Annie Heffernan 
St. Ursula- Cincinnatti 2015
Personal Bests
- 1,600 Meter Run 4:50.34
- Two Mile Run 10:13.58
- 3,200 Meter Run 10:14.91
- Three Mile Run 17:40.80
- 5,000 Meter Run 17:39.00
- 800 Meter Run 2:16.08
- One Mile Run 4:52.43
St. Ursula Academy-Cincinnatti's Annie Heffernan has burst onto the Ohio and the National scene on the track and on the course. As a Sophomore, she won the D1 State 3,200 setting a new State record of 10:14.91. She has a State D1 leading time this Fall in Cross Country of 17:39. She was 3rd in last years D1 State Cross Country Championships and as we move into the post season, she has established herself as the one to beat. She is positive, running fast, and when it comes to goals, her goal is to "never limit" herself!
Ohio MileSplit: Congratulations Annie for a very successful Sophomore season and an excellent 2013 Cross Country Season thus far. You currently have the fastest D1 time in the State and the overall 2nd fasted time in the State with a sub-18 minute 17:39.00. Surrounding you and your time are two very talented underclassmen, Sophomore Mary Kate Vaughn of Oakwood with a time of 17:36.00 and Junior Sarah Kanney of Coldwater with a time of 17:54.58.
Let’s talk about Cross Country first and then track. Did you run XC as a Freshman?
Annie: Yes I did! My PR was 18:51 at Centerville.
Ohio MileSplit: You were 3rd in last year’s D1 State Championship, running 17:45.07. What were your expectations going into that meet? At the 1st mile you had about a 20 yard lead. You were leading through the 2-mile. At what point did Jacquelyn Crow and Janelle Noe pass you? Can you take us through the meet? Start, 1st mile, 2nd mile and through the finish. What were your thoughts?
Annie: I knew there was going to be a lot of competition going into the meet, but it was my first time going to state and so I was just really excited to compete at that level. My coach had run through the course with me during the previous week, so I knew I had to get out quick to secure a spot in the front pack before the first turn where the course narrows out. At the first mile, I was pretty comfortable in the lead and I kept my pace steady. At the second mile, before I went into the woods, I could hear someone behind me, but I felt like I had a lot left, so I gradually picked up speed. I felt strong through the third mile, but Jacquelyn and Janelle ended up passing me about 100 meters from the finish. They are both very strong runners and they just had a better race than I did that day!
Ohio MileSplit: In this XC season you have run some dominant races, besting the current D1 champion in two of the races: 18:02.69 at OHSAA Pre-Season HS Invitational, 17:54.52 at the Moeller Primetime Invitational, 18:26.99 at Lebanon Invitational and 18:09.32 at the Mason Cross Country Invitational. What goals have you set for yourself?
Annie: My goal for every season is just to improve each week. As long as I know I’m working hard and my times are getting faster, I’m happy.
Ohio MileSplit: You were invited to a Nike Elite Camp? Can you tell us about the camp? Are you planning to run both Nike and New Balance Championships after the OHSAA State Championship?
Annie: Nike Camp was a lot of fun, but it was also a great learning experience for me. I had the opportunity to spend a few days training with and learning from many talented high school runners, as well as professional athletes, coaches, and running experts. We talked about topics from sports nutrition to injury prevention and were led in a different workout every day by the professional athletes, who were lucky to have as our mentors for the duration of the camp. I definitely feel like I gained a lot from the experience and I really hope I’m invited back next year! As far as after the State Championship, my team is planning on competing in both the Nike and Footlocker Championships at the end of the season.
Ohio MileSplit: After the State Track meet last Spring did you take any time off? What type of mileage did you do over the summer? All base work or any interval type runs? Do you include any 5 or 10K runs in your summer training?
Annie: After the State Track meet, I took 9 days off of running, but I still came to practice after a week to be with the rest of the team during the beginning of conditioning. Over the summer, we did about 30-35 miles a week of just base work, such as tempo runs. Because our season started a little earlier than usual, we were not able to do any 5K runs during our summer training.
Ohio MileSplit: From watching you run both XC and track, it appears that you like to run out front set the pace or push the pace with the leaders. As a Sophomore, are you comfortable running our front and setting the pace as a strategy, or is that just how you have developed as a runner in that not many girls at this point in your career have been able to run at your level, forcing you to take the lead in most races and just run your own race?
