Shelby Houlihan was born in Sioux City, Iowa. Her mother and uncle were both competitive runners, as well as her half-sister. Houlihan resides in Portland, Oregon.
Houlihan attended Arizona State University for college. She was the 2014 NCAA champion in the 1500 meters at Arizona State University as a junior. She was the first student at Arizona State University to win a national individual title in the outdoor 1,500. Houlihan was a 12-time NCAA Division I All-American, the second most in Arizona State history, and a NCAA Track champion. She holds Arizona State Sun Devils school records in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, one mile, and 3000 meters.
Professional
Houlihan began competing for Nike and the Bowerman Track Club under coach Jerry Schumacher in 2015. She was among seven women who were trained by Schumacher who made it to the Olympics. Houlihan said of her teammates, "After watching all of my teammates make the team, I knew that I could do the same. The prelim felt very easy and gave me a lot of confidence going into the final. I thought the final would most likely be much faster, but I knew I was fit and capable of handling a fast pace." She also stated, "It's just amazing to have teammates be able to push me everyday. It's something I've never had before. Even that has put me above and beyond what I've done before. Obviously I made the right decision for me."
Houlihan qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's 5000 meters after finishing second in the US trials to Molly Huddle. When she finished the race, Houlihan cried. Houlihan said of the moment, "I've been working for that moment my entire life and for it all to come together and happen was one of the most amazing experiences of my life". Houlihan placed fourth in her heat in the 5000 m preliminary at the Olympics, qualifying her for the final. Houlihan placed 11th in the 5000m final with a time of 15:08.89, finishing as the highest-placing American. After the race, she said, "“I didn’t place as high as I wanted to, and I’ve got to take that as a learning step and just try to move forward and make me stronger. I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be doing the 5K this year. Ideally I’d like to stick with it. Once I get the volume up and get more aerobically strong, I’m going to be even more of a threat. I’m excited to see where that could take me.” Houlihan's hometown minor league hockey team, the Sioux City Musketeers, honored her after the Olympics with an ovation and ceremonial first puck.
At the 2019 World Outdoor Championships, Houlihan set a personal best and new American record of 3:54.99 in the final of the 1500m, finishing in 4th place.
2020
On July 10, at the Bowerman Track Club time trial, Houlihan broke her own 5000m America record in a time of 14:23.92, just ahead of teammate Karissa Schweizer in 14:26.34.
