Heather MacLean (runner)

Heather MacLean (born August 31, 1995)^[1] is an American middle-distance runner.

Heather MacLean

Personal information
Born	(1995-08-31) August 31, 1995 (age 29) Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Massachusetts '17 '19 Peabody Veterans Memorial High School '13
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	800 m 1000 m 1500 m
College team	Massachusetts
Turned pro	2018
Coached by	Juli Benson

From Peabody, Massachusetts and an alumna of the University of Massachusetts, MacLean is based in Boston.^[2]

NCAA

In college at the University of Massachusetts, MacLean placed 10th in the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships 1500 meters.

She earned NCAA Division I All-American cross country honors at 2017 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships (the school's first woman to do so), and established records for the 800 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and the mile. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships in track and cross country. She was a finalist for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

MacLean placed 9th in the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships mile.

Professional

In 2018, MacLean began to be coached by Mark Coogan for Team New Balance Boston.

In 2019, she placed seventh in the USA Outdoor Championships 1500m, setting a personal best of 4:05.27. In the 2020 NYRR Wanamaker Mile, she finished sixth, clocking a personal best of 4:25.98, which placed her 15th on the U.S. women's all-time indoor list.^[1]

MacLean won the Blankenship Women's Mile in 4:27.54 at the 2021 American Track League meet number 2 in Fayetteville, and also the 1500 meters in 4:06.32 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in New York.^[3] At the delayed 2020 U.S. Olympic trials held in Eugene, Oregon, on June 21, 2021, she finished third in the women's 1500 m race (4:02.09), behind Elle Purrier St. Pierre and Cory McGee, to secure a place at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.^[4] At the Games, MacLean was eliminated in the semi-finals with a time of 4:05.33.^[1]

In February 2023 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, racing in the women's mile, MacLean edged out Canadian Lucia Stafford to win with a world-leading and personal best time of 4:23.42.^[5]

She ran a personal best 3:58.41 over 1500 metres at the US Olympic trials in June 2024.^[6] She won the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 1500 metres in February 2025, with a personal best 4:23.32.^[7] Later that month, she was runner-up to Georgia Bell in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in New York City.^[8] She finished third over 1500 metres at the 2025 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.^[9] She ran 4:17.01 for the mile on 2 March 2025 in Boston, to move to fourth on the women's world indoor mile all-time list.^[10] She was selected for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March 2025.^[11]

In June 2025, MacLean announced she would no longer be coached by Mark Coogan and train with New Balance Boston, but would now be coached by Juli Benson while still being based out of Boston.^[12] She finished fourth in the 1500 metres at the Diamond League event at the 2025 Golden Gala in Rome on 6 June 2025.^[13]

Statistics

Circuit performances

Grand Slam Track results[14]
Slam	Race group	Event	Pl.	Time	Prize money
2025 Kingston Slam	Short distance	800 m	7th	2:00.71	US$15,000
		1500 m	5th	4:07.11

International competitions

Representing the  United States

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	21st	1500m	4:05.33
2022	World Athletics Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	7th	1500m	4:06.38
	NACAC Championships	Freeport, The Bahamas	1st	1500m	4:04.53 CR
2025	World Athletics Indoor Championships	Nanjing, China	7th	1500m	4:05.45

Personal bests

• 800 metres – 1:58.77 (Concord, MA 202)4
  • 800 metres indoor – 2:00.53 (Fayetteville, AR 2021)
• 1500 metres – 3:58.31 (Eugene, OR 2024)
  • 1500 metres indoor – 4:05.29 (Boston, MA 2020)
• One mile – 4:31.13 (Birmingham 2019)
  • One mile indoor – 4:17.01 (Boston, MA 2025)