“Dividing Lines” follows ultra-athlete, coach, and sports nutritionist Jackson Long as he embarks on his rookie attempt at the Tour Divide. From training as a skier through the Idaho winter to the trials and tribulations faced out on the trail, it captures the essence of what it’s like to pursue difficult sporting challenges. Watch the 30-minute video here…

Jackson Long was one of the recipients of the 2023/2024 Be Good Foundation Bikepacking Scholarship. He has only recently fallen in love with ultra-endurance races, lining up for the Fitzgerald’s Joyride in 2022, Smoke ‘n’ Fire in 2023, and the Tour Divide earlier this year. He took first place at the 2024 Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400 in Idaho, and we expect we’ll be seeing more from him soon.

Dividing Lines shares Jackson’s 2024 Tour Divide story, from training to the event itself, and the challenges that come with pursuing events like these. Watch the full 30-minute video below, and then scroll down for a short written reflection with photos from Jackson.

Words and photos by Jackson Long

Ultra racing is a dance with the unknown, a commitment to facing challenges and experiences that are, on the one hand, profoundly transformative and, on the other, potentially heartbreaking. It’s a beautiful sport—one that gives and takes so much. It’s precisely this stepping into the arena and facing failure and triumph that hooks us. The Tour Divide is perhaps the most iconic arena us competitive bikepackers seek to test ourselves in.

  • Dividing Lines Tour Divide
  • Dividing Lines Tour Divide
  • Dividing Lines Tour Divide

Dividing Lines is the story of my rookie attempt on the Tour Divide. As a lifelong endurance athlete, I’m no stranger to pushing myself and reveling in hard things, yet this would be an entirely new level of challenge. It explores the many lines and dichotomies of the process, from training primarily on skis through the Idaho winter to the revelations learned about my relationship to racing, fear, and failure when things don’t work out as planned. My hope is that this film inspires fellow athletes to rethink their definitions of success, performance, and failure, while embracing experience over outcome in these kinds of pursuits.

  • Dividing Lines Tour Divide
  • Dividing Lines Tour Divide

This project wouldn’t have been possible without the support of The Be Good Foundation, Rebecca Rusch, Jay Petervary, and the backers of our Kickstarter, where we raised over $5,000 for Be Good and the Love Like Ky Foundation.

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