Duke Athlete & HS Sub 4-Miler Jackson Heidesch Opens Up On His Battles With Mental Health, Almost Quitting The Sport, And His Future Within Track & Field

The journey of Jackson Heidesch is one of unbridled honesty and crushing heartbreak.

From high school standout to oft-injured Duke student-athlete, Jackson Heidesch has been forced to deal with more than just physical maladies.  

It's been 18 months of toil, rehab and bouts of depression for the Iowa native, who is now opening up about his mental health struggles. Jackson will be taking a designated pause from the NCAA to redshirt the entire indoor and outdoor season. 

Although he's been through ringer in his short running career, he seems to be setting the stage for a resurgence on and off the track and grass.

Jackson's hardships since agreeing to run for Duke include a couple of grade 4 stress fractures; mono, and the aforementioned depression. With a combination of family support and talk therapy, in addition to physical therapy work–Jackson has come out the other side of this dark tunnel ready to get back to logging miles and competing with the best in the country. 

Jackson was the 2022-23 Gatorade Boys Cross Country Player of the Year for Iowa, where he broke the 4 minute mile barrier to break the state record, running a 3:59.08 at the HOKA Festival of Miles. That year he also swept the 1600m and 3200m titles at the state meet, running a 4:07.28 and a 9:08.86, respectively. 

In today's conversation, Jackson takes me through his past two years of ups and downs, how he became aware of his mental health, his plans going into the future, and so much more. 

This one is deep, raw, emotional, take the time to be blessed by Jackson's vulnerability and share with someone you know. 

Tap into the Jackson Heidesch Special.

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