Once a Runner, Always a Runner: Heather MacDonald
When it comes to making the most out of the UBC experience, few can boast a résumé like Heather MacDonald’s. After graduating with a bachelor of science, MacDonald went on to receive a Ph.D in Human Kinetics and serve as an Assistant Professor. Furthermore, as a talented middle-distance runner for UBC Track, she left with impressive personal bests of 4:23 in the 1500m and 9:33 in the 3000m. It might come as a surprise, then, to hear that she wasn’t completely satisfied with her accomplishments.
“I had unfinished business after university,” MacDonald explains. “Injuries cut off my track career, and I left feeling I hadn’t achieved all that I could.”
While an Assistant Professor at UBC, MacDonald also worked with the Child & Family Research Institute, conducting research on the role played by physical activity in children’s health. During this time, she and her husband Jamie welcomed into their lives two daughters, Isla (born in 2010) and Lily (born in 2013). Then, in 2015, MacDonald left her faculty position to become the Associate Director of Research at the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, leading the Children and Youth Physical Activity Research Program.
Throughout all this, the desire to compete never left MacDonald. Over the years, she dabbled in triathlons and road cycling – but it was getting back into running that fuelled her fire.
“I just needed a goal, and somebody to give me a structure,” MacDonald says. Upon moving to Victoria, she found that somebody in Marilyn Arsenault – an accomplished master’s athlete and seasoned coach. Arsenault helped MacDonald form a plan which allowed her to train effectively in the midst of her busy professional and personal schedule. This entailed MacDonald doing all of her runs at 6am – allowing her to finish just in time to see her children off to school, before starting her day of work. It’s not a timetable that would work for everyone, but it provided MacDonald with the ability to train consistently – and the results soon began to follow.
In 2015, MacDonald kicked things off by winning her division in the Bazan Bay 5K in 18:24. She followed this up with an impressive 37:26 in the TC10K, displaying her new prowess over the longer distances. Then, in 2016, she produced her best performance yet to win the Master’s Division of the BC Cross Country Championships. In her first time running the race in over ten years, her overall placing of 23rd in the 70 women field had her right in the mix with the province’s best collegiate athletes.
“In university, I couldn’t imagine racing long-distance,” MacDonald tells me. “But now I’m excited to see what I can do. I want to improve my 10K PB, and try a half marathon.”
With her success, the message MacDonald sends is clear: If the competitive flame still burns, it is never too late to chase your athletic goals. With the path she is on, the best may still be yet to come for Heather MacDonald.
