FARMINGTON — Mt. Blue High School runner Sully Jackson is hosting the Winter Dash on Saturday to help pay for his trip to the Junior Olympic National Cross Country Championship next week in Albuquerque, N.M.
Proceeds from the 5K run/walk and 1-mile race on the Whistle Stop railroad bed, along with donations, will help defray costs for the trip, said his mother, Christine Jackson, who will accompany him. His father, Kevin, and two siblings will cheer him on from home in East Wilton.
The high school senior will time racers in this weekend’s Winter Dash, which was initially held to defray costs for Mt. Blue students to run in national competitions. About four runners from Mt. Blue have participated in recent years, he said.
Jackson qualified for the Dec. 8 national championship at a regional competition Nov. 18 on Long Island, N.Y. About 30 racers competed in his age group, he said.
Overcoming some minor injuries, he rallied to finish in his fastest time ever of 16 minutes and 40 seconds for a 5K, his mother said. Five kilometers is about 3.1 miles.
“He came back and had a stellar race,” she said.
It broke his personal record of 17 minutes and 29 seconds last year at the National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Jackson believes he can place well in this year’s national race of about 120 runners his age, although he expects the winner will complete it in 15 minutes, 15 seconds.
In Albuquerque, Jackson will be the only male runner from Maine in his age group.
“The time between the No. 15 and the No. 25 racer is just a matter of seconds,” Christine Jackson said.
Jackson started running in middle school as a sprinter. Before his freshman year at Mt. Blue, assistant coach Brian Kelly invited Jackson to join the cross country team. Used to short sprints, he decided he could go longer.
“I like running and competing to see how fast I can go,” he said.
Jackson prepares for cross country or participating in the USA Track and Field events, such as the National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship, by running every day.
The USA Track and Field governs a variety of cross country meets and road races and is involved in choosing adults to compete in Olympic events, he said.
Preserving energy for the Dec. 8 national race, Jackson is running about five to six miles a day, instead of the eight to 10 during the peak of cross country season, he said.
He has also started the Nordic ski season with the Mt. Blue ski team and will participate in track and field in the spring.
Then it’s on to college in the fall where he plans to major in environmental studies and continue with cross country and track and field.
abryant@sunjournal.com
What: 2012 Winter Dash, a 5K run/walk and 1-mile race.
When: Saturday, Dec. 1. Registration begins at noon, lasts until 10 minutes before race start: 1-miler at 1 p.m.; 5K run/walk at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Whistle Stop railroad bed in West Farmington
Registration fees: 5K, $10; 1-mile, $5; participating in both, $12.
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- Mt. Blue High School senior Sully Jackson, front, will host the Winter Dash, a 5K and 1-mile run/walk on the Whistle Stop railroad bed in Farmington on Saturday.
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