3 min readAfter serving a four-year suspension, Shelby Houlihan will make her return to racing on Saturday, February 1. The American record-holder in the 1500 meters is scheduled to compete in the women’s 3,000 meters at the Razorback Invitational, an indoor track meet featuring collegiate athletes and a handful of pros.
Houlihan served the suspension after she failed a drug test in December 2020. The results showed nandrolone, an anabolic-androgenic steroid, in her system. For the last four years, Houlihan, who turns 32 in a week, has continued to train on her own while maintaining that she never knowingly ingested the substance. She said the positive test came from eating contaminated pork from a food truck. Houlihan appealed the decision made by the Athletics Integrity Unit, and her appeal was denied.
The race in Fayetteville, Arkansas, will be the first time the 2016 Olympian has competed in a sanctioned competition, including those sponsored by USA Track and Field or World Athletics, since her ban started in 2021. Here’s everything you need to know about the race, including how to follow the meet from home, this weekend.
How to Watch the Razorback Invitational
The Razorback Invitational is hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The competition will be broadcast live on the SEC Network + starting at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, January 31, and 11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, February 1.
Houlihan’s race will start at 3:25 p.m. CT on Saturday.
What to Watch
In November, Houlihan told Runner’s World she’s been living in Beaverton, Oregon, with her boyfriend and running about 80 to 85 miles per week. Two months prior to the racing ban lifting on January 13, she was permitted to start working out with other runners. She hired Paul Doyle as her agent, who’s been helping her navigate the process of getting into races and finding a training group and sponsor.
“I’m still kind of in that limbo of trying to figure it out,” Houlihan said last fall. “I really do want to be a part of a team. That’s something that’s super important to me. I like feeling that team atmosphere, that we’re working toward something, having fun with your friends, feeling like you belong somewhere. I’ve not been able to have the last four years, which has been really difficult.”
Prior to the suspension, Houlihan trained with the Bowerman Track Club, a Nike-sponsored group now based in Eugene, Oregon. While running solo, the five-time national champion maintained her fitness—clocking 2:03 for the 800 meters and 4:02 for the 1500 meters in time trials last spring.
Saturday’s 3,000-meter race in Fayetteville includes several top collegians plus professional runner Krissy Gear. It will be Houlihan’s first sanctioned event since December 2020.
“I don’t have any expectations going into this,” Houlihan told DyeStat on January 27. “I hope that it is positive, supportive and fun. And, if it’s not, you know, I’m going to do my best to mentally prepare for that as well.”
Houlihan said she chose the Razorback Invitational because she wanted to do a “low-key meet” in an effort to “get the nerves out” and “put myself back out there.” She hopes to use the performance as a time qualifier to get into the USATF Indoor Championships, set for February 22-23 in Staten Island, New York.
