Ultra-Running Alumnus Leans into Pain

Mac Jackson ’99 competes in the Long Haul 100. Photo courtesy of Mac Jackson.

Mac Jackson, a 1999 George Stevens Academy graduate, “was never a runner,” he said of his high school days. “I hated running for the sake of running. I would do it to be in shape for the sport I was in.”

If you had told him early in life he was going to run a hundred miles, he said he would have replied “There’s no way in hell.”

Yet Mac is now three years into his ultra-running journey. In January, he ran his first 100-mile race, the Long Haul 100. In March, he competed in the Georgia Death Race, a nearly 75-mile course with 32,000 feet of elevation change, he said. And later this year, he plans to run in the Ocean 100K that he said “is almost all swamp, often in knee-to-waist-deep water.”

So how did he go from not being a runner to this? “Over time, with slow, steady progress,” he said. “What once seemed unfathomable now seems like going out for a 5K to me.”

And Mac has learned to enjoy the sport. “You don’t do it unless you actually love it, unless you love running, being outside.”

But the real reason he competes is to push himself far past his comfort zone. “The only certainty is that at some point in the race, you’re going to feel pretty miserable. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but you go to a dark place. When you come out the other side, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

“I think we spend way too much of our time being comfortable. In the 21st century, we as humans are just creatures of comfort. I don’t like to live that way anymore. I think a certain level of discomfort offers a lot of growth.”

Mac’s ability to push himself came in part from having Dan Kane as a coach and teacher at GSA.

“When you grow up in Downeast Maine, having a good work ethic is important,” he said.

Coach Kane “worked us hard, we understood why, we bought into that, we looked up to him, and we respected him. We weren’t necessarily the most skilled soccer team out there, but we were going to be the most fit.”

Best Experience: Mac’s first 100-miler, the Long Haul 100. “I had a plan and I executed it really well. When a little situation popped up, there was a solution to it. That’s one of my mantras ‘There are no problems, there are situations.’”

Worst Experience: The Trident Ridge to Nowhere, a 3.3-mile loop every hour for 12 hours. “It’s all in sugar sand. You’re just spinning your wheels constantly. The ground temps were about 120 degrees at the start of the race. I couldn’t keep anything down. My legs locked up as I was trying to go out on the tenth loop. It was the most excruciating cramping I’ve ever experienced.”

Last Word: “A big piece of why I run is that I’m in recovery. I’ve been sober for about 10 years. I’m a recovering alcoholic. Everything about running mirrors the recovery process. They are so closely intertwined that it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.”

Mac Jackson lives in Florida with his wife, Hillary, and his children, Maisie (7), Stella (5), and Raife (2). He is the Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at Palm Beach Day Academy.

Mac Jackson '99 celebrates his JW Corbett 50K win with daughters Maisie and Stella.

Photo courtesy of Mac Jackson.

Fun Facts

Mac gets 350-400 miles out of running shoes. That’s about six pairs a year.

He generally takes in 100 calories every half hour during a race.

Skratch is Mac’s go-to electrolyte mix, but he turns to GU Roctane Summit Tea when his “stomach starts to twist.”

He makes his own training food, such as rice balls wrapped in seaweed, avocado sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, and “this sort of oat, date, peanut butter cookie.

Ultra goal: “Build his resume” for the Badwater 135 through Death Valley.