598. Beyond the Run with Heather MacLean

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Fitness, Sports, Running, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2022

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"I'm very much a 'fall down eight times, get up nine' kinda girlie. I fall down a lot! I have a lot of mishaps. Races don't always go the best for me. I'm still working on a few things. It was just nice to have this moment where everything came together."

Last year, professional athlete Heather MacLean became a breakout star. The Team New Balance Boston athlete made her first Olympic team — every professional runner's dream. But with the ultimate high of getting to represent Team USA also came emotional lows. In this candid conversation, Heather talks about the pressure and expectations she felt heading into last year's U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, and about the not-so-glamorous side of running for a living. She also talks about the post-Tokyo comedown and how she dealt with it. Then, we talk all things 2022: Heather's highlight reel, her first U.S. National title, and her first sub-4:00 1500m race in Monaco. Plus, setting boundaries, how to protect your space, and how to go through life as a people-pleaser who is friends with everyone.

SPONSOR: New Balance. Click here to learn all about the conversations New Balance is having to promote mental wellness.

What you'll get on this episode:

Heather recaps her trip to Hawaii for the Kalakaua Merrie Mile (5:55)
Where Heather falls on the introvert vs. extrovert scale (9:00)
Heather reflects on the summer of 2021, including the pressure and stress she felt heading into the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials (11:00)
How it feels to be left off the pre-race prediction lists (19:30)
Heather's experience with the post-Olympics blues (27:00)
Heather shares her 2022 highlight reel (38:40)
Heather and Allie Wilson's adventures in Monaco (41:55)
Heather talks about winning her first U.S. National title, and what it meant to trust herself during a race (54:25)
What Heather is looking forward to in 2023 (1:04:50)

For more, check out:

Allie Wilson on Episode 469 of the Ali on the Run Show

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain

Follow Heather:

Follow Ali:

SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by New Balance.
0:04.6	Go to NewBalance.com slash Beyond the Run to learn more about what New Balance is doing
0:10.6	to support the conversations around running and mental wellness.
0:19.0	Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show.
0:21.4	I'm your host Allie Feller and this is Beyond the Run.
0:25.5	This series has come your way twice a month, all year long, on The Alley on the Run Show.
0:31.0	My goal with these conversations has been to talk about running and mental wellness
0:35.5	and the connection between the two.
0:37.6	We've done that by hearing from a mix of industry professionals, professional athletes,
0:42.2	and everyday runners.
0:44.5	If you can believe it, this is the final Beyond the Run conversation for 2022.
0:50.4	It's been 23 episodes of hearing about the importance of mental health on the run and beyond.
0:57.2	So today, to close it all out, I am so excited to have team New Balance boss in athlete
1:03.8	and Olympian Heather McLean on the show.
1:07.8	Heather had a breakout year last year when she made her first Olympic team in the 1500 meters.
1:13.0	In this conversation, though, we hear about the less glamour aside of becoming one of the world's fastest women.
1:18.7	The stress, the pressure, the expectations, and the calm down.
1:23.0	Heather talks about her experience with the post-Olympics lows and how she got through it.
1:29.1	Then, we talk all things 2022.
1:32.5	Heather shares her highlight reel, which included her first US national title at USA Indoor's
1:37.1	Last February, a distance-medley relay world record with her New Balance teammates in April,
1:43.3	and her first sub-four-minute 1500-meter race in Monaco this summer.
	...

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