Howard's Journey to the 2024 Olympic Games
7/25/2024 1:32:00 PM | General, Cross Country, Track & Field
It’s Summer of 2016. Marisa Howard sits at 10th Street’s District Coffeehouse hobbled by crutches and driven to tears after only two questions.
It’s June of 2024. Howard sits on the infield of the track at Mt. Hood Community College in Portland, Ore., after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Portland Track Festival, struggling to find confidence in the sport.
It’s June 27th of 2024. Howard sits on the track of Hayward Field in relief, having made her first Olympic team following a third-place finish in the steeplechase in a new personal best of 9:07.14.
With every step on this eight-year journey, Howard has been surrounded by a support network which spans her family, to her coaches and to the Boise community. She has become one of America’s top steeplechasers – and has found her place as more than just a runner.
There is her husband of 11 years, Jeff, a one-time record holder in the 10,000-meter at Boise State.
There is Pat McCurry, the first-year head coach of the Broncos’ cross country and track and field program – the one she met with on that fateful day at The District, the one who has guided her training over the last eight years.
And while not a member of every step of the journey, there is the Howard’s two-year old son, Kai, who they welcomed in June of 2022.
Since graduating from Boise State in 2015, Marisa has been without a traditional sponsor for much of her career. That hasn’t slowed her down. Thanks to a support network that extends far beyond Jeff, Kai and McCurry, she’s managed to make the U.S. championship final of every steeplechase she’s competed in – she sat out 2022 while becoming a first-time mother.
Thanks to her support network, she’s taken the patient approach to making the Olympics. One that saw her toil for years without the media and sponsorship support. She bought into an entirely new system of coaching, slowly stacking weeks onto months onto years before her breakthrough moment this summer in Eugene, Oregon.
The District
Marisa had enough. For years she had dealt with a cycle of injury – she ran well in the fall, was hurt by the winter, and managed to pull out an acceptable spring season. Now out of training thanks to a femoral stress injury that robbed the majority of her debut professional season, she entered The District on crutches on the advice of her sponsor at the time, Oiselle.
One of Oiselle’s other athletes at the time, Megan Rolland, had just finished seventh at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and was coached locally by McCurry. Through that connection, Marisa had approached McCurry about taking her on as an athlete.
Two questions in and she was in tears, fed up with the cycle she had been in and ready to try anything. McCurry – who was named Boise State’s head coach earlier this summer – told her she would have to erase everything she knew and buy into his system.
She was hooked. And thus began a partnership going on eight years that’s led both to the pinnacle of the sport.
“She was so coachable from day one. From the moment I told her I’d coach her, she just does exactly what the calendar says or what I say, every day. Whether it's to go swim for two hours or sprint up this hill 18 times, it doesn’t matter what I say. She’s just extraordinarily coachable.” - Pat McCurry
The focus was getting Marisa healthy – that first year McCurry estimates she was only doing four runs a week. Despite the limited workload she ran personal bests in every event, something McCurry credits to her overwhelming talent. He believes she could be successful in any event from the 1,500-meter to the marathon thanks to her incredible range.
The success of that first season validated McCurry’s methods, but after years of struggling with injuries, Marisa was ready to try anything new. She says she still gets excited every week when McCurry sends the training calendar and find out what she gets to do. There’s a joy in the process that she has found.
“Ultimately my joy comes from the Lord, my performances can’t take away that joy which is really sweet.,” said Marisa. “I feel like I was born to do this. The Lord created me to be a runner and I get so much joy from these races and even training, (especially) the last eight years because I’ve been healthy and gotten to do this every day.”
The Portland Track Festival
Success is rarely linear. Despite Marisa’s accomplishments – she’s represented Team USA at the Pan-America Games in 2019 and 2023 and at multiple world championships in cross country – but she has been afflicted with setbacks and doubt.
Those doubts came to a head at this summer’s Portland Track Festival during her final lead up to the U.S. Olympic Trials, less than three weeks before her attempt at making the Olympic Team.
Marisa took the lead heading into the last lap of the steeplechase that night in Portland, but faltered to a fourth-place finish in 9:34.01 – more than nine seconds behind former Bronco Allie Ostrander in first.
As the disappointment settled in, Marisa’s confidence began to waver. She had made every final of the steeplechase at the U.S. championships that she had competed in but still wasn’t sponsored by one of the major apparel companies. She had come close to making a world championship team but still wasn’t considered by many track pundits to be a contender to make this year’s Olympic team.
This is where good coaching stepped in. McCurry reminded Marisa that it didn’t matter what others thought – it mattered what she thought. She gave him too much credit for her success instead of realizing she was just as responsible for all she accomplished.
“The athlete has to believe in themselves at crunch time. At crunch time she needs to believe in herself and she was kind of lacking that,” said McCurry. “I think that was largely due to the lack of sponsor support. After a while it gets into your head that nobody believes in you."
Marisa used this as a chance to recalibrate. She got off social media and logged out of her Instagram account. These last three weeks would be about locking in to make the Olympic team.
