833. Catching Up with Heather MacLean, New Balance Professional Athlete

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Fitness, Sports, Running, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"I'm entering a new era where I'm prioritizing myself and my happiness, and also looking for more ways to do what the goal is at the end of the day, which is to make myself the best athlete I can be in this small amount of time that I get to do this in my life."

Heather MacLean has had a big summer. In this conversation, she talks about the decision to leave Team New Balance Boston and coach Mark Coogan, and to be trained by Juli Benson. Heather spent much of the summer in Flagstaff, AZ, training alongside fellow Juli Benson-coached athletes Nikki Hiltz and Helen Schlachtenhaufen, and she explains the importance of finding like-minded training partners. Plus, Heather shares her reflections on her 2025 outdoor season, including finishing fourth in the 1500m final at U.S. Outdoor National Championships, and capping off the season in Europe with three Diamond League races (including a personal best in the 1500m in Silesia!). (Heather ended up scratching from the Fifth Avenue Mile due to illness.)

SPONSOR:

New Balance: Click here to get your hands on the just-released New Balance FuelCell SC Elite v5!

In this episode:

How Heather is feeling about turning 30 (4:55)
What's making Heather happy today? (11:00)
Before scratching, how Heather was feeling about running the Fifth Avenue Mile (14:15)
All about Heather's big life changes, including leaving Team New Balance Boston to be coached by Juli Benson (18:15)
On training with fellow 1500m runner Nikki Hiltz (29:00)
Heather's takeaways from U.S. Outdoor National Championships, where she finished fourth in the 1500m final (35:05)
Heather's reflections on the rest of her outdoor racing season, racing the Diamond League circuit in Silesia, Brussels, and Zurich (39:25)
Heather's take on The State of Race Bibs (53:55)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Allie on the Run Show is brought to you by New Balance. Go to newbalance.com
0:05.6	running to check out the just released New Balance Fuel Cell SCLE V5.
0:15.5	Welcome to the Alley on the Run show. I'm your host, Allie Feller, and this is where I talk with
0:20.5	people who are doing exciting things on the run show. I'm your host, Ali Feller, and this is where I talk with people who are doing
0:21.3	exciting things on the run and beyond. From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the
0:27.1	everyday, amateur, and back of the pack runner, we are here to celebrate everyone and anyone
0:32.3	who enjoys a life on the run. So whether you are running towards something big or away from
0:37.3	something that's been holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the run. So whether you are running towards something big or away from something that's
0:37.9	been holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace. My guest today is
0:43.3	professional runner, New Balance athlete, and Olympian Heather McLean. You know Heather. We all love
0:49.6	Heather. I think Heather might be one of the most lovable people in track and field. We did a live show together at the track at New Balance back in April during Boston Marathon weekend, and Heather and I had a lot to catch up on. Since April, Heather has had quite a bit of change in her life. She moved to just outside Boston, and after years with Team New Balance Boston and being coached by Mark Kugan,
1:11.6	Heather felt it was time to change it up.
1:13.9	Brief interruption, it is currently 1111 as I'm recording this, so everyone make a wish.
1:20.0	Awesome.
1:21.4	Heather is now coached by Julie Benson.
1:24.0	Yeah, that name.
1:24.8	It's coming up a lot lately.
1:26.5	Julie also coaches Nikki Hiltz, Helen Schlocktonhofen, and Emma
1:30.2	and Heather spent a lot of time training with them this summer in Flagstaff. In this episode, we talk about
1:35.9	all of it, including the factors that went into that decision to leave Team New Balance Boston,
1:40.7	what it's been like training alongside fan favorite Nikki Hilt and how Heather Heather is reflecting on her 2025 outdoor season, which she is about to wrap up, though at the time I'm recording this, that's true.
1:51.4	She'll be at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City this weekend. By the time you're listening to this, we'll know how it went.
	...

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