Ex-PSU standout setting the pace for ultra runners

Tara Murray For the CDT

As a Nittany Lion, Jamie Donaldson’s races were measured in minutes. These days, her races often start one day and finish the next.

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Former Penn State runner Jamie Donaldson recently set the American record for 200 kilometers during a 24-hour race.

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On Sept. 27, Donaldson broke the American record for 200 kilometers en route to winning a 24-hour footrace in Ottawa, Canada.

Donaldson covered a total of 133.28 miles in 24 hours starting on Sept. 26 and finishing on Sept. 27, setting a women’s course record at the Ottawa International 24 Hour Self-Transcendence Race and beating all other competitors, male and female. Following the race, USA Track & Field named Donaldson Athlete of the Week.

Her time at the 200-kilometer mark (124.27 miles) of 21 hours, 1 minute, 22 seconds surpassed by more than six minutes the previous American record, set by Sue Ellen Trapp of Portland, Ore., in 1991.

In a recent phone interview, Donaldson said that when she realized she was on pace to break the 200-kilometer record, she “picked up the pace for the next couple hours.” When reminded that most people can’t imagine running for that length of time at any pace, she admitted, “It definitely sounds crazy.”

For an experienced ultramarathoner like Donaldson, a 26.2-mile marathon is just another training run. The Pennsylvania native, now lives near Denver, where she logs about 200 miles a week at high altitude when she is training for a race, including back-to-back 40-to 50-mile long runs on the weekends.

While the distances she ran were much shorter during her Penn State years, Donaldson says her time here prepared her well.

A 1996 graduate, she ran on the cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field teams at Penn State under coach Teri Jordan, who now leads Penn State’s Ability Athletics program.

“Coach Jordan was great at instilling a good work ethic in us, and that has carried through to my training now,” Donaldson said.

She also remembers another Penn State coach, who is the author of a quote on her personal Web site — “Believe down deep in your heart that you are destined to do great things.”

“My dad was a big football fan, and being able to go to Penn State and meet Joe Paterno meant a lot to me,” she said.

Donaldson began running when she was age 6 with her marathon-running father, and went on to be a PIAA All-State cross country runner and WPIAL double gold medalist in track at Freeport High School in western Pennsylvania. She ran her first marathon in 2002 and her first ultramarathon in 2004.

She first tried the 50K distance to increase her mileage and improve her marathon times, but immediately got hooked on the longer distance. Her next race was a 100-miler and she’s been racking up ultra wins ever since.

Donaldson is a two-time winner at the Badwater 135-Mile Ultra Marathon, considered to be one of the most challenging races in the world. She will represent the U.S. at the 24-Hour World Championships for the third consecutive year in 2010. In May, she led Team USA to a silver medal at the championships in Italy, finishing fourth in the women’s competition and ahead of all other American men and women.

She hopes to increase the number of miles she can run in 24 hours to be more competitive with international runners. Her best mileage is in the 130-mile range, but she thinks she needs to be able to cover about 150 miles to beat the French women. Donaldson said the world championship is a special race for her, not only because she gets a chance to travel, but also for the opportunity to represent her country.

A local Happy Valley race would also be special to her. Donaldson said her schedule has not allowed her to run the Tussey Mountainback 50-miler yet, but that she is anxious to try the race, which hosted the USA 50 Mile Championships this year. “I cannot wait to do that,” she said. “It would be great to be back running there.”

In the meantime, Donaldson will be preparing for the world championships and fitting in her grueling training around her job as a math teacher. “I don’t sleep that much,” Donaldson said with a laugh. “It’s like I have two full-time jobs.” She also coaches middle school cross country, which allows her to pass on the love of running that her father instilled in her.