Annie: My strategy really depends on the race in particular. I’m fortunate enough to have many awesome coaches who are all runners themselves and are very knowledgeable about training and race strategy. One thing that they’ve taught me is that you can never tell how a race is going to unfold, so you need to know how to respond to the specific situation of that race. Sometimes it’s smarter to take control of a race early and sometimes it’s better to just sit for a while. You also need to keep in mind that you only need to be your best at the end of the season.
Ohio MileSplit: What is a typical workout week for you right now with an Invitational on the weekend? Monday through Friday?
Annie: Mondays are our off days, Tuesdays and Thursdays are our workout days, and Wednesdays and Fridays are our recovery days.
Ohio MileSplit: Are you doing any speed work at this time?
Annie: Right now, we are doing some speed work on our workout days.
Ohio MileSplit: Let’s move on to Track. As a Freshman you were running the 800 and did not make it to State, placing 5th in the D1 Vinton Woods District with a time of 2:21.86. Why were you running the 800 at that time? When was the decision made to move up to the 3,200? Why was the decision made?
Annie: During winter track last year, we discovered I was iron-deficient, so I didn’t run for the first few weeks of the spring season. When I came back, I was still a little weak and behind in my training, so my coach had me run the 800 so I could have some experience for the next track season, when I would be part of our team’s 4x800 relay. I think it paid off because I was really comfortable with the 800 this year and our 4x800 team placed 8th at state.
Ohio MileSplit: Last March you won the OATCCC Indoor State Championship in a time of 10:45.00. Are your plans to run indoors in the 3,200 again and to defend your Championship? Did you do any speed work during the indoor season or just rely on your base strength and ability from the Cross Country season?
Annie: I hope to run again this year at Indoor State, but it really depends on our training plan and the rest of the season. Normally, we don’t do much speed work in the winter, but sometimes we’ll have a few intervals in our training plan.
Ohio MileSplit: What type of speed do you have? 400? When the outdoor track season comes, specific pace times become much more important as they are much truer times than in XC. How much pace work do you do in the track season? What is a typical pace type workout?
Annie: My coach says I’m very strong when it comes to speed endurance, which is important to have when racing middle and long distances. We do a lot of pace work in the track season and my coach has me log my time for each interval of the workout. We run a variety of distances for our intervals from 100s to 1000s and we hardly ever do the same workout twice.
Ohio MileSplit: How much speed work do you do on the track? What is a typical speed workout.
Annie: We do speed work once or twice a week during the track season and our workouts normally include any combination of intervals from 100s to 400s.
Ohio MileSplit: Are you doing any weight training?
Annie: Yes, during both the track and cross country seasons we weight train twice a week.
Ohio MileSplit: Last Spring you won the D1 3,200 in 10:14.91 breaking the D1 record of 10:16.10 set in 2011 by North Royalton’s Hanna Neczypour. Your run also set a new State meet record and Owens Stadium Record breaking Claire Durkin of Worthington Kilborne’s 2008 10:25.95 record. What was your race strategy going into the race? Did the race go as you had planned?
Annie: Going into the race, I knew that there was going to be plenty of competition, but I remained confident in my training. My coach had been preparing me for the state meet since December and I knew all the hard work we had done had been planned around this race. I didn’t expect to break the record, but it was a great end to the regular season.
Ohio MileSplit: How do you mentally prepare for your races and what are your race strategies? Are you visualizing your races?
Annie: Like I said before, you never really know how a race is going to turn out before it starts, so I don’t try to visualize something that might not even happen. But I do believe in staying calm and being positive about racing. I like to remind myself of all the time and hard work my coaches, teammates, and I have put into our training and all the people who believe in me and have supported me throughout the season. That helps me to feel confident in my abilities and push myself to be the best runner I can be.
Ohio MileSplit: How would you describe you as a runner?
Annie: I would describe myself as a very positive person. I’m always looking forward to the next workout or race and I never limit myself when it comes to goals.
Ohio MileSplit: What motivates Annie?
Annie: What motivates me the most are my teammates and my coaches. Our team is kind of like a family because we’re very close and we support one another. Seeing them working hard every day encourages me to do the same and when you’re part of a team you want to do the best you can so that you don’t let them down.
Ohio MileSplit: Have you set goals yet for Indoor Track and for Outdoor?
Annie: I haven’t really thought too much about the Track season, yet, but I hope to defend my titles in both the Indoor and Outdoor 3200 meters, go to state again with the 4x800, and run the 2 mile and 4x800 with my team at New Balance Nationals.
Ohio MileSplit: Thanks Annie. We are looking forward to watching you run in the remainder of the regular season and in the post season.
