 Flanagan during the2011 World Championships in Athletics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-07-08)July 8, 1981 (age 44) Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Home town | Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 106 lb (48 kg) |
| Website | shalaneflanagan |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| College team | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Club | Bowerman Track Club |
| Turned pro | Jun. 2004 |
| Coached by | Jerry Schumacher |
| Retired | Oct. 2019 |
| Now coaching | Bowerman Track Club |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 2004 5000 m, 22nd (h) 2008 10,000 m,  Silver5000 m, 9th 2012 Marathon, 10th 2016 Marathon, 6th |
| World finals | 2005 5000 m, 16th (h) 2007 5000 m, 8th 2009 10,000 m, 14th 2011 10,000 m, 7th 2013 10,000 m, 8th 2015 10,000 m, 6th |
| Personalbests |
|
Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an Americanlong-distance runner, coach, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds theNACAC area records in both the10k and15k road races.[1]
She won the silver medal at the2008 Olympics in the 10,000 m (upgraded from bronze following original silver medalist's disqualification for doping)[2] and the bronze medal at the2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She won the Women's2017 New York City Marathon, the first American woman to do so sinceMiki Gorman in 1977.[3]
Flanagan grew up inMarblehead, Massachusetts. She attendedMarblehead High School, where she excelled in cross country and track. She also participated in soccer and swimming, and was an artist and painter in the art major program.[4][5]
Flanagan is married to Steven Ashley Edwards,[6] a former track and field star at theUniversity of North Carolina. Together they are foster parents to Breauna and Keauna. While training for the Rio Olympics, one of her teammates from Bowerman Track Club Team emailed asking to find a foster home during their senior year of high school. Flanagan and her husband immediately welcomed Breuna and Keauna into their home.[7]
Flanagan's parents are both accomplished runners. Her mother,Cheryl Treworgy, is a formermarathon world record holder (as Cheryl Bridges – 1971) and a five-time U.S. WorldCross Country Championship participant. Her father, Steve Flanagan, was also a U.S. World Cross Country Champion participant and marathon runner (PR 2:18). He raised Shalane and her sister Maggie in Marblehead with his second wife Monica.[8]
In the fall of 2009, Flanagan volunteered as an assistant coach for the cross country team at heralma mater, theUniversity of North Carolina.[9] In the fall of 2013, Flanagan volunteered as an assistant coach for the women cross country team atPortland State University.[10]
On August 6, 2016, Flanagan and longtime college friendElyse Kopecky published their first cookbookRun Fast.Eat Slow. Flanagan and Kopecky met in 2000 as teammates of the cross country team while attending the University of North Carolina. After they graduated from college, they both moved to Portland, Oregon, where Flanagan went to run for Nike and Kopecky went to work in marketing for Nike. Kopecky left her marketing career to pursue culinary nutrition school in New York City.[11] In 2013, Flanagan and Kopecky reunited in Portland where they came up with Run Fast Eat slow to prove that food could be both nourishing and delicious.[12] Their book went on to become a New York Times Best Seller. They toured together in Oregon, San Francisco and New York City, where their events included running, inspirational talks and a chance to meet and get to know the authors better. Due to Flanagan's New York City Marathon Training and the birth of Kopecky's baby, they had to limit the number of stops on their book tour. After doing their book tour they had a better understanding of the impact theirRun Fast.Eat Slow book had on the running community. The fan feedback was that they wanted Flanagan and Kopecky to write a second cookbook which would be best suited for people with busy lifestyles. Flanagan and Kopecky went on to write their second cook bookRun Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow which focused on less time-consuming recipes whilst not compromising nourishment or flavour.[13] Their second cook bookRun Fast, Cook Fast, Eat slow was published August 18, 2018.[citation needed]
On April 29, 2020, Flanagan announced she and Edwards had adopted a baby boy, Jack Dean Edwards. On January 24, 2023, Flanagan announced on Instagram that she and her husband adopted a baby girl, Grace Morgan Edwards.[14]
