Presented by Race Roster

Danelle Ballengee “Coach Nellie” is 42 years old and currently lives in Moab, Utah. Danelle is a business owner, professional endurance athlete, fitness coach, and survivalist.

Danelle has been working as a Personal Fitness Trainer and Endurance-Specialist Coach since 1993. She has a degree in Kinesiology and Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she graduated in 1994.

She started working as a personal trainer at ‘Boulder’s Pulse Fitness Center’, where she worked from 1993 through 1996. She then moved to Summit County, Colorado in 1996 where she began teaching fitness-based clinics. She has taught clinics and camps on running, snowshoeing, cycling, triathlon and adventure racing. From 1997 to 2007 she worked as a personal trainer and endurance sport instructor at the Silverthorne Recreation Center. Danelle is an A.C.E certified fitness instructor. Each year she participates in continuing education courses to maintain her certification and keep updated on latest research and techniques.In 1999 Danelle began putting more focus on her specialty—training for endurance events, and started coaching athletes using email to send weekly workouts. Her workout programs are designed specific to each athlete– to fit their schedule, fitness level and goals. Her training website, www.trainingrx.com was originally launched in 2004.

Danelle has worked with folks of every level and ability. She has helped overweight couch potatoes to get off the couch and get fit and healthy. She has also worked with all ages and ability of athletes; including helping several athletes reach elite/professional status. Her clients include trail, mountain, and ultra runners, adventure racers, mountain bikers, triathletes, Nordic skiers, snowshoers, and downhill skiers.

Danelle is also an accomplished athlete herself. She is the ‘winningest’ endurance athlete in the world, having won several hundred events in various endurance sports. Included in her wins are several National and World Championships in the sports of Skyrunning, Adventure Racing, Mountain Running, Rogaining, Snowshoeing, Winter Triathlon, Triathlon, and Duathlon. She holds the female speed record for climbing all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers in 14 days, 49 min. Coach Nellie has traveled around the world to participate in events and give presentations and clinics for her sponsors. She started competing in high school cross-country and continues to compete to this day.

In addition to coaching, personal training, and participating in endurance sports Danelle is an event coordinator. She has organized over 50 events since her first event, the Evergreen Triathlon and Duathlon in 1995. In 1996 she organized the Colorado Multisport Festival, a four-race event. She also organized the SkyFestival, a 6-race high-altitude event in 1997. Danelle ‘re-started’ the Mt. Evans Ascent running race in 1997 and brought the X-Terra Triathlon to Keystone in 1999. She also organized for six years the Swift Skedaddle Snowshoe races. Additionally she has organized several off-road triathlons, duathlons and winter multi-sport events including the Winter Triathlon National Championship. Currently she organizes one event, the Moab Trail Marathon.

In December 2007 Nellie survived a near death accident, when she fell 60 feet when she slipped while trail running. She survived two nights and three days in sub-freezing temperatures with a shattered pelvis and broken back doing crunches for over 50 hours until her neighbor noticed she was missing, her dog ran out for help and led the search team to her remote location. She lived to not only walk again, but to compete and win several adventure races since. After the accident Nellie met her husband BC and they bought a 50’s diner called Milts in Moab, UT which they enjoy the demands of being small business owners.

Nellie and BC had their first child, Noah, in 2008. William was born in 2010. Motherhood has been the most fulfilling challenge in Nellie’s life. She had cut back her training and racing to enjoy time with the boys. 5 year old Noah is following in his mom’s endurance footsteps as he has already competed in a 5k, mud run, triathlon, and bike race. William has taken on his mom’s wild side and we expect him to be a top adventure racer.

Danelle has a passion for fitness and endurance sports. She lives, sleeps, and breathes endurance—not only participating herself but also helping others to enjoy sports and to better their lives through endurance sports. She has made a career of sports because she loves it—she loves the challenge, the benefits, and the people. Her approach to coaching other athletes is similar to her approach for her own training. He combines scientific knowledge along with real-life ‘listen to your body and mind’ techniques. She feels that the best athletes are balanced—in their training and in their lifestyle. She makes training fun and helps clients to set realistic goals and to reach them. She knows that every individual is different and works to find the best training program for each individual. Her own personal racing and training experiences along with years of working with 100’s of clients, combined with her knowledge in kinesiology, sports psychology, exercise physiology and sports nutrition makes her one of the top personal trainers and coaches around.

Website: http://www.trainingrx.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/moabtrailmarathon/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/journeyracing/

For Danelle’s full un-edited interview, watch the YouTube video below: