[4] In 2005, she was Australian under-20 cross-country champion and placed 16th in the junior race at the World Cross Country Championships in Saint-Galmier.

[5] She joined the training group of coach Adam Didyk; her first race back was in January 2014, after a hiatus of almost eight years.

[4][5] Her times improved rapidly, and she met her initial goal of qualifying for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow; she represented Australia in the 3000 metres steeplechase, placing fourth in a personal best 9:34.01.

[4] Encouraged by the good results, Heiner continued her comeback with an eye on the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Her long lasted hamstring injury required surgery, and was finally operated in March 2019 by surgeons Lasse Lempainen and Sakari Orava, in Turku, Finland.