Happy Trails with JIM ALLOTT

By Jennifer Ferriss

Age: 65
Residence: Wilton
Hometown: Elizabethtown
Family: Wife, Kathy; Son, Kevin, 34; Terrier, Tasmin
Occupation: Retired Teacher and Coach
Sports: Just read the article!

Growing up within the ‘Blue Line’ of the Adirondack Park and later living on its perimeter, Jim Allott has always been passionate about the outdoors and adventure. With a natural competitiveness, a love for fun, and a dash of overachievement, Jim – son, brother, husband, father, teacher, athlete, and coach – jumped all in to adventure, wired to fearlessly accomplish, with vigor and talent.

His taste for independence and outdoor adventure was nurtured by his family. His father served on the ski patrol at Whiteface Mountain, where Jim learned to ski and spent most weekends with his older sister and twin brother, meeting their parents for lunch and after the last run. When the family moved to an old homestead farm with numerous barns, trails, hills, and even a pond, Jim’s explorations in his backyard during an era of free-range parenting deepened his relationship with nature.

By age 14, Jim and his brother were independently bike touring in Northern Vermont and camping in the High Peaks Wilderness. At 17, Jim headed west, spending most of the summer exploring various states alone. His brother eventually joined him, and together they ascended Colorado’s Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park – significantly higher than any peak in the Adirondack Park, standing at 14,256 feet. Before settling down to raise his family, Jim honed his outdoor athletic skills in Saranac Lake, learning to ice climb, rock climb, mountain climb, telemark ski, and compete in triathlons, Nordic ski racing, and road bike racing – all while balancing as a respiratory therapist at the Adirondack Medical Center and developing a relationship with his soon-to-be wife, Kathy. A canoe racer herself, she and Jim participated in the Adirondack Canoe Classic: The 90-Miler, three-day race that spans from Old Forge to Saranac Lake, with several carries in between. They competed in this event multiple times through the years.

After moving to Potsdam in the late 1980s and completing his master’s in education degree, Jim began his 31-year career at Potsdam High School as a science teacher. It was only natural for him to accept coaching the school teams, primarily in swimming and track, and to become the head coach for Clarkson University’s Nordic skiing and NCAA cross country running teams. In the summer, Jim also coached his son’s soccer team, completing his year-round commitment to coaching. His son, Kevin, is now an RN working in Asheville, N.C.

 Jim didn’t just coach; he worked alongside his athletes, participating in every workout. He emphasized the importance of understanding the “why” behind each drill, building trust and relationships. Many of his former athletes now give back to the community, whether through coaching, organizing events, or advancing in their sports. 

Jim embodies the principles he teaches student-athletes, knowing the rationale behind every practice and drill. He is personally motivated by the idea of registration: if you sign up for an event, you must be prepared. Time management is the key, having a plan with a reasonable schedule, mindset, nutrition, the proper equipment, and monitoring aches and pains. This equation helps him to the start and enables him to be competitive, not only in his age group but against the entire competitive field.

He has competed in numerous endurance races in the Adirondacks and beyond, continuing to do so in his 60s. His accomplishments include the Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, JFK 50-Mile ultramarathon, Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, and other major marathons. More recently, as a seasoned athlete, he turned to trail running, competing in the Wakely Dam Ultra 55K southbound on the Northville-Placid Trail, Great Adirondack Trail Run, and Catskill’s Escarpment Trail Race. Jim states, “My racing philosophy in general is, ‘I’m slowest of the fastest and fastest of the slowest.’”

Since retiring in 2019, Jim and his wife were finally free to travel. They spent three weeks camping in New Zealand and then hopped in their campervan during the pandemic to explore continental America, working on ascending the high points of each state. They accomplished all but four in their travels, with plans to ski Mount Hood in Oregon and Montana’s Granite Peak.

Jim has embarked on even more intense hiking and skiing adventures. He has climbed Cotopaxi in Ecuador, which stands at 19,500 feet above sea level, ski mountaineered the Haute Route, a hut-to-hut traverse linking Chamonix, France, to Zermatt, Switzerland, in the Alps, and backcountry skied in Hokkaido, Japan. Back at home, he was able to complete both his summer and winter Adirondack 46 High Peaks and hike Vermont’s 272-mile Long Trail.

Hitting 65 years of life, multi-sports are back in his repertoire. He continues to compete and finish strong. Just this year, he achieved second overall at the Saranac Lake 3P (pole-pedal-paddle winter triathlon) in March. The six segments of the race total 13.4 miles, including skinning up and skiing down Mount Pisgah, pedaling from the base to Dewey Mountain Recreation Center, and then Nordic skiing two laps, hopping back on a bike to the Saranac River to paddle down to the Saranac Lake Fish & Game Club. A few months prior, in October, Jim came in first overall at the inaugural Saranac Lake 3P (pedal-paddle-peak summer triathlon), which included gravel biking, paddling, and hike/trail running in the backcountry of Saranac Lake. Jim completed the legendary Norway Birkebeiner 54K cross-country ski race on March 15 and is headed to the XTERRA World Championship off-road triathlon in Italy this September.

Jim no longer gets nervous before a race. He appreciates that he is fortunate to line up with the other athletes at the start line (and it is not the Olympics!). He also has a no-regret mindset, even when things don’t go as planned – getting lost, having a mechanical issue, suffering emotional and physical pain, the triumphs, and the new and old friends – these make great memories.

Even though Jim retired from full-time teaching and seems to have filled it with a very active lifestyle, you can find him at the Saratoga Regional YMCA lifeguarding and teaching triathlon classes. Coach Allott could not let of his Nordic roots and for the past three years he has assisted with the new Shaker High School Nordic ski team. Giving back to the outdoor community that raised him, he is also an officer on the executive committee of the Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue. LASAR is a volunteer organization that assists with wilderness rescues in the Adirondacks.

On his small campervan, he sports two stickers: “Northeast Ultra 8” for completing the backpacking, ultra hiking, or trail running challenge with eight tough hikes (you earn patches by completing the hikes in under 24 hours): Mahoosuc Traverse (ME/NH), Cranberry 50 (NY), Pemi Loop (NH), Taconic Crest Traverse (NY/MA/VT), Saranac 6 (NY), Presidential Traverse (NH), Great Range Traverse (NY), Devil’s Path (NY).

The other sticker says, “Adventure Before Dementia.” Jim is going to keep giving his all to his family, community, and friends through travel, coaching, teaching, and being prepared to save your life while he still can. Jim offers some advice on aging and competing – let go of your youthful glory years and reset your expectations; embrace age-graded calculations and keep going.

Any one of Jim’s accomplishments impress, including his continued commitment to coaching and giving back to the community. Jim’s lifelong embrace of a meaningful and vigorous lifestyle, along with his forward-looking perspective, has lessons for adventurists of all ages.

Jennifer Ferriss (ferrissj@gmail.com) of Saratoga Springs leads an active outdoor lifestyle and is always in search of a new adventure. When the weather warms up, she commutes to her librarian gig on her 1980s Japanese Bianchi, with a backpack that carries more than meets the eye.