As a student atMarblehead High School inMassachusetts, Flanagan's accomplishments included three-time All-State cross country performances,[15][16][17] a first-place All-State outdoor track finish in the mile in 4:52.38[18] and the two-mile in 10:24.21[19] (state meet record still stands as of 2017[20]); her 4:46.91 mile won theNational Scholastic Indoor Championships.[21]
Flanagan attended theUniversity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she won national cross country titles in 2002 and 2003—becoming the first individual champion in the sport in Tar Heel history—and numerous track accolades, with best times of 4:11.24 in 1500 m (7th in the U.S. at any level in 2003), 9:00.22 in the 3000 m and 15:20.54 in the 5000 m.[22] She won theHonda Sports Award as the best female collegiate cross country runner in the nation in both 2003 and 2004.[23][24]
Early in her professional career, Flanagan was very successful. Since advancing to the professional level in 2004, by 2007, Flanagan lowered her 3000 m time to 8:33.25 and her 5000 m time to 14:44.80, the latter an American record at the time; she made a slight improvement to her 1500 m time of 4:05.86. She became a two-time outdoor track national champion in the women's5000 meters and an indoor track national champion in the 3000 m. She won the short course competition at theUSA Cross Country Championships in 2004 and 2005.[25][26]Flanagan has been a Nike-sponsored athlete since graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel hill in 2004.[13]
Flanagan became the long course national cross country champion for the first time in February 2008. She ran the 10,000 for the first time at the 2008StanfordPayton Jordan invite meeting, in a time of 30:34.49 to beatDeena Kastor's American record of 30:50.32. Flanagan credited her American record to the help of New Zealand'sKim Smith. Flanagan and Smith traded the lead position during the race, and Smith finished in 30:35.54.[27]
At theSummer Olympic Trials held inEugene, Flanagan competed in both the 5000 and 10,000 m. She won the 10,000 m final in a time of 31:34.81. This guaranteed her a spot on Team USA forBeijing. Flanagan also finished third in the 5000 m final with a time of 15:02.81.[28] On August 16, Flanagan finished third in theOlympic 10,000 m finals in Beijing, capturing the bronze medal (later upgraded to silver). It was later upgraded to silver after Turkish runner Elvan Abeylegesse tested positive for a banned substance.[29] Flanagan also set a thenAmerican record in 30:22.22, shattering her own record set earlier in the year.[30][31] She is only the second American woman to receive an Olympic medal in the 10,000 m.[31]
In 2009, Flanagan split with coach John Cook and moved toPortland, Oregon, to begin working with new coachJerry Schumacher.[32] She finished second toAmy Yoder Begley in the 10,000 m at the 2009 USA Track & Field Championships.[33] At theWorld Championships inBerlin, Flanagan finished in 14th place in the 10,000 m with a time of 31:32.19.
Flanagan won her first half marathon inHouston at the USA Half Marathon Championships on January 17. She set the course record in a time of 1:09:45.[34][35] She added a second national championship with a victory at the USA Cross Country Championships.[36] At theWorld Cross Country Championships, Flanagan finished the individual race in 12th place with a time of 25:20. She was a member of the Team USA squad that earned a bronze medal.
In June 2010, it was announced that Flanagan would make her marathon debut in theNew York event in November 2010.[37] Her preparations boded well for the event as her mark of 1:08:36 at thePhiladelphia Half Marathon was just two seconds off Deena Kastor's American record at the event. Flanagan's time in Philadelphia brought her fourth place some 45 seconds behind winnerMeseret Defar.[38] In her marathon debut, Flanagan finished in second place in a time of 2:28:40. It was the best finish for an American woman in 20 years at the New York City Marathon. Flanagan captured the U.S. Marathon championship in the race.[39] She took her fifth title at the National Cross Country Championships and asserted herself as the clear number one in the discipline, winning by a margin of 41 seconds.[40]
At theWorld Cross Country Championships on March 20, 2011, Flanagan improved on her 12th place from the year before to place third, with a time of 25:10. She led the Team USA squad to a bronze medal. Flanagan was the first non-African born medalist in the event since 2004.[41] She competed in theJune 2011 USA Championships in the 10,000 m and won with a time of 30:59.57, qualifying her for the 10,000 m at theWorld Championships.[42]
On August 27, 2011, Flanagan finished seventh at theWorld Championships 10,000 m with a time of 31:25.57 minutes (the first non-East African born athlete to finish).
