“I remember all the gear laying around, running shoes and that Sears bike,” he recalls. “I have memories of all the pictures of them doing 5ks and that first triathlon and while I didn’t quite understand it at the time, I was glad they were doing something active.”


It wasn’t long before Tim joined his parents for a local 5k run. Meanwhile, his older sister, Christine, joined the YMCA swim team and Tim followed soon after, later leading to a successful high school career. “Our philosophy was always to give the kids exposure to and opportunities with different activities, but not to pressure them,” says Ken. “When they found sports they were interested in, we worked to support them.”


Once he enrolled at the University of Iowa, Tim went from swimming to crew. It was during his cross training off the water that he discovered a penchant for running. Then in 1995, his dad suggested they do the Big Creek Triathlon together, the same one that had inspired him to give the sport a try almost a decade earlier. Since Ken had been competing every year since that first race in 1984, it didn’t take much convincing to get Tim to sign up.


It was at Big Creek where the light bulb truly went on for the younger Hola. He had always been an adept athlete, but this seemed like it might be his sport. What’s more, it could be shared with his dad. “It was a really neat thing to do that race together,” he says. “We still have it on VHS and the thing I remember best was seeing how happy I looked and how much joy I got out of doing it. That has really continued to carry me through my career.”


“After that things took off and he really got into it,” says Ken. Indeed, Tim, now a sales representative for PowerBar and a member of Team Timex, holds two USA Triathlon long course national titles (2005 and 2009) and one ITU World Championship (2011). He has competed in 13 consecutive Hawaii Ironmans, at which his parents have come to cheer him on every single year.


 


The sport is family friendly because you don’t have to be a certain age and everybody can be involved whether they are competing or supporting. It just gives you a really good attitude toward family and life.

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