“He hit the nail on the head by telling me I felt I always had to prove myself and had this imposter syndrome,” said Marisa. “He told me he didn’t want me to gain confidence from what you’ve done but who I am. He told me ‘you are Marisa Howard. You have a skillset no one else has.”
The Howards
Weeks later, Marisa went to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials focused on accomplishing her childhood goal of becoming an Olympian. By her side was Jeff and Kai.
The Howards met on day one at Boise State when Marisa, one year Jeff’s junior, arrived ahead of her freshman season. Both entered that year not wanting to date anyone and to not rush into a relationship.
Those plans changed when early in the fall they went to a Boise State volleyball match together and the relationship began. Even early in the relationship, both knew that this was something serious.
Sharing the same passion on running has only strengthened their relationship with one another, and in Jeff’s words, has allowed him to continue coaching at the high school level.
“He’s my person. We got married in college and everyone asked what we were doing because we were so young. We’ve been married now 11 years and together for 14. Our life is running – we eat, sleep, breathe running – it’s just really sweet that we get to share that and use this gift the Lord gave us.” - Marisa Howard
Marisa became pregnant with Kai in 2021 and the couple welcomed him in June of the following year. Early on she felt trepidation about being able to return to the same level as a runner – she always wanted to become a mother, but she also valued her career as a runner. If anything, it’s only made her a better runner.
“She’s really stepped into what she thinks she was meant to do in that nurturing aspect of being a mom,” said Jeff. “Seeing her flourish in that role and the heart she has behind raising Kai the right way and to pour into him has been so special.”
For Marisa, motherhood has brought a new level of balance to her life – one that’s grounded her where she is and made her more present.
“When I’m (at training) I’m a runner, but when I go home, I get to forget about that and just be a mom,” added Marisa. “Having that balance now is really good. Before I was so focused on running and now I have the balance of being able to turn it off and not obsess over running 24/7.”
The Olympic Trials
Marisa easily advanced through the preliminary round of the steeplechase, posting the second-fastest time of 9:26.38. This result only added to her confidence – while Jeff and their friend, Zach, continued to keep the mood in Eugene light.
Typically on race day, McCurry is the one who is a bundle of nervous energy and Marisa is the one who tries to lighten the mood. After returning from her warm-up jog, McCurry could tell something was different. This time she was the stone-faced and laser focused one. He kept trying to make her smile as she went through her drills, but she remained stone-faced, and in her words, calm.
As the two made their way back to the stadium to await the start of the race, the two continued their tradition of offering a fist-bump as they made their separate ways.
“When we did our fist bump she gave me a huge smile and just smacked my fist,” recalled McCurry. “I thought man, she is ready for something big."
“And she was.” - Pat McCurry
To watch Marisa race that steeplechase final is to witness resilience. From the moment the starting gun went off, Marisa was locked into her mission, quickly tucking in towards the front of the pack. Every move that was made by another runner prompted a quick reaction and a return to better positioning.
As the pack continued to string out, there was Marisa, still firmly in the top five every step of the way. She entered a flow state of pure reaction and her body did what he was trained to do.
“Her level of resilience and the way she kept coming back, I use the word unrelenting,” said McCurry. “Nothing rattled her. And she finished the race that no matter what happened to her, she just wouldn’t relent.”
Entering the final lap, Marisa again took the lead like she did in Portland weeks earlier. This time she wouldn’t falter.
While Valorie Constien and Courtney Wayment went on to finish the race 1-2, Marisa battled step-for-step with Olivia Markezich. Marisa began to edge Markezich going over the final hurdle and make her move. While Markezich took a misstep that led her to the track, Howard showed no signs of slowing down and crossed the finish line with a new personal best, and as an Olympian.
The Finish Line
Jeff stood there trying to keep Kai quiet. A notorious and well-known crier, Jeff was certain that the tears would flow when Marisa crossed the finish line, but in stepped his duties as a father.
“That was the moment I would cry, but I had Kai on my lap. Two-year olds don’t like tons of noise, so I was just trying to keep him lowkey." - Jeff McCurry
After Marisa finished her interview with NBC and hugged with her family, Jeff made his way down to the track so the three could enjoy the Olympic moment together.
McCurry sat there, fifty meters up the curve from the finish line, soaking in the moment and staying away from the limelight. He was driven immediately to tears but took a quiet moment.
Sitting around him in the stands were a group of fellow coaches he knew of, but didn’t have a prior relationship well. Each clapped him on the back to offer their congratulations for what they all knew was a special moment.
Marisa let the relief sink in and her mind started to think of all those who helped her get to this moment.
“So much goes into these builds and so many people are praying and watching and reaching out,” said Marisa. “We have an amazing community here and back home, and you wanted it for those people also. It was just complete relief for all the people in my corner.”
That community – Jeff, Kai, Pat and so many others – will be there for Marisa as she lives out her Olympic dream in Paris later this summer.
She will toe the starting line at the Stade de France for the preliminary round of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Aug. 4 at 2:05 a.m. MT. No matter what happens, the Boise community will be there for her again.
