Heather Jackson’s past life as one of the best American triathletes of her time paid dividends at Unbound XL on 31 May. The 41-year-old New Hampshire native took to the front of the XL peloton, settled into her tri bars, and simply stayed there, motoring along at more than 17 miles per hour.
After nearly 21 relentless hours in the lead, Jackson rolled into Emporia, Kansas, having conquered the infamously rough 358-mile (576 km) course in 20:57:57. With this time, Jackson smashed the previous women’s record of 22:25:15, set by Cynthia Frazier in 2022, and placed eighth overall, beating the majority of the men’s field in the process.
