Shelby Houlihan Takes 2nd in 5000m, Speaks on Mid-Season Reset & Sponsorship Journey

Shelby Houlihan took 2nd place in a stacked Women's 5000m Final, running 14:57.88. Houlihan details tracking Parker Valby's pace, mounting her 400m surge, overcoming a mid-season lull with a six-week training cram, prioritizing her mental health, and navigating life as an unsponsored athlete while seeking a new shoe contract.

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Video Transcript

All right, congratulations.

Thank you.

Can you take us through your race, your strategy going into it, and how that was kind of executed throughout the race?

Yeah, I mean, this, the way it played out is exactly kind of what I expected and prepared for.

I felt like Parker loves to lead and just hammer, and so I kind of was, like, trying to prep for, prepare for every scenario, but that was, like, definitely the main one that I was planning for.

I just tried to position well, be right on her shoulder, and just wait as long as I could.

I, like, debated on maybe taking it, but I was kind of hurting, honestly.

Like, it felt hot, and so I just kind of kept waiting and waiting, and I wanted to take the lead 400 to go, which I did, and tried to kick as best I could, but Emily's so fast.

Like, I know she has a good kick.

I knew that was a threat in the race, and I did what I could, and she out-kicked me, so, you know, that's just something I need to keep working on, and I feel like the speed's there, but, you know, I just need to continue sharpening that.

Have you been gearing your season around this meet, or is there something else you're looking at?

Yeah, I mean, kind of like had to cram six weeks of training in for this meet.

I was in a little bit of a lull, like, a month out of pre-, and just kind of tried to take a reset break and, like, really try to prepare as well as I could for USA's.

My, my main goal, I think, is Ultimate at this point, so I'd have to have another six weeks to really prepare for that.

Hopefully I get in.

I'm, I think I'm sitting at seventh right now, so, you know, hopefully it doesn't change too much, but that's, like, pretty much the main goal that I'm trying to peak for.

And I did the best I could here.

For those next six weeks of preparation, what points are you going to be focusing on?

Yeah, just continuing building on the training, honestly.

Like, this was a race and also a good workout.

Like, it's, you know, it's hard to get these types of reps in without, like, actually racing.

So yeah, I think just continuing to build on the positive momentum.

I feel good.

I feel strong.

It's still just, like, continuing to build that strength a bit more, so I have the fast kick like Emily did at the end.

I think it's there.

It's just putting the other pieces.

When you said you were in a lull earlier in the season, was it due to injury or something else?

Not really, like, actual injury, but just, like, energy levels were, like, super low.

Race pace felt like just all out hard.

Like, 72s felt like so hard, and I knew I was fit, so it just, like, wasn't quite making sense.

I think either I was, like, needed to do a little better in nutrition, which I have turned around, or, like, I could have been in a over-training mode a little bit.

We're not really sure which variable, so we've just tried to do every variable better, and it seemed to help.

And yeah, I'm feeling a lot better, feel like myself now, so it's just kind of continuing that momentum.

How has this season been different for you than last season?

I mean, I think a little even more up and down.

At times, like, I'm, I'm racing a little less.

Last year I definitely felt like, you know, the motivation was up and down.

Kind of the energy levels were up and down.

I felt rusty pretty much every time I raced.

This year it's, like, going a little better, but, yeah, it's been up and down this year for sure, and even more of an energy dip.

But I think going up to Park City and being around friends, switching up some training, it's just like, yeah, I feel like a 180 from six weeks ago.

So I'm feeling pretty good about the path I'm on.

Yeah.

And so hopefully I can keep building on that.

You've kind of played around with, with different race distances this year.

What, what went into, like, planning your schedule?

Honestly, like, whatever felt fun.

I did the 10, which didn't go as well as I wanted it to, but, you know, it was, like, a good, a good thing to get in and get my feet wet in that race.

But yeah, then I did the 800, like, three weeks later, and that was just, like, really fun.

It hurt, but it was just, like, kind of nice to, like, do something different.

I wish I would've been able to do more, but I did a couple of 15s after that and just, those, I just did not feel good.

Did US 5K road champs, and that was just horrible.

So I just kind of, like, kept going down a little bit.

But yeah, it was mostly just what sounded fun, and then once I kind of hit that lull, it was just more like, "Okay, what do I need to prioritize here?"

Because time's up, and I know this is why things aren't going well.

So I was, I was going to ask, was there, was there any one event that you were kind of at least emphasizing in terms of training?

Were you kind of gearing towards the 5K?

I, going into the season, I really wanted to emphasize 800 and 1500.

And then kind of as the season went and the races weren't going super well, I was looking at trying to, like, the end goal was Ultimate champs, and my best chance was the 5K, so it was like, all right, we just need to, like, put all our eggs in the 5K if I want to go to Ultimate champs and just try to do that focusing that.

But yeah, I'm hoping I can get in a, a 15 or two in between now and then.

But we'll see.

Are you still on sponsors then?

Yeah, right now.

So- Always something changes soon.

Okay.

Okay, because I was going to ask, like, you had fourth at Worlds last year.

Yeah.

You know, most people in that position would have a contract, but obviously you have your suspension, coming back from that as well.

Yeah.

So I'm just curious, like, when you, when you or your agent is talking to the shoe companies, like, what are they saying is the reason they're not interested at this point?

It's, I mean, it's kind of hard to really know.

You're trying to take everything at kind of, like, face value what they're saying.

But, you know, it's a lot of the time like, "Oh, we just don't have the resources for you.

We don't have the money.

Or just we're just, like, not interested."

So yeah, we're, we're- You are- Something's in the works, so hopefully we get to do something soon.

But yeah, it's, it's been a challenge and obviously it's been really hard for me just because, you know, like, my stance on it, like, I never did anything, so I feel like I'm just continuing to be punished for something I never did.

And so that's been really hard to, like, process and be, like, try to accept.

But I always am trying to just trust that things are going to work out the way they're supposed to.

Yeah, like I said, something's in the works, so hopefully at some point I can figure something soon.

But do the brands bring up the suspension, like, explicitly?

Has any of them said that to you?

I know my agent's more the one in contact with it, not that he's told me, but you know, I don't know the details, so yeah.

You mentioned, like, hanging out with your friends, taking a step back.

Like, how much is, like, making it fun for you, like, impact your racing?

Like, how much of that has been, how much have you shifted into, like, "All right, how do we make this fun?"

Especially, like, being not on a team, not sponsored is probably pretty hard.

Like, are you, are you incorporating, like, trying to make things, like, a little more fun and enjoyable?

Like, how much has that been, like, part of the training?

Yeah.

It's actually been the number one thing I've been focusing on.

As there's so many other variables, nutrition, strength work, just, you know, volume, intensity, all the things.

But making it fun again and that mindset sh- set shift has been the biggest thing we've been focusing on.

To the point where we're bringing out putt-putt golf before workouts just to, like, bring some fun into the, the workouts, make workouts fun again.

And I feel like that's been really helpful, just trying to play games, have fun.

So it's like that's why we got into this in the first place.

Like, I got into running because I was, loved it.

I thought it was really fun.

So just trying to bring that back.

Writing things on my mirror just to, like, "I am ready to race.

I'm excited to race," and just kind of saying that over and over again.

Just, I got to, I had to, like, break out of the cycle of, like, "Ugh, I don't want to be here," and telling that to myself.

So just, like, whether that's saying different things, intentionally having fun at practice, going up to Park City and being around friends and my, my community, those are all very intentional things.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Congratulations.

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