (the LA triathlon) but got pulled in,” she says. “When I showed up for the first training ride, the group nearly laughed me off the parking lot.” paulson had shown up with a bike from 1975 that was bigger than the mazda miata in which she pulled up, she says.

“I needed a lot of education, to say the least.”

In the years and miles leading up to the Ultraman, paulson built bonds with her fellow athletes. she says the social aspect is one of the main reasons she has stuck with the sport. In fact, if it wasn’t for the friends she has made, she might have never entered the Ultraman.

For her 40th birthday, her buddies paid the $1,000 entry fee.

Hard Hitter

The spirit of camaraderie similarly fuels AshleyBenson’s allegiance to the North Texas Amateur Baseball League.

“It’s a lot of fun for us old guys, and it keeps you from feeling like you’re getting old,” says Benson, who looks closer to 45 than 57.

Baseball, for Benson, is detectably more competitive than he lets on at first. This is evidenced when his daughter, Misty, produces a team photo of the Dallas Blue Jays,Benson’s team that won the Men’s Senior League Baseball World Series two years ago.

The World Series is held each year in Phoenix,andBenson,wholivesnear Lake Highlands High School, has attended 15 of the past 16 years — if not as a player, as a spectator.

“The only year I didn’t go was the year