HELENA – Helena’s Heather Lieberg didn’t have her best run last weekend at the L.A. Marathon, but after leading for 16 miles and finishing ninth, it was still pretty good.
The second-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary has been running professionally for four years and has many major runs under her belt. She actually finished fifth in the same LA race a few years ago, but this time around was different for Lieberg because she was bouncing back from an injury.
“I haven’t been able to race for two years because of my injury. I’ve been able to sign up for races, but not really push or do anything,” said Lieberg. “But I knew I felt good so I just went out and took the lead for about 16 miles, and I knew eventually with all the ups and downs at the bottom of 15 miles, it was pretty steep downhill, my quads were shot. But I thought ‘I’m just going to hang on as long as I can.’ My goal for this race was to go under 2:40, and I got that goal, so I’m happy with it. It was fun to race again, it was a lot of fun.”
Lieberg was one of five American women to place in the Top 10 of the L.A. marathon. Keely West Baker, the former Great Falls CMR and Montana State standout, placed 13th in the event, finishing in 2:49:46.
Click here for results from the 2018 L.A. Marathon.
