Heather Jackson admits she sometimes misses triathlon – but the six-time IRONMAN champion has a new challenge now, one she finds much more exciting.
Jackson placed in the top five four times at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona – but she has no plans to go back and improve on her third-place finish in 2016.
She quit swim/bike/rum in 2022 to embark on a new adventure in ultra trail running and gravel bike racing – and is about to take on the “ultimate challenge” of the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run for the third time (June 28 and 29).
“The Kona of this sport”
She told TRI247: “Western States is one of the races I knew even when I was doing triathlon. It always seemed to me like the Kona of this sport. This is the race. It was the first one I ever wanted to do coming out of triathlon.
“I’ve raced it twice now. This will be my third year. Every year it’s special. Only 300-something runners get to race it and I don’t take that for granted. It’s a special weekend that everyone here in north America looks forward to.
“Trail running is so crazy. In triathlon it’s all slow gains. In trail running you can pass 10 people going up but then on the descent someone comes flying by, so it’s more of a rollercoaster.
“I watch Kona now and I miss it but the second I think about the swim and what I would have to do being in the pool every day, I do NOT miss that. I HATED it. I could never get the love for it. I hated the swimming.
“I tried so hard, worked with so many coaches. I just sink. I don’t know what it is. I have more time in the day now. The swim always took too many hours in the day. It took an hour to get there. Two hours in the pool. An hour to get home.
Why trail running is so much fun
“I think trail running is so fun. It’s a different approach. Not staring at splits and trying to hit them on a flat road. You’re climbing mountains, seeing cool places, you’re out in nature. It’s reinvigorating for me. I go out and run in the woods.
“The technical aspect I struggled with the most because I haven’t run much off road. I rolled an ankle the first year so many times. Learning that technique has been the biggest thing. But I would say to anyone who is even thinking about it – just try it.”
Her latest run is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Billed as the ultimate challenge for the long-distance runner, the Western States course ascends to an elevation 8,750 feet, a climb of 2,550 vertical feet, in the first 4½ miles.
Rugged and remote
Runners then travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet on a trail that is rugged and remote before descending 22,970 feet to reach the small town of Auburn in the heart of California’s historic gold country. They must reach the finish line no later than 10:59:59 a.m. on the following day in order to be eligible for an award.
The Oregon native, who finished seventh in 2024 and warmed up for this year’s race by winning the UNBOUND XL gravel bike race in a record time at the end of last month, said: “I feel like this year is way more competitive than the last two. This year there’s ten or 20 women who could be at the front. It’s so deep. That’s why it’s exciting.”
“Anything could happen”
Heather, who will be running in an upcoming HOKA trail racing shoe that will be revealed post-race and available for sale this Autumn, added: “Any time I race I’m trying to be up there for sure. But hundred-milers are tough. Anything could happen. Anything!
“You could be feeling good to mile 90 and something happens. I think I’m going to try to be as close to the front as I can, know my strengths and weaknesses and push those when I can. I ran 17-something last year. I will see if I can better that and stay near the front.”
Heather goes into this massive Western States test coming off another epic endurance achievement, a record-breaking victory in gravel racing’s iconic Unbound XL.
