Jenae Bentley
We have all marveled at Jenae as she ran with the Wild Cheetahs through her entire pregnancy while pushing her son, Cooper, in a stroller. She ran several races during that time period too.
Jenae was born and spent her childhood in Oceanside, California. She was always active in sports during this time period---"gymnastics, cheerleading, Kempo Martial Arts (karate), surfing, volleyball, diving, and dance." In her high school years her family moved to Idaho and then back to San Diego. Jenae stayed in Boise, Idaho and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Boise State University where she majored in photography. While there, she was able to spend a semester studying abroad in Viterbo, Italy.
Jenae started running a mile or two in high school and college to stay fit. In 2014, she decided to run the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego. She went to a local running store for proper shoes and found a running club and soon was offered a job there. Unfortunately, she never got to run that marathon; she got hurt preparing and ended up running and walking it the next year. The effort, though, proved to be a springboard for the rest of her life. She kept running and continued working at running specialty shops and groups---"Movin' Shoes, Asics, Competitor Group (Rock n Roll Running Series), Road Runner Sports, and Running Wild."
She met her husband, Josh, in 2016 when her brother-in-law invited him to their family's Thanksgiving Dinner. They started dating, got engaged in 2020 and got married in 2021. She and Josh have two sons: Cooper and newborn, Tyler. Jenae takes the education of her sons seriously. She arranges educational trips for Cooper and creates unique ways to teach him about colors, shapes, numbers, and letters. She is now planning to extend this teaching for Tyler.
Her favorite races are The Rock n Roll Marathon (because of the community involvement and the live bands along the way) and all the Pensacola Races (citing the after parties and the camaraderie of the runners here). She is already setting more goals for her running. She will be leaving here in December to move to Virginia. We will all miss you Jenae!!
