Two Treasure Valley Nurses Chase Dreams at United States Track and Field Championships
Stories about strong women like this give me the chills and I absolutely can't wait to watch these ladies run this weekend!
Last night after a hot run with my Team Run Boise teammates at "Village on the Run," I started clicking through our racing and training pictures on Instagram. That's when I clicked the hashtag #fleetfeetmeridian. It brought up pictures of the store's owners at the Fleet Feet conference in North Carolina, pictures of the Half Crazy and WTF training groups roasting during our Municipal Park fartlek run, some of the TRB ladies enjoying their Sunday trail run...and two very fit, very fast ladies I didn't recognize clearing water jumps in a steeplechase race. While most of us that you see in those photos are looking forward to this weekend's Bruneau Beast or next month's Freakin' Fast Half down Bogus Basin Road, these two ladies are preparing for something much bigger!
Marisa Howard (of Boise) and Megan Rolland (of Emmett) will be representing Oiselle at the United States Track and Field National Championships in Sacramento this weekend. Both are competing in the 3000 Meter Steeplechase!
As someone who ran track and field for 7 years, it would be really easy for me to nerd out over these ladies simply because I still love and follow the sport. But there's another reason why I admire these ladies.
While I don't know her and we went to schools on opposite sides of the country. Megan Rolland and I graduated from college the same year. After college she went on to work as a full time ER nurse in Boise. While helping and caring for people was important to her, her heart was still very much on the track. So four years after her final collegiate season, she decided to trade in 12 hour shifts at the hospital for hard repeats on the track. Giving up a secure career for a chance at an unclear athletic career is extremely scary. Just this morning, I was telling my marathon coach how many "what ifs" float around in my head as to where I'd be today if I'd never quit collegiate track. That's why I admire Megan so much for taking a chance and following her heart!
Megan will be joined on the track by Oiselle teammate, Marisa Howard. Marisa's a Boise State alum, who also has a background in nursing. When she's not training, she works part time as a school nurse here in the Treasure Valley!
The Oiselle ladies run in the first round of the 3000 Meter Steeplechase tonight at 9:13 MT. Megan will run in Heat 1 against defending National Champion Emma Coburn. Marisa is seeded in Heat 2. If they place high enough in their heats, they'll qualify for Saturday's final where they'll have a chance to earn a berth to the World Championships in London next month.
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