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Jackson Spencer, a high school senior from Utah, capped off one of history's most remarkable cross country seasons with national titles at both Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) and Brooks Nationals. His rise wasn't sudden. After showing early promise, he moved to Utah for high school and joined one of the nation's most competitive programs as a junior. There, he gained valuable experience training alongside top-tier athletes. By the time this fall rolled around, Jackson had stepped into the lead role, taking on the challenge of racing up front and delivering in every major meet.
Training Insights
Jackson came into the season with fairly strong fitness. His summer training was consistent, and he started the fall with a Base Fitness of around 100. Over the next several months, he grew that number by nearly 50%, peaking at a Base Fitness of 146 before the national races. He had several strong blocks, with carefully-planned recovery phases in between. The most intense blocks were the week leading up to Clovis (his highest mileage week) and the build towards nationals.
With a win at the Woodbridge Invite, was clear this season was going to be strong from the start. However, the first historical moment for Jackson came at the Clovis Invite: he not only won but broke the course record previously held by German Fernandez."My coach told me I'd have to run under 4:25 for the last mile,"Jackson recalled."It seemed impossible. But somehow it happened."