Flanagan said in June 2011 that she was leaning towards running the marathon at the2012 London Olympics.[43] With this in mind, she ran at the firstMiami Half Marathon in December and won in aFlorida state record time of 1:09:58 hours.[44]
On January 14, 2012, Flanagan won the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston, setting the event record at 2:25:38. She moved on to represent Team USA at theOlympic women's marathon in London, finishing 10th with a time of 2:25:51.[45][46] She defeated a high class field at theLisbon Half Marathon in March, recording a time of 1:08:52.[47] She came in 25th at the2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
On February 2, 2013, inSt. Louis, she won the 8k national cross country title in 25:49.0, just ahead ofKim Conley andDeena Kastor.[48] Then on February 24, 2013, Flanagan set a half marathon best of 1:08:31 as runner-up toMeseret Defar at theRock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon inNew Orleans.[49]
Flanagan qualified for the 2013USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with the top American time of the year[50] at the 2013Stanford University Invitational 10 km, where she ran 31:04 without competition for the 2nd half of the race.[51] In June 2013, Flanagan won the 10,000 meters to claim her fourthUSA outdoor track title.[52] On August 11, 2013, Flanagan finished 8th at theIAAF world championship.[53]
On March 15, 2014, inJacksonville, Florida, Flanagan won the USA 15K Championships (Gate River Run), setting a newwomen's American Record of 47:00 to take down Deena Kastor's previous record of 47:15 that was set in 2003.[54]
On April 21, 2014, Flanagan led the2014 Boston Marathon female competitors through 19 miles, ultimately finishing seventh (later upgraded to sixth) in a personal record of 2:22:02, making her the third fastest female American marathoner ever, after Kastor and 1984 Olympic championJoan Benoit Samuelson.[55][56][57]
On September 28, 2014, Flanagan placed third in theBerlin Marathon, with a personal best of 2:21:14. It was the second fastest time ever by an American woman at the time, 7 seconds ahead of Joan Benoit's 1985Chicago Marathon in 2:21:21 and 98 seconds behindDeena Kastor's 2006London Marathon in 2:19:36. Her Berlin run now ranks third on the US all-time list afterJordan Hasay's 2:20:57 at the 2017Chicago Marathon.[58]
Flanagan ran a time qualifier for the2015 World Championships in Athletics andUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with the top American time of the year[59] at the 2015Stanford Invitational 10 km, where she ran 31:08,[60] pacing race winnerGelete Burka[61] in her 10 km debut. On April 20, 2015, Flanagan placed ninth in the Boston Marathon, with a season best of 2:27:47.[62]
Flanagan finished 2nd toMolly Huddle in the 10,000 meters in 31:42.29[63][64] at the2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 25. On August 24, Flanagan placed 6th in 31:46.23 inChina in the10,000 meters.[65] On September 6, Flanagan set theAmerican record and placed 2nd in the roadRabobank Tilburg Ladies Run 10 km inNetherlands in 31:03,[66] one place ahead ofBetsy Saina. Flanagan beat the national records ofLynn Jennings and Molly Huddle.[67]
On February 13, 2016, Flanagan placed third, behindAmy Hastings (Cragg) andDesiree Linden, at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, finishing in 2:29:19 on a warm day in Los Angeles.[68] On June 5, 2016, Flanagan placed first, setting a new PR in the half marathon, at the Suja Rock'n'Roll San Diego Marathon and half Marathon, with a time of 1:07:51.[69]Molly Huddle ran a 1:07:41 inNew York City in March, while the American record is 1:07:34, set byDeena Kastor in Berlin in 2006.
On June 26, 2016, Flanagan set anAmerican record and won the roadBoston Athletic Association 10K inBoston in 30:52. She lowered hernational record by 11 seconds and beat the previousB.A.A. 10K event record by 12 seconds (31:04, held byMamitu Daska since 2014).[70] On August 14, 2016, Flanagan placed 6th at the2016 Summer Olympics women's marathon in 2:25:26.
