by Larry EderThis writer has observed Shalane Flanagan at the USATF Champs from 2003 to 2015. This writer has also observed Shalane in 2008, 2012 and 2016 at the Olympics. I was thrilled with her gutty bronze in the 10,000m in 2008 (she was upgraded to silver after a Turkish runner tested positive). That race teared me up.
In 2016, at the Olympic Trials, realizing that Shalane was running on pure guts, I was torn as Shalane Flanagan held on for third and Kara Goucher finished fourth in the Olympic Trials marathon. What an excruciatingly wonderful race to observe and write about. That night, as I flew to the New Balance Indoor Games, I was thinking about how amazing the OT was and how gutty the performances were in Los Angeles. Shalane has put all she had into the race, and once she made it across the line, she collapsed.
Check out @ShalaneFlanagan talking with @h_donnelly3 at NBC10 Boston about her World Marathon Majors feat and the guidance she’s getting along the way from @InsideTracker https://t.co/WSWi8c76yY
— Heather Hawkins (@elevation_strat) September 24, 2021
On November 5, 2017, I was in New York, covering the NYC Marathon. Seeing Shalane Flanagan win the in Big Apple, the first time an American woman to win in NYC since the late Miki Gorman, was brilliant. Using that gutty, put it all on the line attitude, Shalane had taken off with three miles to go, and just dominated the last three miles, the toughest part of the NYC Marathon course.
On October 21, 2019, Shalane Flanagan retired as a professional runner.
But now, Shalane has embarked on six WWM marathons (Berlin, London, Chicago, Boston and New York), in about 7 weeks.
This is Shalane’s Magnifiscent Obsession!
The marathon is 26.2 miles, or 42.2 kilometers. Tradition has that it began with Phidippidees, a military messenger. Word of mouth says that Phidippidees died after he gave the message of Victory to his compatriots. He had completed between 25-26 miles when he expired. Many historians believe that he ran 155 plus miles in the days preceeding, with little food, little sleep, little water and the Persian Army wanting to kill him, as they did many messangers.
Most marathoners don’t die during their races. You might feel like it afterwards, but you will get better.
Shalane Flanagan has run 2:21.14 for the marathon (Berlin 2014). She has run 30:22.22 for the 10,000m (Beijing 2008). Flanagan is tough. She has put it all on the line, and drained herself completely upon finishing races, from 5,000m to the marathon. The six marathons in seven weeks is not about completely draining oneself, it is about energy management.
6 World Marathon Majors in only 7 weeks. @ShalaneFlanagan we can’t get enough of your big audacious goals!!! Anyone else using this as their #MondayMotivation we know we are!! pic.twitter.com/7of3L6heVC
— InsideTracker (@InsideTracker) September 20, 2021
Her desire to run all six World Marathon Majors this fall of 2021 in seven weeks, and under 3 hours each is pretty impressive.
And she is down 2 events now, having run a fine 2:38.32 in Berlin, and the next Sunday, 2:35.04, in London. Pretty inspiring! In a tweet, Shalane noted that she got a bit overenthusiastic in London as the pace went out fast.
Next weekend, October 10 and 11, will be her toughest challenge. She will run Chicago on October 10, and then, Boston on October 11. This will be her toughest challenge, as two sub 3 hour marathons in 24 hours will be terribly difficult. The hardest issue for Shalane, in my opinion? That would be to hold on to her horses in Chicago and not blast a fast Chicago time, as that course is scary fast. She needs something in her legs on Monday, as those first 15 miles in Boston will tear her legs apart. That downhill in the first fifteen can turn your legs into silly putty. And no idea how the traveling will affect Shalane after the Chicago marathon.
Perhaps now is the time to reveal an observation by Bill Rodgers, the man who won 4 Boston and 4 NYC Marathons. Bill told me that, in all 4 of his wins in Boston, he felt terrible as he entered the hills (about 15.5 miles). He loosened up in the hills and just began to move! When he felt good as he entered the hills, he had bad races.
Shalane Flanagan is one of the toughest athletes, male or female, that I have ever seen. She is such a fascinating combination of her parent’s running skills (Cheryl Tweworgy and Steve Flanagan) :determination, focus, strength, and desire to excel. Steve, who I met a few times during his racing career, could turn off his competitiveness. That is a skill. Shalane could use that skill, turning the competitiveness on an off during the six marathons.
In running #BerlinMarathon & #LondonMarathon on consecutive Sundays in 2:38:32 & 2:35:04, respectively, @ShalaneFlanagan demonstrated another advantage of super shoes: they are highly protective and allow for much quicker recovery.
📷Thomas Lovelock for @LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/hSN1pVliIv
— David Monti (@d9monti) October 3, 2021
I was a little taken back by David Monti’s retweet on what Shalane Flanagan’s fast marathons told us: that the new racing shoes were good for athletes on recovery. I agree with the tweet, but I think that, in this obsession to find some double secret-secret with new racing shoes (of course they help in recovery and take much of the pressure off hamstrings in such arduous racing) a bit disconcerting.
A week after running 2:38:32 at the Berlin Marathon, Shalane Flanagan, who is “retired” from professional running, runs 2:35:04 at the #LondonMarathon, which would have placed her 19th in the elite field.
— Fast Women (@fast_women) October 3, 2021
The human factor is being taken out of racing by the media. It’s not about the shoes only. It is about the human condition, and the need for challenges. In trying to objective, some in the media have become the best advertising that running footwear brands could ask for: essentially they are saying, it is all about the shoes. Some guy or women who is five minutes off a three hour marathon will buy the new racing shoes (five to seven brands out there now with similar technologies) and know that they will do it!
What a run in London from @ShalaneFlanagan who is aiming for six marathons in 42 days.
🇩🇪 2:38:32 ✅
🇬🇧 2:35:04 ✅
🇺🇸 Chicago â“
🇺🇸 Boston â“
🇺🇸 Oregon â“
🇺🇸 New York â“#LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/lPrBwhY9DY— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) October 3, 2021
No matter what shoes Shalane Flanagan wore, running six sub three hour marathons in seven weeks is a difficult task. Good shoes, physical therapy, great coaching, fine nutrition, help with your baby, all help. In the end, for 157.2 miles of racing just under seven minutes a mile, is a task most humans on planet earth could not accomplish. Most can not run a mile under seven minutes one time.
Shalane’s Magnifiscent Obession is getting global recognition. Part of the reason, I would like to suggest, is the absolutely crazy growth of running and walking during the pandemic.
Good luck Shalane Flanagan. Inspire us like you have inspired use for two plus decades!
