She’s Back! Madeline Heiner on Her Return

Madeline Heiner was once a promising and talented junior, but shortly after reaching the senior ranks she walked away from the sport to focus on other life goals like studies and travel. But after several years away from the sport Madeline is back and better than ever. With PB’s of 8:44 for 3,000m, 15:11 for 5,000m and a 32:21 10km road time, there are plenty of great things on the athletics horizon for this young woman from the NSW South Coast.

What inspired you to start running again?

While I initially started running again in 2013 with the goal of breaking 40 minutes for a 10km, the competitive streak quickly returned and by the end of that year I was beginning to dream big. I feel like my comeback on the track happened as a result of me deciding not to focus on other peoples thoughts but rather on my own performance and goals. Once I was able to do this, the pure joy of running and competing returned and I realised I had absolutely nothing to lose.

You run Steeple, 5,000m and road, which do you prefer and why?

Im still yet to decide on this  – I love them all. At this stage im most competitive internationally in the steeplechase which is of course very exciting. The 5km is still quite new and I look forward to running in some more fast races – I feel like there is room for improvement and im eager for the chance to explore this. I really love the road races in Australia and cant wait to race in some of the iconic runs. At the moment however my focus is on performing well on the track, and so I will wait to explore the road racing scene.

What do you attribute most to your rise over the last 2 years?

Consistency. where I am now compared to where I was 12 months ago is incomparible and I attribute this to nearly 2 years of uninterrupted training. My coach, Adam Didyk, is always encouraging me to set goals, and then reset them. The goals i set myself now would have seemed impossible to me last year, but are gradually being reached,and I hope that the ones I set in 12 months time will be similarly ambitious.

What is your favourite session?

1km reps on the track. I find this session gives me a pretty clear indication of where my fitness is at and I love to look back and compare my performance with previous attempts.

What advice do you have for aspiring female distance runners?

Distance runners come in many shapes and sizes. I think body image is an important issue for female distance runners and I think its important to realise that no matter how much training we do, we dont all look the same. Looking along the start line of the diamond league races from this year there were plenty of different body types, but all the girls were strong, fit and healthy in their own way. Dont set limits. Im constantly surprised by what consistency and hard work can bring. I think we should all aim as high as we can.

What does an average week look like?

Monday – am (50 mins) pm (30 mins)
Tuesday – am threshold session (usually 6-7km volume)
Wednesday – 70 min easy run
Thursday – track – my shortest session of the week – usually a combination of longer (1000-1600m) and shorter reps (200-400m).
Friday – 30 mins easy run or rest day
Saturday – hill session or long reps (1600-2000m).
Sunday – 80-90 min long run