Athlete: Janell Bolen

Janell grew up in an athletic family that revolved around running and swimming.  Throughout high school, she swam competitively in the USS swimming program.  Heading into college, swimming became a thing of the past and college cross country turned into her new passion.  Not a bad passion when you are running at the University of San Diego!  At the end of her college career, Janell was asked to be a runner on a triathlon relay.  She loved it, but at the end decided this was the next Endeavour.  She experienced a great deal of success quickly in the sport.  In 1994, Janell went to Age Group Triathlon National Championships and finished 8th qualifying her for Age Group World Championships to be held in New Zealand.

After the New Zealand World Championships, Janell took on a new challenge in triathlon and started participating in the Ironman Qualifier series.  After a trip to the Memphis in May Triathlon and the Panama City Beach Half Ironman, she was headed to Kona!  In June of 1995, she continued to train for Ironman Kona.  A training/racing trip to Lubbock Texas provided more than just a race!  In Lubbock, Janell officially met her husband to be Tim Bolen.  AKA Coach Tim!  From this point on, Tim took Janell under his wing as they both were making the trip to Kona.  Her first 100 mile ride was leaving Flagstaff riding downhill to Sedona.  At the bottom, she asked Tim how they were getting back…And he pointed at the hill that was left to climb.  Together they made it!

After a couple of years in triathlon, and listening to a number of people tell her, “you really should go into cycling”, Janell entered the women’s road peloton circuit.  Quickly advancing to a category Pro 1-2 cyclist, she enjoyed the opportunity of participating in a number of national level races including The Hewlett Packard Women’s Stage Race and the 2000 Olympic Trials for road racing and time trial.

Parenthood was next on the list for Janell and Tim.  In 2005, Janell gave birth to twins Cloe and Cole.  The twins have fit right into the triathlon family life!  They both love to swim, bike, and run.  At three months, Cole and Cloe watched daddy complete the inaugural Ironman Arizona.  After the twins birth, Janell and Tim started alternating years for big races, making family a priority and keeping it fun for everyone!

• 2007                24 Hours of Triathlon Relay                        3rd Place
• 2007                Lake Las Vegas Women’s Triathlon           1st Overall
• 2007                Tempe International Sprint Triathlon            3rd Overall
• 2007                Ford Ironman Arizona                                13th Age Group
• 2007                Generations Triathlon                                  1st Overall
• 2005                Hawaii Ironman                                          10th Age group
• 2005                ITU World Championships-Triathlon          14th Age Group
• 2000                USA Olympic Trials Cycling-Time Trial      18th Overall
• 2000                Arizona State 40k TT Champion                (59.20)
• 1999                Hewlett Packard International Women’s Stage Race
• All American Triathlete Tanking 1995, 1996, 2007

Race Schedule  Fall 2009/2010

• Nathans Olympic Distance Triathlon
• Tour de Scottsdale
• PBR Off Road Triathlon
• SOMA Half Ironman Relay
• Dawn to Dusk 12 Hour Mt Bike- 2 Person team
• Valley of the Sun Stage Race
• Ralf’s Half Ironman
• Rocky Point Triathlon
• LA Marathon