Season 3, Episode 7: A chat with UC-Santa Barbara cross country coach, ex-UNI runner Shayla Houlihan

Shayla comes on the podcast to talk about how she ended up in sunny Southern California. She details her incredible first season with the Gauchos when she led the men's team to a conference title. Shayla tells of her growth as a coach with the Under Armour Dark Sky team in Flagstaff, Arizona before coming to California. She describes her journey in running from Northern Iowa to Utah and when she knew it was time to retire from professional running. She also shares one big similarity her program shares with Northern Iowa. She gives an update on younger sister and 2016 Olympian Shelby Houlihan, who is just over halfway through an Athletics Integrity Unit ban after a failed drug test and how she and her family surprised Shelby recently. Shayla tells if she recruits Iowa even though the Gauchos have a roster heavy with Californians. She also gives her thoughts on whether runners are predestined to be elite based on their genes.