Freeport grad wins ultramarathon

By Bill Beckner Jr. VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Thursday, July 17, 2008 People often ask Jamie (Rutkoski) Donaldson if she sees mirages when she runs through the desert. "Nope," said the Freeport graduate who lives in Littleton, Colo. "Unfortunately, I have no stories to tell like that. I get so focused on what I'm doing and what's ahead." Donaldson, 33, doesn't need mirages to make her story sound any better. Saying she ran 135 miles in just more than a day's time, in sweltering heat, in the heart of the California desert, will get most people's attention. On Monday and into Tuesday, she conquered the brutal course from Badwater in Death Valley to the near-summit of Mt. Whitney in 26 hours, 51 minutes and 33 seconds to win the Badwater Ultramarathon women's title in record fashion. Donaldson, a math teacher at Sheridan Middle... [read full story]