We are delighted to welcome professional gravel racer and ultra runner Heather Jackson back to the show.

Our first episode with Heather launched in January 2020. So much has transpired since then, including her retirement from racing triathlon at the professional level and Heather and her husband Wattie becoming parents with the arrival of Stevie pup, who was introduced to the world via Instagram last September.

Heather finished off 2022 in a huge way, having raced her final Ironman in Kona at the World Championships, then two weeks later placing 14th female at the Big Sugar 100-mile gravel race, and then one week later took the ultra running scene by storm with her 5th place finish at Javelina Hundred 100-mile after leading the race through mile-60.

And most recently, she just crushed the Black Canyon 100k after an iconic battle with heavy hitters like Keely Henniger and Ida Nilsson. She finished 2nd on the day, coming in under the previous course record with a time of 8hrs 47 minutes, and 59 seconds.

So much newness and unknown during this conversation, and of course, we dig for her treasures of wisdom which she always shares so generously.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoy the show, please consider making your statement known on Patreon - this community is solely responsible for keeping the YTP and Awake Athlete podcasts commercial-free.

In this episode, we discuss:

- moving to the dirt sports

- going out too hot

- Ironman endurance on the trails

- beginners mindset

- the art of downhill running

- trail running requires presence

- nutrition practices for these longer trail races

- Heather's support crew

- joy and gratitude

- epic trail battles

- gravel riding to support healthy running

- Western States 100 Endurance Run

- what are you waiting for?

- 2023 race calendar

Namaste-

Jess