Profile of James Bales

James Bales, a professional triathlete, currently leads the 2005 RacePacket Grand Prix Series. His performances are all the more remarkable because he is training and competing while meeting the demands of medical school.

Bales has won the Columbia Triathlon and won three regional triathlon championships to qualify to compete in the Hawaii Triathlon. However, Bales did not go because of his Medical School commitments. Bales finished 5th at the US Collegiate Triathlon Championship, and will compete again next weekend. Last year, Bales was top amateur finishers at the Eagleman Triathlon

At road races, Bales finished second in the Run v. Row 10K in 33.56 (which was faster than the crew teams rowing on the Potomac), and finished third in the Reston 10 Miler in 56:06. Bales won the Down and Dirty 8K in 29:11. Typically, Bales competes in triathlons from May to September and fills in the rest of the year with road races.

Bales grew up on a sheep farm in Eastern Colorado and then graduated from the US Air Force Academy, where he was a varsity swimmer. Although Bales enjoys road races, he feels he has a competitive edge in triathlons because of his swimming background.

Bales lives 10 miles from Georgetown Medical School and his training consists of running or biking to the school. Bales is “thankful for spending the last four years in Washington DC where the running community is so large and supportive and you have the opportunity to run races each week.” He will move this summer to San Antonio, TX to begin an orthopedics residency program. Bales notes that in Washington, running is very integrated into the community and he appreciates the variety of running venues. He appreciates the number of quality running and triathlon events in the area. He “loves RacePacket, which has been invaluable to me.”