Head Coach Laura Heilman
Laura Heilman was a two-time Pennsylvania State Champion in both Track and Basketball while attending Lancaster Catholic HS. She was also named Pennsylvania’s High School Female Athlete of the Year by USA Today Newspaper. Laura continued her Track and Cross-Country career at the University of Pittsburgh where she held Five Track records for over 10 years.
Her coaching experience started at the Academy of Notre Dame High School in Villanova, PA (2007-2012). There, Laura
- helped the Irish break over 25 school Track and Field records in both Indoor and Outdoor Track,
- was named 2011 PA Independent School Athletic Association Cross Country Coach of the Year,
- won Five PAISAA State Team Championship Titles in Track and Field and Four PAISAA State Team Championship Titles in Cross Country.
- Her Indoor Track Distance Medley Relay (400, 800, 1200, 1600 legs) broke the Pennsylvania State Record and finished 2nd in the country at the New Balance Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 11:48.
- Several of Laura’s High School athletes continued their Track and Field and Cross-Country careers at Division 1 and Division 3 programs throughout the country.
After taking several years off from coaching to raise her son Owen, Laura decided to return to coaching in 2015-2019 to coach her son’s school youth Track and Cross-Country teams. Several of her athletes received All-American honors at the AAU Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships and the Coaches Cross-Country Youth National Championships.
When COVID-19 began in 2020, she established Seven Locks Running Club.
As head coach of Seven Locks Running Club, Coach Heilman and her athletes have collected
- 4 Team Trophies at the AAU Cross Country Championships,
- 10 National Championship titles and 59 All-American medals across the AAU Junior Olympics, USATF Junior Olympics, Cross Country Coaches Youth National Championships, and AAU Cross Country National Championships,
- 2 National Records at the AAU Junior Olympics,
- and the 2022 TF Maryland AAU’s Outstanding Athlete award.
- Coach Heilman also received the Maryland AAU’s Outstanding Coach award for the 2022 Track and Field season.
Coach Paul Tibbits
Paul has been doing sports of some sort or another — running, road biking, mountain biking, soccer, rock climbing — ever since he can remember. He caught the running bug after running a fundraising marathon in 2001 and he has been running ever since. His best running memories are pushing 2 of his kids in a jogging stroller throughout Potomac, Bethesda, and DC, sometimes logging up to 17 miles at a time. He is looking forward to working with the young kids so they believe that running can be a fun way to explore the world around them.
Coach Dan Porto
Coach Dan brings to the team a wealth of athletic and international experience in team sports — Brazilian football (soccer), American football, and basketball; martial arts — Judo, Mua Thai, Taekwondo, and BJJ; track and field — sprinting and long jump; other racing — BMX, kart racing, swimming (in Brazil, Bolivia and US); and more — gymnastics, shooting (50m air rifle), CrossFit, Olympic lifting, rock climbing, and kayaking. Needless to say he loves a challenge.