Doris Elaine Brown Heritage is a retired American runner. She won the International Cross Country Championships five times in a row, in 1967–1971. She collected silver medals in the 800 m at the Pan American Games in 1967 and 1971. She placed fifth in the event at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Brown Heritage briefly held the world record in the 3000 m in 1971. She was the first woman to clock a sub five-minute mile indoors. After retiring from competitions she had a long career as a running coach, and helped prepare the national women's team to the 1984 Summer Olympics. Brown Heritage was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, National Track Coaches Hall of Fame and National Distance Running Hall of Fame.

The International Cross Country Championships was an annual international competition in cross- country running. It was created in 1903 by the International Cross Country Union (ICCU) and it marked the first time that an annual international championships had been held for the sport.