Heath made an immediate impact upon joining Winona High School's track team under coach John Ruggeberg, having already taken up running from sixth grade.[4] While a senior at Winona he was the 2007 U.S. Junior Cross Country champion,[5] and finished third in the two mile at the 2007 Nike Outdoor Nationals with a personal best of 8:46.12, which is a Minnesota high school record.[5]
Collegiate
Heath was accepted by Stanford in 2007,[4] the same university for which his brother Garett competed as a long-distance runner. Coached by Jason Dunn while at Stanford, he placed first in the 3000-meter race at the 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.[5]