Garrett Heath (born November 3, 1985) is an American runner from
Winona, Minnesota
Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...
, who raced in various
middle and
long-distance running events. He represented the United States at the
2010 World Indoor Championships where he finished seventh in the 1500 meters. He is the elder brother of
Elliott Heath.
High school
Heath is from Winona, Minnesota where he won 6 state titles in track and field and
cross-country and two state titles in
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
. He qualified for the
Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in his junior and senior years of high school and finished sixth in 2002
and 10th in 2003.
Collegiate
Heath graduated high school and attended
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he was a nine-time All-American (placing in the top 8 at the national championships in track and field or 35 in the single-event NCAA cross-country championships) including leadoff leg to the championship distance-medley relay team in the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He specialized in the 1500, mile and 5K and was one of the lead runners for the Stanford cross-country team. He broke the
4-minute mile barrier in 2007. He was one of only three collegians along with teammate Russell Brown and
Leonel Manzano to run a mile in under four minutes that year. Heath was also the runner-up to Oklahoma State University's
German Fernandez in the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Post-collegiate
As a professional, Heath ran for Brooks, training with the
Brooks Beasts track club. In 2012, the Olympic year, he was ranked 4th among US distance runners in the mile and the 1500m indoors. He was ranked 8th among U.S. 1500m runners for outdoor track. He finished ninth in his semifinal heat at the Olympic Trials, thus failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Team. Heath defeated
Leonel Manzano in 2013 to win the USA 1 Mile Road Championship. In 2014, Heath was the surprise winner of the
Great Edinburgh International Cross Country short course (4 km) race, then defended his title by winning again in 2015. A third victory came in 2016 when he gave world champion
Mo Farah
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World tit ...
his first cross country defeat since 2010.
In 2022, Heath transitioned away from racing on the track and began focusing on
trail racing as part of the Brooks Trail Running Team.
USA National Championships
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Garrett
1985 births
Living people
People from Winona, Minnesota
Track and field athletes from Minnesota
American male middle-distance runners
Stanford Cardinal men's track and field athletes
Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games
Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States
Stanford Cardinal men's cross country runners
21st-century American sportsmen
NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners