BOISE — Marisa Howard was taking a run in the Boise foothills Saturday with her husband, Jeff, and it suddenly hit her.
Over the last decade or so, she’s been chasing an Olympic dream, now there’s only one thing left to do: Go to Paris and race.
“I was just thinking ‘wow, the Olympic build is done,’” Howard said. “The work is done, now we just get to go over there and just show what we’ve done the last year, but the last eight years I’ve been working with (Boise State) Coach Pat (McCurry), so I’m kind of excited to put it all together next week.”
There former Boise State track and field star had her final Treasure Valley sendoff Saturday evening at Dona Larsen Park, the night before she flies to Paris, where she will be competing in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase at the Olympics. Howard ran a lap around the track with local children, then signed autographs and took pictures with the estimated 200 fans that showed up for the event.
The Steeplechase event begins Aug. 4. She’ll be cheered on by 21 friends and family members who are making the trip to Paris and so many more back home in Idaho.
“My husband and I have been living here for 14 years, which is crazy, almost half my life,” the 31-year-old Howard said. “So, it was really cool to see people from different walks of life from my college years and my early-adult years and now I’m in my early-30s. It’s really cool to see all those different people from the different areas of my life.”
It was a celebration that was slightly curtailed by the wildfire smoke, as a 1,200-meter test run was called off and the two laps with kids was shortened to one lap, but she was still joined by many children of varying ages. She spent roughly 45 minutes signing autographs and taking pictures after it was done.
“We probably would have had even more, maybe, if we did the full event as planned and did the test effort and had clear skies,” said McCurry. “But boy, I was impressed, people really showed up and you saw how long the line took to get autographs. It’s really cool to see that level of support.”
McCurry, named Boise State’s head coach in June, has coached Howard throughout her professional career as a member of McCurry’s team, Idaho Afoot. After being hired McCurry made getting Howard onto his staff one of his top priorities.
After returning from Paris, she will join the staff as a volunteer assistant, returning to the school where she was a three-time Mountain West champion and two-time All-American during her Bronco career, which spanned from 2010-15.
“I am excited to be helping out at Boise State and just pouring into my alma mater,” Howard said. “I loved my time at Boise State, I personally think it’s one of the best places in the U.S. to train. From this location, you can get to trails in five minutes. So, it’s very cool that my coach will be here leading the way for the future.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0