Coach Lauren Vallee
About Coach Lolo
Coach Lauren (Lolo) Vallee has spent the better part of her life in high-performance sport and has been a professional endurance coach for over a decade. She is a USA Triathlon Level II Coach.
Lauren is a two-time Ironman World Championship qualifier and multiple time Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualifier. She placed 9th in the F35-39 age group at the 2021 Ironman World Championship in St. George, Utah.
Lauren has been a top ranked athlete since 2011. In 2014 Lauren was ranked 1st in the USA and 2nd in the world in the W30-34 age group for the Ironman All World Rankings. Every year since 2011, Coach Lolo has been recognized by USA Triathlon as an All American or AA Honorable Mention athlete.
Lauren began racing triathlon in 2005 during her undergrad years at DePaul University. She moved to Ohio to attend OSU for their Master's program in Sport Management, and began racing long course triathlon at that time. While in Columbus, Coach Lolo quickly became a part of the local triathlon community. She founded BASE Tri Fitness in order to provide quality coaching to that enthusiastic community.
Coach Lauren did blood lactate testing for various organizations in Ohio, volunteered with the Central Ohio Triathlon Club, and initiated the first ever triathlon training class for students at Ohio State. In 2016, Lauren moved to Boulder, Colorado where she currently lives.
Lauren has a second Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and has a small private practice as a depth psychotherapist for athletes and high-performers.
Credentials and Education
Coach Lauren Vallee has been a high performance coach since 2010. Her education and certifications include:
- USA Triathlon Certified Coach Level II
- Head Coach and Owner, BASE Tri Fitness 2010-2021
- IRONMAN Certified Coach
- M.A. Counseling Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2022
- M.A., Sport Management, The Ohio State University
- B.S.ed, Physical Education, Sport Management, DePaul University
Mentoring Relationships
Throughout her racing career, Lauren has been coached by some of the top professionals in the country. Each coach served as a mentor to Lauren. Scott Duprex, Kathleen Hughes, Craig Upton, and Mateo Mercur all shared different, but compelling, ways to develop stronger, more resilient athletes.
Lauren has also had the opportunity to collaborate with international nutrition experts and pioneers. Lauren met Stacy Sims while Sims was developing OSMO. Before Sims published her groundbreaking book on female nutrition and physiology, "Roar", Lauren and Stacy collaborated extensively to address the hydration and nutrition needs for Lauren's female athletes and broader squad.
Lauren now works closely with Scott Tindal founder of Fuel:In, to deliver training and nutrition programs to her athletes. Working with Tindal has revolutionized the diet and nutrition of coach Lolo's squad.
Lauren currently collaborates with top North American Trisutto coach, Mateo Mercur. With 25 years as a high-performance endurance coach, and a decade as Head Coach of the UCSB triathlon team, Mateo has coached age groupers and world champions across the distances. As a world-class coach, Mateo provides invaluable guidance to Coach Lauren and her team. Coach Mateo's daily squad experience has been indispensable to the refinement of coach Lolo's presence and coaching eye on deck, and on the race course.
"In psychotherapy there is a practice called 'collegial consultation'. This refers to when a therapist discusses clinical case material with a colleague. This process allows for creative problem solving and the development of new insights. I have always operated this way in my coaching by taking issues to those I respect and trust in order to give my athletes the best outcomes." ~ Coach Lolo