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Athlete Interview: Being Limitless, with Julia Heymach

By Janice Shin|Updated on April 22, 2024 (originally published on September 23, 2021)

**Athlete Interviews are posted every Thursday for recruiting advice, what to look for, and more.

Julia Heymach graduated from Stanford University with a degree in public policy. Julia was not only an exceptional student, but an exceptional athlete as well. She said Stanford was a good pick for her because she was “Picking strong academics and a strong team.” During her last season at Stanford, she ran in the 2021 Olympic trials for a time of 4:04.84 in the 1500m, just barely missing the qualifier of 4:04.20.

During her senior season, Julia talked with 2aDays about her recruiting process, life as a college athlete, and what it takes to be limitless.

Personal Bests and World Rankings (through 2021)

800m: 2:02.91; ranked 199th

1,500m: 4:04.84; ranked 93rd

Mile: 4:33.37; unranked

5000m: 15:33.62; ranked 146th

Career Accolades

Two-time All-American
XC All-West Region (2019)
West Regional XC team champion (2019)
Pac-12 XC team champion (2019)
XC All-Pac-12 second team (2019)
Three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic (T&F 2019, 2020; XC 2019)
Two-time MPSF All-Academic (2019, 2020)
Two-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (2019 XC, 2020 T&F)
Two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention (2018 XC, 2019 T&F)

Julia talks about the best advice that her college coaches gave her, and how they taught her she could be limitless.

Related: Coach Ratings

She says that times are important in getting noticed by coaches, but the whole athlete matters, not just times, when the coach starts recruiting an athlete. Stanford, unlike some other schools, requires athletes to pass academic approval before they can come for official visits, ensuring that all recruits are just as strong students as they are athletes.

Julia summarizes what it takes to be a good Stanford athlete: be tough, excited to be challenged, resilient, and humble.

She talks about balancing the importance of a good team dynamic with good coaches, suggesting that you have to love the school even without the coach, because coaching situations can change in an instant.