Janae Richardson begins her fourth season at the helm of the CSI Men's and Women's Cross Country/Distance Track Programs, joining the Golden Eagles from Ogden, Utah. In just her first year in charge Richardson led the CSI Women's cross country team to a national championship, the team's second in a row.
Prior to accepting the job at CSI, Richardson was a volunteer assistant coach at Weber State University, a private coach working with area runners, and a teacher in Ogden School District. She has also been a business owner of Utah Running & Utah Running Shop from 2009-2022.
As an assistant at Weber State, Richardson helped the women's team place second at the Big Sky Conference Championships. Prior to helping at Weber State, she coached at Davis high School and Ogden High School.
Richardson is also the co-founder, vice president and training program director for the Velocity Kids Running Club. It is an organization that teaches more than 300 kids in the Ogden area a love for running while also teaching important life values.
Not only does Richardson have experience coaching but she also brings a wealth of experience as a runner.
She competed at Hillcrest High School in Idaho Falls from 1996-2000, winning an individual cross country state championship her senior year. She also was a state champion in the 3200 meters and posted a third-place finish in the 1600 meters.
Richardson earned her bachelor's degree from Weber State University and competed on the Wildcats cross country and track teams. While there, she earned a Big Sky All Conference award in the 10,000 meters and a Big Sky All Conference award in cross country. In the fall of 2000, she was on the first women's team to qualify from Weber State University for the NCAA Division I National Cross Country Meet, helping her team to a 22nd-place finish. During her time at WSU, she was a teammate of Anderson.
After Weber State, Richardson earned her master's degree from Utah State University in health and human movement with an emphasis in exercise science.
She has continued her running career, competing in various races. In 2017, she placed first in the Hobble Creek Half Marathon and has run in several marathons and half marathons.
Richardson has three children as well.
