Shalane Flanagan is 40 years old, she had surgery on both knees, she wrote three cookery books, she ended her career and she now coaches the group she trained in Oregon (the Bowerman Track Club) , so many things that did not prevent her from launching an incredible challenge this fall: running the six major marathons in a row, in less than 3 hours each.
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Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000m in 2008, the first American to win the New York marathon for forty years in 2017, Flanagan successfully completed her bet in Big Apple, this Sunday, in 2:33:32 ” (12th in the women’s ranking), six weeks after her 2h38’32 ” in Berlin on September 27 (17th).
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“Honestly, I have never enjoyed running so much in my life. “
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In the meantime, she had run in London in 2h35’04 ” on October 3, the most complicated marathon according to her, the one where she was forced to walk for the first time in her life, which she now advises. . Better yet, she had chained Chicago (2h46’39 ”) and Boston (2h40’36 ”) in 24 hours, on October 10 and 11, jumping on a plane when the first arrived to reach Massachusetts. Finally, As Tokyo was virtual this year, she ran it in Portland on October 18 in 2:35:14, without a crowd or an organizer.
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This Eclipse Project, as she baptized it, exceeded her expectations. Flanagan, once a shy child, wanted to demonstrate that running, which changed his life, was at least as much about willpower as it was physical. She lived moments of sharing, in the middle of the crowd, as she had never experienced in elite pelotons. The American assures that she will not return to competition but recognized on arrival in New York: “Part of me is happy to be done with the marathon but I’m also very sad to end this story because, honestly, I have never enjoyed running so much in my life. “
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