Jamie Rutkoski Donaldson is running for her life.

The 1992 Freeport graduate has been doing so since she was 6 years old, actually.

"My Dad ran a lot of big marathons when I was little and I'd always run the last mile with him,"Donaldson said. "I guess I got started in the sport a little early."

Once she got started, she never quit.

Rutkoski started the cross country program at Freeport during her junior year in 1990, becoming the school's first and only runner that year. She went on to claim WPIALtitles in cross country and track distance running.

After a successful career at Penn State, where she met her husband, then-Nittany Lion soccer player David Donaldson, she developed a liking for longer distance running.

"My college coaches discouraged marathon running because they thought that it would do more damage than good,"Donaldson said.

Donaldson finally ran her first marathon, the Pittsburgh Marathon, with her father, Rex Rutkoski, in 2003.

Now living in Littleton, Colo., she wound up running more than 20 marathons and more than 20 ultra-marathons, including the Leadville (Colo.) Trail 100, a 100-mile run in the Rocky Mountains that climbs nearly 13,000 feet.

Donaldson finished fourth among women in that event last year. She finished second this year, completing the course in 23 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds in late August.

"That first marathon in 2003, I didn't know what to expect, so I had no expectations,"Donaldson said. "When it was over, I knew I could be better.

"I've learned to push myself."

Rex Rutkoski still recalls that 2003 Pittsburgh Marathon.

"I've probably done 11 marathons or so in my lifetime, but I hadn't done one in 20 years," he said. "Jamie always had a love for distance running and I wanted to run one with her.

"Once she caught the ultramarathon bug, she was headed for a different level."

And she's still going.

Donaldson ran the 2004 Boston Marathon in 3 hours and 10 minutes, finishing among the top 50 Americans in 87-degree temperatures.

"That race made me curious as to what I could do,"she said.

Once she ran her first ultramarathon — a 50-mile event — Donaldson was sidelined for a month, barely able to walk without her feet and ankles swelling.

By her second year of ultra-marathon running, she was back running within a week after the race.

"Keeping my feet elevated, taking anti-inflammatory medication, I had to learn all about that stuff,"Donaldson said.

In February, she ran a 100-mile race in Texas. She hopes to qualify for the 135-mile Bad Water Run in Death Valley next July.

"Only 90 people are accepted for that race,"Donaldson said. "It starts in Death Valley and you run up Mount Whitney. The temperature hits 135 degrees at one point.

"I really like to test myself. It intrigues me. I want to see what I can do."

A sixth-grade math teacher in Colorado, Donaldson admits she benefits from having summers off.

"Training for the (Aug. 20)Leadville 100 is pretty intense,"she said. "I'd run five or six hours at a time, try to tear my body down so I could get used to running tired.

"I'd climb a 14,000-foot mountain once or twice a week to get used to the altitude. These are things that would be hard to do if I was still working."

When she is teaching, Donaldson uses her running background to help motivate her students.

"She's really committed to sports and fitness,"her father said. "She helps and encourages kids to exercise. Her (students) do an exercise in plotting her course as a math-related equation.

"Jamie is inspiring to a lot of kids and adults in the Littleton area."

Her school board is honoring Donaldson for her accomplishments at the Leadville 100 at a Sept. 26 board meeting.

Donaldson's ultimate goal is to break the world record for consecutive miles run by a woman. The current mark is 301 miles.

"It's something to shoot for,"she said. "It can be done, so there's no reason why I can't do it."