On December 12, 2016, Flanagan was upgraded from seventh to sixth in the2014 Boston Marathon results after winnerRita Jeptoo was disqualified for doping offenses.[71][72][73][74]
In February 2017, Flanagan announced that she had suffered a fracture in her lower back and would be withdrawing from theBoston Marathon.[75]
In March 2017, her 2008 Olympic bronze medal in the 10,000 meters was upgraded to silver after runner upElvan Abeylegesse had her silver medal stripped due to a positive result for banned substances found in a retroactive test.[2]
On November 5, 2017, Flanagan won the Women'sNew York City Marathon in 2:26:53. With about 3 miles to go, she pulled ahead of 3-time defending champion and women's-only marathon world record holderMary Keitany of Kenya and finished ahead of her by 1:01. It was Flanagan's first win in a major marathon and the first win by an American woman at the NYC Marathon in 40 years sinceMiki Gorman won in 1977.[3] Beforehand, Flanagan hinted a possible retirement with a win in NYC.[76] In this marathon, she finished just 5 minutes 39 seconds behind her personal record.
The marathon started out slow and then proceeded with increases in intensity throughout. The first 5 km averaged 3:51/km. The pace then proceeded to steadily average about 3:33/km for the next 20 km. After the 25 km mark, the pace averaged 3:23/km for about 10 km; after the 32 km mark, competitor Daska made a move to assure the pace was at least maintained. At about the 34 km mark is where Shalane made a move, where her significant change and maintained intensity in pace left her competitors Keitany and Daska behind just after the 37 km mark.[77][78] Her average pace from the 35 km to finish (over which the course averages a slight uphill) was 3:11.4/km, which was faster than the women's-only marathon world record pace of 3:14.8/km (2:17:01).[79][80]
Coming into the marathon, Mary Keitany was the favorite having won the NYC Marathon three times in the past averaging 2:24 to 2:25, and having a personal record setting 2017 year in the 10k road, half marathon, and marathon (30:41+, 1:05:13, and 2:17:01 respectively) leading up to the NYC Marathon.[81] Although the average pace from the 2:26:53 Shalane ran was slower than NYC Marathon winners in the prior years since 2011, the overall difficulty of the course (as can be inferred by thelist of winning times) along with Shalane's sustained surge in pace during the last 5-7k appeared to be one of the main reasons she won the race.
Shalane Flanagan went to defend her title and finished third in the2018 New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:26:22 behind winnerMary Keitany in 2:22:38 and close behindVivian Cheruiyot who finished in 2:26:02 and just 22 seconds ahead ofMolly Huddle in fourth.[82] Flanagan sat in fifth at the halfway point but was able to maintain her pace while those ahead of her were slowing down trying to keep up with Mary Keitany. Flanagan was able to secure herself in a podium position during the race after passing two women ahead of her.[83]
Shalane Flanagan announced her retirement from professional running on October 21, 2019, via Instagram.[84][85] Flanagan, in her retirement statement, said she will be one of the head coaches for the Bowerman Track Club.[83]
Because theWorld Marathon Majors had all been rescheduled for the Fall in 2021, Flanagan registered for all 6, attempting to run all 6 Abbot World Marathon Majors, each in under 3 hours, in 6 weeks. Because Tokyo was canceled, she substituted her own marathon run in Oregon, and still completed her goal of "6 in 6", albeit with only 5 of them being majors. On September 26, she finished the2021 Berlin Marathon in 2:38:32 (17th in the women's division); On October 3 she finished the2021 London Marathon in 2:35:04 (1st woman from the "mass start", 30 minutes after the elite women's start, to finish); On October 10, she completed the2021 Chicago Marathon in 2:46:39 (25th in women's division); On October 11, she finished the2021 Boston Marathon in 2:40:34 (33rd in women's division); On October 18, in place of the canceled Tokyo Marathon, she ran in her own marathon in Oregon in 2:35:14; On November 7 she finished the2021 New York City Marathon in 2:33:32 (12th in women's division)[86]
Flanagan was named as the University of Oregon assistant long-distance coach in 2022.[87]
