‘This race schedule might break me’ – endurance icon Heather Jackson maps out ‘crazy’ 2026

There are few more ground-breaking endurance athletes than Heather Jackson and the former IRONMAN pro turned top ultra runner and gravel rider has set herself an incredible 2026 schedule.

The American star was a multiple IRONMAN winner in triathlon and has repeated the formula in two dedicated disciplines over the last few years – trail running and gravel biking.

Victories in the former include the Javelina Jundred and the Canyons Endurance 50k while last year saw her triumph in the prestigious Unbound XL gravel race.

‘These things lit a fire in me’

The defence of her Unbound title is on the 2026 schedule but she’s also ramped things up massively with several other epic endurance challenges in the pipeline, including UTMB in Chamonix and the 2,800-mile self-supported Tour Divide mountain biking ride traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains.

Speaking in her latest YouTube video, which is embedded below, Jackson admitted: “When I sit here and look at my calendar now, it seems really crazy. Because the weeks are already flying by and these are coming up really quick.

“I think in the fall and winter when I was laying out what I wanted to do, these things really lit a fire in me. But now that they are approaching – and extremely quickly – it’s probably crazy to try and do these!”

So the list in full is:
Big Alta 50K
Desert Rats 100K
Cocodona 250
Unbound XL 350 Miles
Tour Divide – 2,800 Miles
Oregon Outback – 365 Miles
UTMB Mont-Blanc – 100 Miles
Ride Across Arizona – 615 Miles

Embracing the unknown

Explaining the rationale, Jackson added: “This is the beginning of a season built around one idea: growth doesn’t come from protecting what you’ve already done.

“What happens when you stop choosing what’s safe… and start choosing what scares you?

“I wouldn’t say I enjoy the uncertainty but I think the uncertainty is why I do these things.

“I could just do the same things over and over again – I did that for years – and you you know it, you can learn it and perfect something. And you can master skills – and that is also a fun and fulfilling journey.”

She fully expects there to be many challenges along the way: “It’s that process of getting ready for the uncertainty but knowing that there’s all sorts of other things that will happen out there. That’s the scary thing – but that’s also what makes me feel alive.

“Multi-day endurance adventures, things will go wrong and I think it’s mentally accepting that, being prepared that it’s part of it. It’s how can I adapt, how will I deal with issues that I’m going to face. It’s shifting that mindset.

“That’s why I want to do these things, because you go to places that you can’t pre-conceive sitting here. You walk away from them a changed person when you go through those moments. I’m just looking forward to that whole experience.

“I think Tour Divide keeps me up at night. I want to see if I can do all of them in one calendar year. I want to see if I can run this far, if I can ride my bike that far – if I can do them. I love the challenge.”

Up and running

And since the video was shot, she’s kicked it off with the Big Alta 50k, saying on Instagram: “Such a sick course and super fun day out on some of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever seen. 6th on the day👍🏻

“Fitness feels great, but I underestimated my heat management.”