Heather May

March 24, 2004
(INDIANAPOLIS) The Indiana Invaders have added US Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier Heather May, a graduate of Grinnell College (IA) and West Lafayette High School (IN), to the team's roster.

May has a career best of 2:46.41 in the marathon set at the Motorola Marathon in Austin, Texas in February of 2004. May ran a 2:48:40 at Philadelphia in November of 2003 in addition to a 2:53:05 at the Boston Marathon in April of 2003. May's first marathon of 2:56:25 was the Columbus Marathon in October of 2002.

May, now 33 years old, first began running at the age of 28, several years after graduating with a Masters degree in Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis. While her training first began on a treadmill she soon found herself outdoors training at the very track, Washington University's Francis Field, which will be the start for this year's 2004 US Olympic Marathon Team Trials on April 3rd. May lived in St. Louis for five years and the first three years of her training and initial experiences with running were in St Louis' Forest Park, through which the Olympic Trials Marathon course will travel. May's introduction to competitive running and racing received a critical and vital leap forward with her joining the Indiana Track Club when she relocated to Bloomington, Indiana for the continuation of her graduate schooling.

The introduction to interval training and competitive local road racing by the Indiana Track Club led her to discover her hidden talents. Having never competed in running at the high school or collegiate level, May focused on dance performance and drama while in college and was a varsity tennis player in high school. May is currently working toward a PhD in Theatre & Drama at Indiana University.

Team Director Greg Harger said, "May is just beginning to realize her athletic potential. Her desire to see how good she can be is evident in her efforts and progression in the past 24 months. Her addition to the roster adds a unique, youthful enthusiasm due to her training age of just a couple years of serious training."