Christa Krause

Triathlon Coach
Beachbody Strength Coach
Masters Swim Coach
CompuTrainer Cycling Coach
Social Media Manager
Team Photographer

Coach Christa has been an endurance athlete for the past 17 years. After running her first half marathon and marathon in 2005, she very quickly found a love for long-distance running, and since then completed 5 marathons, over 10 half marathons, and many other road and trail races of various distances. In 2019, life events inspired Christa to make her dream of becoming a triathlete into a reality, and she entered the sport of triathlon as a solo athlete, without any prior swim experience and without a bike of her own. Just a few months later, she participated in her first triathlons – the ET Naperville Sprint Tri and the ET Pleasant Prairie Tri.

Christa’s love for the sport of triathlon was instantaneous, and she immediately set her sights on accomplishing long-distance goals in the sport. She knew in order to adequately accomplish these goals, she needed to learn how to swim properly and also needed the guidance of a coach to help her meet her goals in a way that would help her balance life with training and get her to the start and finish line healthy. Christa began her journey with ET as a member of the Swim 101 class, where she learned how to properly swim from Coach Joe, and a few months later started her journey as a coached athlete. Thanks to the mentorship and guidance of Coach Joe, and the training support of Team ET along the way, Christa completed two 70.3 Ironman races in 2021 and finished Ironman Wisconsin in September 2022. As an athlete, she looks forward to continuing to work towards her own future goals in the sport of triathlon and endurance sports, and as a triathlon coach, she is eager to continue to help support other athletes as they strive to achieve their own goals.

Coach Christa has had the great pleasure of serving as a personal coach to athletes as they worked towards and completed their first Ironman, Half Ironman, Olympic, Sprint, Duathlon, Indoor Triathlon, and Marathon races. As a coach of ET Swim 101, Christa enjoys working with beginner adult swimmers just coming into the sport of triathlon with little to no swim experience, as that is how she began her own journey in ET, and feels that she has a unique perspective as a teacher having once been in the athletes’ “shoes” (or fins : ) Coach Christa also enjoys helping triathletes refine their technique and build endurance for swim, bike, run, and strength training as an ET Masters Swim Coach, CompuTrainer Coach, Strength Class Instructor, and Group Ride and Run Leader.

“I first met with Christa spring of 2023, before I had ever competed in any triathlon. I had my sights set high though, with my big race being a 70.3 Ironman in October of that same year. Swimming was by far my weakest leg, & Christa immediately assured me that she would have me feeling good, and more importantly, being smart!, in the water. Christa gets SO much credit for teaching and coaching me through all things swimming. I felt GREAT during the 1.2 mile open water swim in Arizona during the 70.3 race, and truly cannot thank Christa enough!! I can’t wait to work with her again for my 2024 goals, and expand upon the swim into other areas of triathlon.” – Lauren M.

“Finished The Naperville Sprint Triathlon today. I beat last year’s time by 11 minutes!! Thank you so much, coach Christa for helping me. I definitely couldn’t have done it without you. I truly appreciate all your support and the support of Team Experience Triathlon. I’m looking forward to many more races with all of you.” – Rebecca A.

Christa’s longtime teaching career as a private flute teacher naturally ebbs into her personal coaching style. With both positions, she has the ability to work one on one with people of varying skill levels and ages. This allows her to figure out the best training/learning style for each individual and adapt her own coaching/teaching style according to that individual’s needs. Both coaching and teaching offer Christa the opportunity of guiding, mentoring, supporting, and caring for each person she gets to work with, an opportunity she truly views as a gift.

Christa lives in Warrenville with her two young sons, who are her light and joy. She is a Professor of Flute at Benedictine University and runs her own private flute studio. Although Christa is a classically trained musician, she loves going to live rock/pop/alternative concerts. She enjoys the outdoors (especially endurance sports : ), dancing, and turning any moment into a karaoke or air guitar “concert.” She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Flute Performance from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and a Masters degree in Flute Performance and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Illinois State University.