One final try for Flanagan
Shalane Flanagan is making her final turn onto Boylston.
Winning the New York City Marathon was an improbable dream the 36-yearold finally accomplished in 2017. Now a national sensation, the former Marblehead track star hopes to go out in style tomorrow, when for a final time as an elite runner she competes in the biggest race in the city she calls home.
“I’m trying to have my best Boston race ever,” Flanagan said. “This will be my fourth time here. The dream of running this marathon started 22 years ago as a 14-yearold, watching my father run the 100th anniversary. So it’s kind of a full-circle moment, coming back to where it all started.”
Flanagan withdrew from Boston last year after fracturing a bone in her lower back. She has returned looking to add another trophy to her crowded display case.
The résumé speaks for itself. Flanagan has raced in eight major marathons, each time finishing top 10. Her victory in New York was the first for an American woman since 1977. She won the silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics, then captured bronze in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2011.
The last American winner in Boston was Linda Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985. The last from New England? Joan Benoit Samuelson, who picked up the laurel wreath in 1983 with a time of 2:22:43.
Flanagan isn’t the only elite American woman in the field. Racing in her first Boston Marathon last year, Jordan Hasay finished third in 2:23:00. A few months later, the Oregon native won the Chicago Marathon in 2:20:57, becoming the second fastest American female marathoner all-time.
But for Hasay, Boston is more than a race.
Hasay wasn’t thinking about the pain in her legs as she chased last year’s champion Edna Kiplagat up Heartbreak Hill. She wasn’t thinking about the roar of the crowd as she trailed second-place finisher Rose Chelimo by steps as they made the final turn toward Copley.
Hasay was only thinking of honoring her mother, who died unexpectedly in 2016 at age 56. It’s a constant thought that continues to drive the 26-year-old every day.
“This does bring back a lot of memories,” Hasay said. “It’s interesting, watching me cross the line, and how emotional I was. Obviously I’ll be running out there for her, and wear her engagement ring out there. And I know that she’ll be with me. I’ve had that resilience with me ever since she passed, and that’s helped me in my training. That’s helped me with the marathon.”
Flanagan, meanwhile, hopes that she can go out on top.
“I just feel like it’s the time,” she said. “It’s just an instinctual, intuitive moment for me. And I just feel like putting that pressure on me, that it’s my last, is good for me too. I think I’m going to make my peace with Boston (tomorrow).
“Knowing that I tend to just want to win this race so badly, I almost feel like I have to pretend like I don’t want to win it in order to do well. So it’s a reverse psychology for sure, because this is home. And these are the people that I want to make the most proud.”