Heath's half marathon trail win earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Returning to the trail he used to ski as a high schooler and winning the USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships, Garrett Heath (Seattle, Washington/USATF Pacific Northwest) earned recognition as the 32nd USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
Running in muddy conditions Sunday near Cable, Wisconsin, Heath finished the 13.1-mile course on the American Birkebeiner trail in 1:13:44 to win by more than two minutes over Andy Wacker. Heath, an Olympic Trials finalist at 5,000m last summer and seventh in the 1,500m at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, was a Minnesota high school state champion in Nordic skiing and had previously skied the course several times. A two-time USATF Road Mile champion, Heath has transitioned from track to trail running and is a formidable competitor who has extensive international cross country experience.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Anna Dalton took the women's title at the USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships by 2:17 in 1:30:17, her first national title.
• Keira D'Amato ran the 10th-fastest women's marathon ever by an American, clocking 2:21:48 to place 6th at Berlin.
• Freshman Natalie Cook won the women's individual title to lead Oklahoma State to the team trophy at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater. Cook won in 20:17.1 over the 6km course.
• Maria Michta-Coffey won the USATF women's 5km Race Walk Championships in 22:45.
• Jason Cherng picked up his first U.S. national title, winning the men's 5km Race Walk Championships in 22:19.

Now in its 21st year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens; May 2, Erriyon Knighton; May 9, Emily Sisson; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Janee Kassanavoid; May 30, Michael Norman; June 6, Chari Hawkins; June 13, Devon Allen; June 27, Sydney McLaughlin; August 10, Roisin Willis; August 17, Grant Fisher; August 24, Kara Winger; August 31, Alicia Monson; September 7, Kara Winger; September 14, Joe Kovacs; September 21, Biya Simbassa; September 28, Garrett Heath.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.

Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.

Photo Credit: Garrett Heath