SHALANE FLANAGAN

WHEN

Shalane Flanagan broke the tape at last November’s New York City Marathon, it was a triumph of will, hard work and the courage to keep on believing. At the age of 36, it was her first win in a major race, and in what was possibly the last big race of her career.

The journey had been long and hard. Since turning pro in 2004, Flanagan had put in 13 years of relentless toil – up to 130 miles a week – to keep herself in contention at the top, without ever tasting victory. She took 10,000m Olympic bronze in 2008 (upgraded to silver after a failed drug test by a runner ahead of her), finished second in her first marathon in New York, in 2010, third in Berlin in 2014 and sixth at the Rio Games in 2016. Flanagan would have been forgiven for feeling she was destined to be always the bridesmaid, but she kept believing. ‘I’ve dreamed of a moment like this since I was a little girl,’ she said after the NYC win.

As well as being an inspiration from a distance, Flanagan has helped other runners on a personal level. She is renowned for mentoring other rising talents – rare in the cutthroat world of elite sport. All her training partners, 11 women in total, have qualified for the Olympic games while training with her.

She’s also a great advert for and advocate of another cause close to RW’S heart: running clean. ‘I’ve been talking about wanting to win a major marathon for seven years,’ says Flanagan. For a while, people thought, “Shalane’s crazy.” At Boston in 2014 I was seventh and people probably thought, “She wasn’t even close.” But the reality is when you’re running against athletes who are doped, it changes the dynamics of the race completely.’

New York, though, was different: ‘It was the first time in a long time I felt like I really had a chance, because I felt like I was going up against people who are real – and that was inspiring and motivating beyond belief,’ says Flanagan. ‘I knew that these were the best women in the world, but also the best women I could genuinely get behind, because I think they’re the real deal.’ As is she, without a doubt.