USA’ 1st female NYC Marathon winner in 40 years
Shalane Flanagan, 36, is first American woman to win in New York since 1977
The simple thought crossed Shalane Flanagan’s mind as she raced alone through Central Park: Just keep it together, keep it together. She would not dare look over her shoulder. Her gaze remained ahead, on the prize that had eluded an American female marathon runner like herself since 1977.
Flanagan, 36, had a vague sense of the history. She felt a more personal stake in this New York City Marathon taking place just days after a terror attack in lower Manhattan. It reminded her of the inspiring performance by her friend, Meb Keflezighi, the American male winner of the first Boston Marathon after the bombing in 2013 (he was in this race, too, in what he said would be his last marathon).
That is partly why, as the finish line neared, Flanagan, with tears in her eyes, began pointing and shouting (with maybe a few colourful words thrown in).
“That’s for Meb,” she said, after crossing, in first place, 40 years after the last American won the women’s field.
Flanagan, a Massachusetts native, won with a time of 2 hours 26 minutes 53 seconds. She finished a full minute ahead of the champion for the last three years, Mary Keitany of Kenya, whose time was 2hr 27min 54sec. Mamitu Daska, of Ethiopia, competing in the New York City Marathon for the first time, finished third with a time of 2hr 28min 08sec.
Another American, Allie Kieffer, finished fifth in 2hr 29min 39sec.
Keitany, 35, was seeking to cap a banner year, in which she won the London Marathon with a blistering time of 2hr 17min 01sec, a record for women running without male pacesetters on the course. She had blown away the field in New York a year ago, winning by a margin (3min 34sec) not seen in the women’s race since 1980.
It was clear almost from the start, though, that the race earlier this month was not going to follow the same trajectory. Keitany, who last year burst out in front around Mile 10 and never looked back, appeared more tentative and conservative with her approach this time.
After the race, the soft-spoken Keitany said an unspecified personal incident on Saturday afternoon had kept her from feeling her best. She said only that it was not an injury.
“That’s part of life,” Keitany said. “I was not able today to do what I wanted. That’s why I did the way I did today.” Still, she
managed to stay in the front of the pack and at times appeared to threaten to pull away. A large group of nine competitors consistently jockeyed for the lead, without much separation between them, until there were only a few miles left in the race.
As the runners made their way down Fifth Avenue, the pack of nine had been whittled to three: Keitany, Daska, and Flanagan, looking calm and collected. Their paces picked up. They stayed within an arms’ reach of one another.
But it was Flanagan who would enter the Engineers’ Gate into Central Park with a wide berth. In a bizarre decision, Keitany began to drift toward the east side of Fifth Avenue, away from Flanagan and Daska, before zigzagging back to the customary route. At that point, though, it was too late to catch up.
Flanagan had been preparing as if this were her final race, which she had hinted about.
“We’ll have some decisions to make,” she said Sunday.
She had suffered a stress fracture in her back in the winter that forced her out of the Boston Marathon and kept her away from running for 10 weeks. In the interim, she took a vacation. She focused on her foster children. She brainstormed ideas for a second cookbook, following the success of her first, a best-seller.
The daughter of Cheryl Bridges, who once held the world record in the marathon, Flanagan had been an insatiable runner, splitting her time between world marathon majors and track events.
But gearing up for New York, she had not run a marathon for more than a year. She altered her training regimen, opting for a shorter build-up, fewer workouts in between lengthy runs.
She also had a strategy: Stay patient. Keitany might zoom out ahead, in which case, good luck. But when she did not, Flanagan could sense an opportunity.
“My coaches told me that it was possible — the training I put in was the best I’ve ever put in,” Flanagan said. “These are the moments we dream of as athletes. This is going to feel good for a really long time.”
Keflezighi, who finished 11th in the men’s race, said he had been texting and emailing Flanagan words of encouragement throughout the spring and summer.
“I just couldn’t be happier for her,” he said. “She deserves one of those, whether it’s here or Boston, and I’m so delighted for her.”
Afterward, overcome at several points by tears and emotion, Flanagan said 40 years was too long, “way too long”.
She added: “I’ve been dreaming of a moment like this since I was a little girl. It means a lot to me, to my family. Hopefully it inspires the next generation of women to just be patient. It took me seven years to do this. A lot of work went into this one moment.”
These are the moments we dream of as athletes. This is going to feel good for a really long time