| Distance | Performance | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 m | 4:05.86 | Eugene, Oregon | June 10, 2007 | |
| 3000 m | 8:33.25 | Boston, Massachusetts | January 27, 2007 | National indoor record until 2020[88] |
| 5000 m | 14:44.80 | Walnut, California | April 13, 2007 | National record until 2010[89] |
| 10,000 m | 30:22.22 | Beijing, China | August 15, 2008 | National record until 2016[90] |
| 10 km (road) | 30:52 | Boston, USA | June 26, 2016 | National record |
| 15,000 m | 47:00 | Jacksonville, Florida | March 15, 2014[54] | National record |
| Half marathon | 1:07:51 | San Diego, California | June 5, 2016 | |
| Marathon | 2:21:14 | Berlin, Germany | September 28, 2014[91] |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | USA 5 km Championships | Providence, Rhode Island | 1st | 5 km | 15:25 |
| 2008 | USA 5 km Championships | Providence, Rhode Island | 1st | 5 km | 15:29 |
| 2010 | USA Half Marathon Championships | Houston, Texas | 1st | Half marathon | 1:09:41 |
| USA Marathon Championships | New York City, New York | 1st | Marathon | 2:28:40 | |
| 2012 | US Olympic Trials | Houston, Texas | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:38 |
| 2014 | USA 15 km Championships | Jacksonville, Florida | 1st | 15 km | 47:00 |
| 2016 | US Olympic Trials | Los Angeles, California | 3rd | Marathon | 2:29:19[92] |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Palo Alto, California | 2nd | 5000 m | 15:20.54 |
| 2004 | US Olympic Trials | Sacramento, California | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:10.52 |
| 2005 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Carson, California | 1st | 5000 m | 15:10.96 |
| 2007 | USA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Boston, Massachusetts | 1st | 3000 m | 8:56.74 |
| USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1st | 5000 m | 14:51.75 | |
| 2008 | US Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:02.81 |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 31:34.81 | |||
| 2009 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | 10,000 m | 31:23.43 |
| 2011 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 10,000 m | 30:59.97 |
| 2012 | US Olympic Trials | Eugene, Oregon | 3rd | 10,000 m | 31:59.69 |
| 2013 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Des Moines, Iowa | 1st | 10,000 m | 31:43.20 |
| 2015 | USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 5th | 5000 m | 15:10.02[93] |
| USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 2nd | 10,000 m | 31:42.29[93] |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | USA Cross Country Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1st | Short course 4 km | 12:26 |
| 2005 | USA Cross Country Championships | Vancouver, Washington | 1st | Short course 4 km | 13:24.3 |
| 2007 | USA Cross Country Championships | Boulder, Colorado | 2nd | Senior race | 27:48 |
| 2008 | USA Cross Country Championships | San Diego, California | 1st | Senior race | 25:25 |
| 2010 | USA Cross Country Championships | Spokane, Washington | 1st | Senior race | 25:09.5 |
| 2011 | USA Cross Country Championships | San Diego, California | 1st | Senior race | 25:47 |
| 2013 | USA Cross Country Championships | St. Louis, Missouri | 1st | Senior race | 25:49.0 |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RepresentingNorth Carolina Tar Heels | |||||
| 2001 | NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 7th | 1 mile | 4:45.25[94] |
| NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 10th | 1500 m | 4:25.67[95] | |
| 2002 | NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 3rd | 1 mile | 4:39.11[96] |
| 6th | 3000 m | 9:16.30 | |||
| 2003 | NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 1st | 3000 m | 9:01.05[97] |
| NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Sacramento, California | 2nd | 5000 m | 15:30.60 | |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RepresentingNorth Carolina Tar Heels | ||||
| 2000 | NCAA Cross Country Championships | Ames, Iowa | 4th | 20:42.7 |
| 2001 | NCAA Cross Country Championships | Greenville, South Carolina | 22nd | 21:10 |
| 2002 | NCAA Cross Country Championships | Terre Haute, Indiana | 1st | 19:36.0 |
| 2003 | NCAA Cross Country Championships | Cedar Falls, Iowa | 1st | 19:30.4 |
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